Linseed oil on live vein?

[Captkingdom]

I think I'm ready to show my prize juniper, "Japheth". My avatar pic.
I would like to clean, polish, and enhance it's live vein.
It's there any reason to not use some linseed oil for this?

Any other show prep suggestions are also welcome!

 

[Hartinez]

I think I'm ready to show my prize juniper, "Japheth". My avatar pic.
I would like to clean, polish, and enhance it's live vein.
It's there any reason to not use some linseed oil for this?

Any other show prep suggestions are also welcome!

I’ve seen others use olive oil. Can’t remember the source though.

 

[Ruddigger]

I use mineral oil, it doesnt rot the way olive oil can. Camellia oil is the preferred one though.

 

[TomP]

I have used linseed oil on a juniper and it worked fine

 

[stewarjm192]

Boiled linseed oil, like what you buy at Big box stores may have hardeners and petroleum products so make sure what your using is pure and inert.....best to use mineral oil if you have any questions about the product

 

[Captkingdom]

Boiled linseed oil, like what you buy at Big box stores may have hardeners and petroleum products so make sure what your using is pure and inert.....best to use mineral oil if you have any questions about the product

Thanks for the input. Is there a particular family of petroleum products that are problematic?
I wasn't sure, so I looked up Mineral oil, and found the following:
Mineral oils (also known as base oils, mineral base oils or lubricant base oils) are chemical substances prepared from naturally occurring crude petroleum oil.

 

[stewarjm192]

a pure mineral oil is completely inert, its the additives that are the issue with linseed oil, you dont want to be applying wood hardner, or any type of finish that dries hard and leaves a film. A pure linseed is fine, but it needs to be advertised as such, otherwise, stick with mineral oil or camilla oil.

 

[Ruddigger]

@stewarjm192 is correct. Most linseed oil that you will find is used as a finish for woodworking, it contains polymers to make a shell around the wood. Pure mineral oil can be bought cheaply and in large quantities. Its food safe, often sold as a laxative or baby oil.

I use it on live veins as well as pots.

 

[TomP]

I should have specified raw linseed oil. It is available on Amazon. I have had no problems with the raw oil. I have also used camellia oil but it is expensive

 

[Dav4]

Mineral oil is considered a light petroleum product. I've used it for years in show prep for painting both the live veins of junipers and yews as well as my not so inexpensive pots. The oil does no harm to either and eventually- over a few weeks- evaporates away without leaving any noticeable residue.