How to oil your slate stones
First I would like to say thanks to one of our most excellent customers David for taking the time to take pictures of how to do the oiling process.
Ok, now first of all I just want to say that oiling your slate stones is not necessary, however it does give them an added luster. In this picture you can see how the non-oiled stones on the right compare to the oiled ones on the left.
In general any lightweight mineral oil can be used. Don't use vegetable oils as they dry out and become sticky to the touch.
David used the best oil he could find for the job and chose a synthetic watch oil (Moebius 9030/2.) This stuff costs
about $17.00 for 1 ml, but that is enough oil to do at least a hundred go sets. Sewing machine oil or hair clipper oil will also work well and is a bit more economical. I have some very nice unsented/clear oil available for $10 for 4oz that I use on my stones.
The first step is to put about 4 to 6 DROPS of oil in a quart ziplock bag. You can see the drops on the inside of the bag. After you put the oil in the bag, lay the bag flat and smoosh (technical term) the oil around the inside surface of the bag. This will help distribute the oil for more even application.
Then put about 1/2 of the stones in the back, squeeze a good portion of the air out and seal the bag. Then spread out the stones as shown here, roll them around gently, flip the bag over, etc. The goal here is to totally cover the stones with oil. Just don't get too rough in this step.
Here is what they should look like after covering all of them with oil.
Now the not so fun part. Take each stone and remove the excess oil with a tissue or soft cloth. Be sure to use a cloth that doesn't have a lot of lose fibers or this will just make a mess.
And of course inspect your newly oiled stones.
If any look a bit dry, just to it again.
