Sceneys vs Organoil pure tung oil - completely different finish?!

**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...

**LGS** · 3rd September 2013, 06:45 PM

Hi Johny,

Wattyl produce a product called "Natural Teak Oil, which suggests that it is pure Teak Oil. However, if you look the Product data sheets, you see that it has a number of additives. There are also additives that are not listed Have a look at the relevant data sheets for both the Sceneys and Organoil product and see what they say. It's my experience that the Sceneys is much thicker than the Organoil product. I suggest you dilute the Sceney's oil down 1:3 with WHite Spirit and try it on a piece of scrap. I think you'll find the finish will be closer to what you are used to.
You might want to try hard burnishing the oil as well. It'll give you the kind of finish seen here. (which is also radiant heat and liquid resistant. So you get no "rings" on your table and no heat and steam damage on your kitchen bench.)

Regards,

Rob

**JohnyM** · 4th September 2013, 11:13 AM

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the reply! I checked both sheets for the tung oils, and neither lists any additives. It's interesting that you've found Sceneys to be thicker than the Organoil - for me it's the opposite. I guess I'll chalk this down to "natural variations" for now, and I'll try a few side-by-side comparisons at some point and experiment with thinning it to various levels. The finish in your photos looked great! In my particular case it's a somewhat different field, with slightly different requirements - they're practice weapons for my martial arts training. As such they tend to see rather hard use and require frequent maintenance, and undiluted tung oil is the tried & true traditional way of keeping them "alive" (or so I'm told

). The pieces in question are a set of knife/sword/staff which I'm hoping will last me a lifetime with good care, hence why I wanted them to also look good, not just be functional!

wpnset_small.jpg
Purple heart with pine inlay (my first go at inlays - you can probably tell). All hand-tools except I cheated and used a dremel to get the initial depth on the inlay segments.

**LGS** · 4th September 2013, 12:22 PM

**rsser** · 9th September 2013, 07:02 PM

LGS' tests on hard burnishing are excellent.

Re 'what's in the can'?, the maker may put out a data sheet and has to put out an MSDS which I'm told only needs to include contents that may pose a safety risk.

In short, it can be difficult to know what the ingredients in a finish are. Part of this is about 'commercial in confidence' issues.

You can always email them and ask however.

"Tung oil" comes in a range of formulations and there can be a load of other stuff in there including a predominance of resins along with solvents and driers.

I haven't tested it but have faith in the supplier of this pure tung oil: http://www.thewoodworks.com.au/index...nufacturer_id=

**JohnyM** · 9th September 2013, 10:12 PM

Thank you, I appreciate the response (and link)!

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