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Thursday 23 February 2012

Rustins Danish Oil

In the blog we posted yesterday we focussed on the Rustins brand which is available from PagesDIY.com and our brick and mortar store in Port Talbot, South Wales.
Today we're continuing with the Rustins theme and looking more specifically at one of the products from the Rustins range.

Rustins Danish Oil is one of the most famous and popular products in the range. In fact Rustins was the first to manufacture Danish Oil. Danish Oil is an easy wipe-on low lustre finish for all types of wood. On all interior and exterior wooden surfaces including...doors, dressers, cladding, garden and indoor furniture, window frames, turned woodwork etc. Apply liberally with a clean rag or brush and wipe off the surplus oil after a few minutes for a natural low lustre finish.

Danish Oil is a special formulation developed by Rustins Ltd. based on Tung Oil, also known as Chinese Wood Oil. The oil is extracted from nuts, similar in size to a Brazil nut, growing on species of trees found mainly in China and some areas of South America. After processing the oil is blended with synthetic resins to improve hardness, and other vegetable oils. Driers and solvents are added to improve the performance and application properties, so that Danish Oil may be applied with a rag or brush.

The special ingredients used in the manufacture of Danish Oil penetrate deep into all types of timber, drying to a hard, durable and water resistant seal. Unlike varnishes it does not leave a thick film on the surface which may peel, chip or craze on ageing. The oil dries quickly in 4 to 6 hours, depending on ambient temperature and humidity, producing a non tacky surface. It does not, therefore pick up dust as will wood treated with linseed oil. As it is a hard drying oil, it may be used as a primer or sealer on bare wood before applying other finishes, if required. Danish Oil may be used on interior and exterior woodwork and can be over-coated with a varnish or paint at any time, if it is desired to alter the appearance.

 It's so easy to use
  • Apply liberally with a clean rag or brush and wipe off the surplus oil after a few minutes.
  • Allow to dry and repeat. New wood generally requires 3 applications.

Absolutely no skill is required for application, as even when the oil is applied with a brush, it does not have to be brushed out in the same way as a varnish. The brush is merely used to spread the oil liberally over the surface. For an outstanding finish the last coat of Danish Oil may be applied by rubbing over the surface with fine steel wool 000 grade, or a scouring pad, such as Scotchbrite. Then wiping off the surplus with a soft cloth. This will remove any "nibs" on the surface and leave the surface with a silky-smooth finish.

Danish Oil will bring out the beauty of all timbers and give a natural open-grained soft lustrous finish. The natural colour of the wood may be altered by staining with Rustin's Wood Dye before applying Danish Oil. The Wood Dye can also be added to Danish Oil to make a tinted oil.

Danish Oil may be applied to surfaces that have been treated with other oils, provided the surfaces are clean. Surfaces that have been wax polished however, must be cleaned first with steel wool, white spirit and clean rag.

The finish is easily maintained by re-oiling as required once the surface has been cleaned with a mild detergent solution, rinsed and dried. Alternatively, the surface may be cleaned with steel wool, white spirit and clean rag. Exterior woodwork,will require re-oiling annually or more frequently. For instance, oily hardwoods tend to be more resistant than softwoods and oak which may need more attention. The durability on exterior woodwork can be improved by diluting Danish Oil with equal parts of White Spirit for the first application. This will improve the penetration. Three undiluted coats should then be applied. When applied to previously oiled, or varnished surfaces, or after repeated oiling of new wood, the surface may develop a slight gloss. This can be removed by rubbing with the grain with 00 or 000 steel wool and wax polish, finishing off with a soft cloth.

Rustin's Danish Oil is used extensively by woodturners worldwide to obtain a superb satin finish.

You'll find Rustin's Danish Oil both in our store in Port Talbot and at PagesDIY.com.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Rustins Products

You'll find a huge range of Rustins Products available from our online store PagesDIY.com and our physical store in Port Talbot, South Wales.

Rustins produce a massive range of quality products starting out as a small shop in London in 1924. Sidney Rustin opened his first shop in London's Shoreditch district where he sold wood finishing products to local residents and trades people.

Sidney's father was a cabinetmaker and his mother funded the business venture with £50. During the second world war the first night raid destroyed the original 1932 factory and the business moved to its present location in Cricklewood, London.

Ronnie Rustin, Sidney's son, took over the business and ran it until his death in 2008. He drove the growth of Rustin's to be one of the best brands in the industry with focus on wood finishing products, speciality paints and decorating sundries. Rustin's products sell throughout the UK to home DIY enthusiasts and professionals who want quality and innovative products.

Rustins also exports to more than 20 countries.

Rustins formulated its Strypit paint remover in 1947 and demand remains high. Rustins was the first manufacturer of Danish Oil which remains a famous and popular product.

In 2004 a fire from a nearby warehouse spread out of control and destroyed the Rustin's warehouse and six other properties. Production ceased briefly while a new warehouse was rented. A new state-of-the-art warehouse was built adjacent to the manufacturing site. During this time the passion and commitment of employees for Rustin's shined through as stocks were replenished to service customers.

Today Rustins continues its research and development efforts on its core markets of wood finishing, speciality paint and decorating. Rustins produce a huge range of products available to order online at PagesDIY.com. The product range includes: decking products; floorcare products; garden furniture oils; paints; polishes; primers and undercoats; teak, danish, tung and linseed oils; varnishes; wax; wood dyes and woodcare renovators.

Thursday 2 February 2012

Why buy from Page's DIY?

We thought we'd just do a brief post since our very first blog post which gave a bit of our company history and background and use it to answer the question in the title.

Basically as our very first blog post makes clear we are a family business with a long history. We're not an internet business run by a 14 year old boy from his dad's garage. In fact our ecommerce division which includes our online DIY store PagesDIY.com has been trading online since 2007 and was set up and is run by Chris Page (The 4th generation of the family to be involved with the business since it was founded in 1918). Our online store has continued in the long standing tradition of our business in providing excellent customer service as the online reviews we're getting shows.

When you buy from Page's DIY Ltd. either from our online DIY store or our brick and mortar store in Port Talbot you can be reassured that you are buying from a long running independent family business now in it's 4th generation of the same family.

The picture to the left shows where the business began in 1918 in metal roofed workshops to the rear of 5 Grove Place. You can also see our first DIY / ironmongery and hardware shop where the blue car is parked outside which opened in 1960.

Today the business has grown and in 1990 moved to larger premises in Talbot Road, Port Talbot where we're still based today. If you want to take a look around our physical store you can take a 360 degree look around here.

So when you buy from us you can be rest assured that you're buying from a business that is almost 100 years old, safe in the knowledge that we have an excellent reputation both locally and now nationally though our ecommerce division.