Thread: Pure Tung Oil Finish

Pure Tung Oil darkens the wood about the same as a good, old-fashioned Danish Oil. Which is, after all, a Tung Oil based mix. I'm not talking about the PolyU based stuff they market as DO nowadays, I mean like Rustin's or Organoil DO.

It's applied in the same way - as you described - but takes about twice/thrice as long to dry.

I've used it a lot in the past, only stopped because my supplier ran out of stock and re-sourcing I could only find ridiculous prices or waiting lists. Now I use Rustin's DO... but it's more of a convenience thing.

You really do want to apply your finishes in a warm, dry room away from any dust, especially if your in a cool climate. Otherwise you can wait days between coats and as specks settle in it while still wet, well... longer drying times = more work.

I like to flood-coat the first time and lightly wet sand to fill any grain. Wait a few minutes, wipe off the excess. Wait a full day, then lightly dry sand to remove any grain fibres that have been raised by the first coat. After that, it's just a case of apply, wait, remove excess, wait a day.

Lots & lots of coats. For a competition piece I'd go for a coat per day for 10 days, then put it aside for a week to fully cure. Then a coat per week until I'm happy with the result. More coats means a fuller lustre.

With some timbers, it may start to matte off after a while & look blotchy. Then I put the piece aside for a month or two - again to ensure the current coats are fully cured - then give it a very light sand (1200 grit or higher) and start the process again.

Obviously Tung Oil isn't an "instant" finish.... it takes time & patience. But it's well worth it IMHO.

Yes far as I know pure tung oil takes several days to dry thats why its blended. Also Im not sure if its the oil that changes colour or the wood. My thoughts are its the wood so any finish will darken.

The same as with any finish, apply enough coats & it'll start to take on the hue of the oil/finish.

However, properly applied, each coat of Tung Oil is so thin that it probably takes something like 10 coats to be equivalent to 1 coat of estapol.

oops

I was actually agreeing with you, in a roundabout sort of way.

The first few coats of any finish almost always darken the wood noticeably, at least as much as wetting the wood with water. Some finishes more so.

I think that's just a property of the wood: ie. finished wood looks wet.

I was simply adding that enough coats of any finish to go darker and develop a tint... but it's rarely as much as that first coat. And that's a property of the finish.

Thanks for the replies

Skew ChiDAMN!! when you used the pure tung oil before did you mix it with anything else? or just use it on it's own?

Originally Posted by kandiman

Thanks for the replies

Skew ChiDAMN!! when you used the pure tung oil before did you mix it with anything else? or just use it on it's own?

All on it's lonesome.

There are quite a few simple home brew recipes floating around for making your own Danish Oil with it though.

If you want to speed up drying time, you can always add a few drops of Japan Dryers to each litre of Tung. I'm not sure, but I think they're available from most paint & artist supplies.

Or you can make your own. (see #2741 & #2742)