JohnyM
3rd September 2013, 05:29 PM
Hi all,
As the title suggests, I have a question I was hoping someone more experienced than yours truly might shed some light on.
For quite some time I was mooching off a friend's stash of pure tung oil. It was the lovely viscous stuff I remembered my dad using, its consistency largely resembling warm honey. I used this to finish a couple of pieces to great effect, using elbow grease rather than thinner to get it into the wood.
Eventually I tracked down some Sceneys Pure Tung Oil for myself, and used this on my next piece. The consistency of this oil was very different from that I'd used earlier - much more runny - but it seemed to mean a bit less effort required to work with, so I didn't really mind. When freshly applied it looked as if it'd be just as good as the old oil. However, once dried it had a very matte finish, dulling rather than accentuating the wood the way I was used to. It also left the wood looking dry. I tried light coats, medium coats, heavy coats, light sanding, heavy sanding, heavy-over-thin coats, thoroughly wiping off excess oil, etc, all to pretty much the same result - a matte, very uninspiring finish, looking nothing like my previous finishes.
Last weekend I got fed up with it and looked around for some alternative (other than my friend's supply). I found references to Organoil Genuine Pressed Tung Oil on the forum here (thanks!), and in short order acquired some. This oil is also nowhere near the level of viscosity I would have liked, but I gave it a go nevertheless. After completely sanding back the last piece and redoing the finish with Organoil instead of Sceneys, the difference is amazing. I now have a slightly shiny, warm finish which is bringing out the grain, just as I wanted (and also matching the previous two pieces).
Given that both of these are claiming to be Pure Tung Oil (no additives listed on either of them), how come I get such completely different results? Admittedly I'm a newbie, but it's not like I was applying them differently...
As the title suggests, I have a question I was hoping someone more experienced than yours truly might shed some light on.
For quite some time I was mooching off a friend's stash of pure tung oil. It was the lovely viscous stuff I remembered my dad using, its consistency largely resembling warm honey. I used this to finish a couple of pieces to great effect, using elbow grease rather than thinner to get it into the wood.
Eventually I tracked down some Sceneys Pure Tung Oil for myself, and used this on my next piece. The consistency of this oil was very different from that I'd used earlier - much more runny - but it seemed to mean a bit less effort required to work with, so I didn't really mind. When freshly applied it looked as if it'd be just as good as the old oil. However, once dried it had a very matte finish, dulling rather than accentuating the wood the way I was used to. It also left the wood looking dry. I tried light coats, medium coats, heavy coats, light sanding, heavy sanding, heavy-over-thin coats, thoroughly wiping off excess oil, etc, all to pretty much the same result - a matte, very uninspiring finish, looking nothing like my previous finishes.
Last weekend I got fed up with it and looked around for some alternative (other than my friend's supply). I found references to Organoil Genuine Pressed Tung Oil on the forum here (thanks!), and in short order acquired some. This oil is also nowhere near the level of viscosity I would have liked, but I gave it a go nevertheless. After completely sanding back the last piece and redoing the finish with Organoil instead of Sceneys, the difference is amazing. I now have a slightly shiny, warm finish which is bringing out the grain, just as I wanted (and also matching the previous two pieces).
Given that both of these are claiming to be Pure Tung Oil (no additives listed on either of them), how come I get such completely different results? Admittedly I'm a newbie, but it's not like I was applying them differently...