Thread: Help with a High Gloss Tung Oil finish

Ok guys/gals, i've made about 10 sets of scales now, all of them out of g10 and micarta. I pretty well know how to finish them, sand and sand and sand some more followed by some buffing. However, I'm working on 3 razors right now and 2 will be done with wood scales, specifically, wenge for one and purple heart for another. I saw a thread here a while back about high gloss tung oil, but couldn't get all the information i need. First of all, what is a good brand of High Gloss Tung Oil to use? second, what grit should i sand up to? I know with g10 i don't stop til i hit 12k micro mesh, but I seem to recall that you don't go that high with wood. I plan on cutting and sanding them to shape with 80, 150, and 220 grit, but where do i go from there? And a good brand of finish would be helpful as well. Thanks to everyone in advance. Blake

I have had great success with this oil:

100% Pure Tung Oil - Lee Valley Tools

Also, if you check out the 'tech' and 'instr' links on that page there is some helpful information about its use and storage.

I have generally taken my wood scales right up to the 12k micromesh before using tung oil, but have *no* idea if that is at all necessary. It probably isn't. But as I always have some at hand I usually figure I might as well use it. Check out polymerized tung oil too as I think that is meant to give more of a gloss finish.

Polymerized Tung Oil - Lee Valley Tools

I haven't tried it yet, but probably will stop by and pick some up one of these days.

Good luck!

Ok cool, I've been looking at Tru-Oil. Which I know isn't a tung oil finish but from some of the posts on here, it seems to do pretty good.

Tru-Oil acts like tongue oil from what I recall...or at least that's how I used it, it's been years since I have used it on any gun stocks. I use a Min-Wax tongue oil & it works well, gives a deep and warm warm look...just takes a lot of thin coats. I literally use my hands to work it in, could be just mental, but I always heard the comments on a "hand rubbed finish" and I do think it helps...like I said: Probably just mental. I think about 1K, maybe 1500, is about as high as I have ever worked wood before a finish.

As above, tru-oil with many costs and than rubbed out with rottenstone can look like glass.
The way I use it is to cut it with about 25% Zippo lighter fluid,you can get about two coats per day with it cut.
Knock it down between each coat.
Using your hands is a good thing as it warms the oil,is not mental.

Pure tung oil doesn't give a high gloss finish, it's more a patina & is hours/days of work so the modified oils are probably what you want for a high gloss. A synthetic finish would be glossier & quicker to apply.

Used it in the past alot on furniture and remembered the 1st coats needed to be thinned to penetrate the wood better. Got the follow off the S&W site:
..." I thinned the tung oil with acetone and did 6 coats working the t.o. into the wood each time until it becomes a little tacky.I gave a full 12 hrs between coats,finish is hard and sands well,I used 0000 steel wool between each coat and wiping off before the next coat.
The thinned tung oil penetrates better and no uneccesary build up."

There are a lot of products called tung oil, very few of them are actually 100% tung oil. If you read the MSDS for the product that you are using you can figure out what is made of. Most so called tung oils are oil (tung and linseed) and some sort of resins or varnish.

Truoil is a mixture of polymerized oils and resins, it is good stuff. There is plenty written on the web on how to use it, mainly gun stuff.

Charlie

The reality of tung oil is,it is a dinosaur product,Like spar varnish,shellac,linseed oil,real lacquer,none of which are applicable to wet environs.
If you work with real hardwoods,ebony, lignum,the dalbergias (rosewoods) the exotics like snakewood and such,they are so hard and have high oil contents,you need no finish other than maybe some renwax, or perhaps a pure carnauba.
finish them to a high grit and polish them,they will have a luster that cannot be had with coatings,you do not need that stuff to get the real beauty of hardwoods,is like putting makeup on a hog,JMO

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

The reality of tung oil is,it is a dinosaur product,Like spar varnish,shellac,linseed oil,real lacquer,none of which are applicable to wet environs.
If you work with real hardwoods,ebony, lignum,the dalbergias (rosewoods) the exotics like snakewood and such,they are so hard and have high oil contents,you need no finish other than maybe some renwax, or perhaps a pure carnauba.
finish them to a high grit and polish them,they will have a luster that cannot be had with coatings,you do not need that stuff to get the real beauty of hardwoods,is like putting makeup on a hog,JMO

Right on the money there about the hard woods. I used to be a piper.Bagpipes are made of african blackwood which is very hard and dense.Some of the other pipers I knew were always inclined to oil their pipes for fear of cracking and warping in colorado climate, I never did and I never had a crack or warp ever. a little wax and let the wood show it's beauty.