Laminated beech wood boards yield completely different results after oiling.

Hello, I’m a bit confused right now... About 4 weeks ago, I bought glued laminated boards in beech for the shelves of our room divider at the hardware store. At first, only 5 pieces, because the rest had some flaws. The boards were properly sanded and then treated several times with linseed oil. The result was perfect... wonderful color and surface.

This week, I picked up more glued laminated boards from the same hardware store (same manufacturer, again beech). All working steps were carried out identically as with the first boards. But the result... a disaster... what is that???? The boards now look completely different!! I didn’t even know that beech could get that dark... see for yourself the result.. What should I make of it? Is that normal??? Best regards, Steffi

Here is another picture afterwards...
At the top horizontally the first boards... below (standing) the new boards.

Show me the pot of oil. I suspect that the pot was not stirred properly and now the darker substances of the oil are being used. Or did you use a new pot of oil and it is only similar? Not the same batch?

But I also see now that the boards are different. The frequency of the rods is different, thus also the width. Completely different board batch

Hello Yvonne, yes it is a different batch.. I also noticed the different number of sticks, despite the same manufacturer and the same product. But I am still amazed by the extremely strong fluctuations. I don’t really like it so dark brown. Untreated, it was not noticeable at all :-( I will probably return the remaining boards and try my luck at another hardware store... sigh..

It definitely isn’t the oil.. It was a rather thin flax semi-oil (practically transparent). When applying it to the sponge, the can was also constantly turned upside down and automatically shaken.

Best regards Steffi

When applying to the sponge, the can was also constantly turned upside down and shaken automatically.

Then my assumption is wrong.
How old is the oil? Could it have darkened over time?