Finishing with Tung Oil

[dak0ta]

Hello,

I just refinished my birch Marlin stock, and I'm on the 6th coat of Tung Oil. I let the 5th coat dry for 4 days, but it was still sticky to the touch. So I used some 0000 steel wool to buff the stock and I added a 6th coat.

If I am letting it dry for 4 days and it's still sticky, does this mean that by the 5th coat, the wood has absorbed as much of the oil as possible and the Tung oil layers underneath cannot absorb anymore either?

If I stop at 6 Tung Oil coats, would that offer enough protection to the stock? Also, how do I get rid of the stickiness? Will it go away with time like if I let it dry for a week or more? Or is it something you buff off with steel wool? I'm concerned that I lose the sheen of the TO when I use steel wool and I'm left with a semi-gloss satin finish.

Help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Shadow 7D]

Wow, you over did it a bit...

The most I've ever done is three, I sanded the first and second coats, using them as seal/base coats with the third as a gloss coat. Um, so the wait 30 min and wipe up excess, must have missed that part of the instruction. Your done, unless you have ripple and drip marks, take some good floor paste or car wax and make it blindingly glossy

 

[madcratebuilder]

You are putting the TO on to thick. Apply it with your finger tip, just enough to cover. Work about 2 sq inches at a time and work in one direction. I steel wool every 2 or 3 coats until the grain is completely filled, that can take up to 20+ coats. The end results are well worth the work. You well have a water proof, hard surface that is glass smooth with out the 'coated' look. This well be a matt finish. If you want a high gloss finish use "Fronby's TO finish" with the same technique.

 

[Ratdog68]

You are putting the TO on to thick. Apply it with your finger tip, just enough to cover. Work about 2 sq inches at a time and work in one direction. I steel wool every 2 or 3 coats until the grain is completely filled, that can take up to 20+ coats. The end results are well worth the work. You well have a water proof, hard surface that is glass smooth with out the 'coated' look. This well be a matt finish. If you want a high gloss finish use "Fronby's TO finish" with the same technique.

So... the application process would be pretty much the same as for Tru-Oil then, huh? I was puting it on too thick (at first) last year when I was re-doing my smoke pole stock. Once I ammended my technique... I started getting the right results. "Hand rubbed" was the literal key.

 

[earlthegoat2]

So... the application process would be pretty much the same as for Tru-Oil then, huh? I was puting it on too thick (at first) last year when I was re-doing my smoke pole stock. Once I ammended my technique... I started getting the right results. "Hand rubbed" was the literal key.

Thats exacty it. Tung oil used on stocks is to be put on one micro layer at a time. Dont quote me on this but I think Tru-Oil is a polymerized tung oil. I use my index and middle finger of my strong hand to rub it. I set the stock up in a checkering cradle so I dont have to hold it myself and keep it there until the stock is done. I also will thin the oil on the first few coats to hasten penetration. It is not necessary though. It makes the first few coats go on even slower. Sometimes with the thinned oil I will use 320 grit sandpaper while rubbing on the oil to fill the pores faster.

 

[thomis]

Yes, "Formby's" will result in a high gloss finish. I just finished my workshop table topped with 7/8" thick birch plywood with Formby's TO. It is actually a varsol blended finish and not a true Tung Oil. But I am happy with the results of my table. I was putting it on too thick also, and got the tacky feeling effect. The last couple coats, I applied much lighter and the tacky feeling went away. I also did this in February when the air was extremely dry, and I think that helped.

 

[Maj Dad]

I have and use pure Tung oil and Formby's, and they are quite different. Like Thomis says, Formby's is a blend and dries easily and with a hard finish. Pure Tung oil is absorbed by the wood, and when it is saturated it just sits on the wood and gets gummy. I used pure Tung on a walnut GI M1 stock and a birch GI M14 stock - they both turned out very nice, but they don't have the hard glossy finish of Formby's or Tru-Oil. I experienced the same thing that Dak0ta did first time out and learned that you had to apply it sparingly and when it stopped being absorbed, stop applying.

When the M1 stock makers switched to Tung from linseed oil in WW2, the stocks were dipped in the oil and allowed to drip dry - no extended process of rubbing, etc. And across the Florida parishes in south Louisiana there were large Tung tree groves with signs stating they were US reserves for wartime production, or similar wording. They had to be fenced off as the nuts are poisonous to livestock and open range cattle that got into the groves & ate the nuts would die. So don't lick your fingers after applying it...

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Wow, you over did it a bit...

I don't think so! I never use less than 8 coats and usually 10-12. Use madcratebuilder's technique and you won't be disappointed!

 

[Al Thompson]

large Tung tree groves

I remember those as a kid.. Nice to have my memory confirmed.

Lots of light coats is more better than the opposite....

 

[Shadow 7D]

AH, yes, your are right, and I must find the real stuff,
I used the formby's stuff, on a light sanded and steamed stock, I stained and sealed it then applied the first coat, as thick as I could to dampen with out excess, I was going to go back to rub it in, but by the time i finished the stock, the other end had already sucked it in.

So I let it dry and the next day I put the second coat on, I let that dry then sanded it cross-wise to the grain with 300 then 600 sandpaper, until it was smooth to the touch. I then did the last coat, and after it had dried I buffed it with 000 steal wool until it was knocked down, and applied two coats of Johnson and Johnson paste wax.

I like the slick yet tacky feel it gives (strangely enough the smell too) and I was happy with the results, I admit that it isn't the deep luster you can develop with alot of care, but it sure the hell beat polyurethane, and I think has a deeper luster than most guitar finishes.

OH, this was on a Yogo SKS stock, wow, I had time on my hands, hehe, you can polish a turd.

 

[jdowney]

just buff out with steel wool to get rid of any sticky residue. pure tung doesn't form a hard film the way a lot of comercial blends like tru oil do. once you start getting the sticky film that you buff off, stop applying more, you've got it pretty well saturated at the surface. if you want to add more at this point you have to put it on very lightly, with a rag that isn't dripping with the stuff. you can also go over the tung oil with a blend oil if you want a glossier finish, or you can also wax it.

if you use any rags for application, be careful not to wad them up in the trash, they will sometimes spontaneously combust. lay them out flat and toss them out once they're stiff and dry.

 

[janobles14]

cut your tung oil with mineral spirits. its thins it and helps it work into the wood.