[SET Man]

Hey!



    I've been using Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment for the past 20 years. It was recommended by my SET amps maker to use on the wood part of the amps. Beside using it on my SET amps, I also use it on my wooden furnitures, 1938 Philco radio, 1902 Victor Talking Machine and etc. Anyway, a bottle last me years. But now it is almost empty, years ago I was able to pick this up easily in a hardware store here in NYC, but that mom and pop hardware store is long gone and I can't find it anywhere. I check and I see it on Amazon for $65 for 16oz bottle!!! What the?  I have no idea is cost this much now. As much as I like Formby's but for what is cost now I think it is ridiculous. I think it is time to find an alternative.



  A guy at my work recommended Howard Feed-N-Wax above. I've never use it but it is only $8.48 for 16oz bottle at Home Depot. Maybe I'll give it a try.

   So, what wood oil you guys here use for your wood care and maintenance?

Buddy
   

[FullRangeMan]

Used Peroba oil with success.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0uq-T1o6A4

[S Clark]

I've used the Feed & Wax.  It's decent and does no harm.  Oils of all types don't penetrate the original finish on the wood, unless it was an oil finish.  They basically sit on top and gloss, collecting dust and debris.  You might consider a wax, doing the same thing, just not as sticky.

[Photon46]

I've used the Feed & Wax.  It's decent and does no harm.  Oils of all types don't penetrate the original finish on the wood, unless it was an oil finish.  They basically sit on top and gloss, collecting dust and debris.  You might consider a wax, doing the same thing, just not as sticky.

Exactly. Very few wood finishes these days are oil varnished. Most are some sort of catalyzed or water based impermeable finish. We've got some older mid century teak oil finished pieces and Feed N Wax works very well. I have several friends who are professional woodworker artisans and they all recommend Feed N Wax.

[Elizabeth]

Hey!



    I've been using Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment for the past 20 years. It was recommended by my SET amps maker to use on the wood part of the amps. Beside using it on my SET amps, I also use it on my wooden furnitures, 1938 Philco radio, 1902 Victor Talking Machine and etc. Anyway, a bottle last me years. But now it is almost empty, years ago I was able to pick this up easily in a hardware store here in NYC, but that mom and pop hardware store is long gone and I can't find it anywhere. I check and I see it on Amazon for $65 for 16oz bottle!!! What the?  I have no idea is cost this much now. As much as I like Formby's but for what is cost now I think it is ridiculous. I think it is time to find an alternative.

Amazon often has bizarre prices, (mostly the result of their almost monopoly via Prime users.)I always check 'real' prices to compare. Google and find Forby's at Walmart online is $12,95

[SET Man]

Used Peroba oil with success.
...

Hey!
   
   Thanks, but I think I would like something that I can easily pick up here in the US.

I've used the Feed & Wax.  It's decent and does no harm.  Oils of all types don't penetrate the original finish on the wood, unless it was an oil finish.  They basically sit on top and gloss, collecting dust and debris.  You might consider a wax, doing the same thing, just not as sticky.

Exactly. Very few wood finishes these days are oil varnished. Most are some sort of catalyzed or water based impermeable finish. We've got some older mid century teak oil finished pieces and Feed N Wax works very well. I have several friends who are professional woodworker artisans and they all recommend Feed N Wax.

   Yes, pretty all the wood stuffs I have are oil finished. Although, I have been recommended Feed N Wax from a guy I work with and see comments from you guys here. I'm still a bit skeptical about it, I'm not sure if I like the idea of wax in it, will this cost wax build up overtime? This is why I stuck with the Formby's oil for years. Well, back to a search!

Amazon often has bizarre prices, (mostly the result of their almost monopoly via Prime users.)I always check 'real' prices to compare. Google and find Forby's at Walmart online is $12,95

    Well, I did some digging around the web and apparently I think Minwax bought out Formby's and so far all Formby's products had been discontinued. This explain why the price have gone up so high! I guess there are people who are big fan of this stuffs. Well, that's too much for me.

Buddy

[Photon46]

Yes, pretty all the wood stuffs I have are oil finished. Although, I have been recommended Feed N Wax from a guy I work with and see comments from you guys here. I'm still a bit skeptical about it, I'm not sure if I like the idea of wax in it, will this cost wax build up overtime? This is why I stuck with the Formby's oil for years. Well, back to a search!

Well, I did some digging around the web and apparently I think Minwax bought out Formby's and so far all Formby's products had been discontinued. This explain why the price have gone up so high! I guess there are people who are big fan of this stuffs. Well, that's too much for me.
Buddy

Sure, you could theoretically have "wax buildup" if you go bonkers using the product too frequently. However, the wax proportion in Feed N Wax is less than the oil, it's pretty liquid stuff. I'd have a hard time imagining any sane use of the product causing problems.

Museum curators, artists, etc. use a wax product called Renaissance Wax to protect all manner of surfaces. https://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-XTL-8004-Wax-Polish-65ml/dp/B003AJWN62?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-osx-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B003AJWN62
It's very archival and pure, I and other photographers have even used it to wax the surface of photographic prints in years past. (showing my age here 🙄)

FWIW, I would suspect most oils could cause buildup if used too frequently as they harden/polymerize with exposure to the air.

[twitch54]

used Old English for years with good results.

http://www.rb.com/us/brands/old-english/

[FullRangeMan]

Hey!
   
   Thanks, but I think I would like something that I can easily pick up here in the US.

Peroba is a oiled and very smelly wood, this oil hydrates wood or laminated wood very well, however it attract termites due the tasty smell.

[Don_S]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Holloway-House-Wood-Restorer-Lemon-Oil-16-Oz/43394790


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Parker-amp-Bailey-Natural-Lemon-Oil-16-oz-bottle/141654444?athcpid=141654444&athpgid=athenaItemPage&athcgid=null&athznid=PWVAV&athieid=v0&athstid=CS020&athguid=f6783852-c4b-16e6c81e4c3832&athancid=null&athena=true

[SET Man]

Hey!

   OK, a little update on this. After lots of snooping around the internet for wood oil I came across "Conrads Wood Food Oil"


https://conradsoil.com/

   After reading the reviews on Amazon and visiting their site, I was intrigued with it's centuries old all natural formula and no petroleum product. Definitely not cheap but I decided to give it a try and bought an 16oz bottle.

   Although I haven't try many wood oil but I have to say that I'm very happy with the result with this Conrads Oil. I applied to my amps case, first thing I noticed is this oil doesn't have a greasy oily feel to it like the Formby's and almost no smell to it, just a very light herbal nutty smell. And the wood to absorb and eat up the oil faster. I left it on overnight like suggested and wiped it off the next day. After that the wood on my amps got a nice deep glow to it, not a shinny sheen of petroleum oil just sitting on top but a nice deep glow! After seeing that I applied it to my 1930's mantel clock, 1938 Philco radio and 1902 Victor Type E Talking Machine and now they all look great!

   I will continue to use a bit of Formby's that have left for my wooden IKEA chair, coffee table and wooden table I got from Mayfair. And use Conrads Oil for nicer things.

  Anyway, I highly recommended this Conrads Wood Food Oil. Definitely worth a try.

Buddy