Thread: Tung Oil

You guys ever use this for your wooden scales? I finally have some wood, maybe this weekend have the time, I just haven't decided on a finish.

I've done a few peices of furniture in my house with just Tung oil, one of which is my kitchen table which gets wet all the time and it doesnt' leave a mark. Thoughts?

Yeah once or twice

It works really good on dry tight grained woods

You can use it on oily woods too but you have to wipe the wood down first with Acetone or Mineral spirits and have lots of patience



I tend to use the Tung Oil Based Finishes rather than pure Tung oil... Tru-oil Gunstock finish is a nice one so is the Minwax product... but these simple instructions work for either..


Applying Tung Oil

A tung oil finish can be applied pure or thinned up to 50% with mineral spirits or turpentine. Thinning the first coat will increase penetration, decrease the drying time and produce better results.
A typical application is by hand rubbing. Dip a soft cloth or rag into the finish and rub onto the wood. Keep applying until the wood is saturated. Drying is a slow process and will occur between 24-48 hours. This depends on the porosity of the wood and whether you thinned the finish. It will take 3-4 coats to achieve a waterproof surface. You can lightly sand or buff with extra fine steel wool between coats.

love your quote at the bottom. i will try and work a little harder tomorrow so the other 50% can stay home and collect an ENJOYMENT CHECK.

I have used Tung Oil on several sets of scales. It works well and you need to do an initial coat of oil that is thinned down. Make sure that you allow the oil to sit for about 10-20 min then wipe it down with a soft cloth. Repeated coats you can put on full strength but in thin coats and wipe off like stated above. You need to allow it to dry between coats which could make this a long process.
The big thing I found out was, If you wish to put a coat of polyurethane, varnish or epoxy, You need to apply a "wash coat" of shellac. Shellac will adhere to the Tung Oil as well as making a "base" for other finishes to adhere since Tung OIl is just like an oil. I used TO on a set of scales and then used a water based high gloss poly and even though the look was absolutely fantastic, the poly started to peel off because I didn't use a "wash" of shellac.
It was a great lesson learned and one I don't need to make again.
Hope this helps,
Bill Wilcox

As a retired cabinet and furniture maker my finish of choice is Water-lox. It is a tung oil based preperation with some other ingredents that are "propietary". You can pick some up at Woodcraft. By the way it was originally formulated for use on boats.

I actually prefer danish oil, makes the grain of the wood pop better (because it goes deeper into the wood - solvents help do that and then evaporate, leaving only the hard drying oil deep into it). Then you can finish with tung oil if you want the gloss. I prefer the satin finish... :P I recently refinished an alder/maple guitar that way and it was quite stunning (without tooting my own horn...), in a very sober way, since they're not as nice as some exotic woods.

Also, the gloss will depend on how many layers of it you will apply. Don't forget to wet sand every layer of it and make sure the wood is well sanded with no scratches into it. And be patient, it's key.

I love Tung oil, but like Glen says penetration is key, plus if you fail to wipe the Minwax Tung Oil at the instructed time, you will leave spots. and it will be inconsistent. Plus, IMO you should use a minimum of 5 coats.

I use an Aussie made product called Organoil. It's blend of pure oils but the base is Tung. No driers or varnish included so its not a tung oil finish . These are basic wet burnishing instructions from the manufacturer. Lotta elbow grease but the finish is worth it.
N.B. Don't try this with any thing other than pure oil. Wet sanding anything containing varnish or poly would be a disaster.

Step 1:
Fine sand timbers to 600 grit WET & DRY paper. Sand until timber begins to show a slight lustre. Retain the sawdust in the last paper used - do not dust off as it will
be used as a grain filler in the next process.
Step 2:
Apply first coat of Oil to all surfaces allowing the oil time to soak well into the timber; 2 – 3 hours later ( not overnight ) apply a light second coat also allowing a short time for oil to be absorbed. Wipe off any excess or pooling oil leaving a moist surface , then begin to massage or burnish the oil into the timber surface with the last paper used in Step 1. The Oil & sawdust will form a slurry & should be worked to fill the pore
structure of the timber, if needing more slurry to close the pores of the timber, add oil only to the surface of the paper being used. Should you have an excess of slurry clean the face of the paper with an Oil dampened cloth making sure not to add Oil to the timber surface. By now you should have achieved a satin finish across the surface. Wipe excess slurry from timber surface with clean dry cloth or paper towel before
moving to Step 3. N.B. resist the temptation of adding more oil to the timber.
Step 3:
To obtain a higher lustre than a satin finish, carry on sanding using 1200 grit wet and dry paper. Two to three sandings with 1200 grit paper may be necessary to bring up the desired finish. Paper face should at all times remain clean and free from excess slurry Should paper face be oily, wipe timber surface with paper towel or serviette and change to a new paper. Note: For cabinetry finish it is highly recommended to continue burnishing at 1500, 2000 grit wet and dry paper—guaranteed to put a “gleam” in
the finish.
Step 4:
To achieve the “ultimate” with an oil finish it is necessary to let it cure a few days and then power buff with lambswool or lint free cloth.

The maker claims 24-48 hours drying time but I find it takes 7 -10 days to really cure hard.

Here is the website for Organoil. Strange sounding name
As I read this I am wondering what the letters NB stand for?

Organoil

Originally Posted by turbine712

Here is the website for Organoil. Strange sounding name
As I read this I am wondering what the letters NB stand for?

N.B. stands for Nota Bene