Tung oil finish/ scratch repair

[JCT]

I never had much luck fixing scratches or refinishing until now. My new Uberti Henry 1860 had some rough edges from the factory, a scratch when new and a few since using it. I thought I'd try Formby's tung oil to have a better finish and a maintainable finish I can sand and touch up whenever needed.
I sanded off the factory finish and throughout the week applied 6 coats of tung oil by hand, lightly sanding in between each coat with 600 grit.
At the final 2 coats I used 1000 grit. It left a smooth but matte/dull finish. That's about as good as I could ever get it. I planned to just wax and hand rub it to get a semi gloss....
This time I thought I'd try using Flitz polish which buffs it up a bit finer than the sandpaper could. Then I came across "Dean Markley" Love potion guitar polish. It's a deep cleaner. I think it's got a superfine grit to it. It smells like brasso a little, but it's purple in color.
It was amazing how quick the tung finish started becoming very glossy and as good or better than new! I will leave it to cure for the week, but it's an improvement over the factory finish I think.
I like having a usable system now to fix and refinish grips and stocks. I couldn't have done it without the Flitz and the guitar cleaner. Amazing products, it's easy to get a great finish this way. Here's some pictures:

 

[Coltdriver]

You can get a gloss finish with tung oil by first filling in the wood and then putting a coat on and letting it cure for a day. Smooth it off with steel wool, ad another coat, etc until you get the gloss you want.

 

[JCT]

That's how I would normally do it, but I could never get a flawless and smooth surface that way. Maybe the tung oil is too thick sometimes, but even on my final coat, I'd normally get streaks ( Not enough tung oil ) or runs ( Too much tung oil ) . What I did this time is just apply a final coat and sand then polish it to a gloss.

 

[Coltdriver]

That is a very nice finish.

My most recent project is about a year old and I noticed that the wood has dulled a bit. Maybe the tung oil soaked further into it. I was trying for that satin look but now its almost flat.

I might give your method a try.

 

[DutchmanDick]

What is the difference between a tung oil finish and a linseed oil finish? I watched the YouTube videos by "SC digger" where he cleans up one of the Nepal cache P1853 muskets, and he uses a tung oil finish on the stock. Didn't they originally use boiled linseed oil?

 

[JCT]

I think they're very similar. Both are drying oils that polymerize ( from what I've read ). I used tung because it's a classic finish with a slight tint of it's own and it should be easy to touch up and maintain.
I have used a mix before to thin out the tung oil, but it's really not needed.

 

[scrat]

Jct thats friggen amazing good job. Man i bet that just killed you to have to sand a new gun stock though. i would have been biting my nails. You have been talking about that baby for a while. Post some big pics of it again.

 

[JCT]

I didn't mind too much, I knew even if the finish didn't come out great, I would have touched up the flaws from the factory. They had chips around the sling swivel and where the stock meets the receiver. I got a big scratch on it last week and I don't even know how, I just noticed it while shooting.... It happens I guess, but I thought I'd try a refinish and now I know how to duplicate the results. I have a couple spots that in the light I can see some lines from sanding, I'll go over those again, but otherwise, I like how it came out.

 

[Niner]

Good job on the stock

I've used Formbys Tung Oil finish before on some wood projects. It comes in matt or glossy finish. Works fine as this string shows but its not just tung oil it has some varnish, lacquer or shellac added to it. Don't have any of it around to read the label to rediscover in the fine print which at the moment.

 

[sundance44s]

Toung oil gives a nice weather resistant finish ..I use it on all my long guns that I`ve refinished the wood on ..The first coats dry fast ..but I always try and give them 15 coats to finish ..it takes some time but worth the effort ..does best hand rubbed , rub it in untill to gets warm from the friction .

 

[mykeal]

Splitting hairs here - Formby's and Miniwax Tung Oil Finishes are not true tung oils (the key is the word 'Finish') - they do have some proprietary additives that create a fairly glossy finish. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something you should know.

BLO (hand rubbed) and true tung oil give a very similar finish with a fair amount of work required. Tung oil FINISH takes less work, results in a glossier finish (which can be buffed to a satin finish with little effort), is easier to maintain but harder to repair (in my opinion).

I have some stocks with 30 year old true tung oil finishes that I've never had to touch up, and the guns were heavily used. However, I'm currently using tung oil FINISH on my projects because I like the finish I can get with less work. Time will tell if I'm fooling myself, however.

 

[Tru Griff]

"What is the difference between a tung oil finish and a linseed oil finish? I watched the YouTube videos by "SC digger" where he cleans up one of the Nepal cache P1853 muskets, and he uses a tung oil finish on the stock. Didn't they originally use boiled linseed oil?"

In an answer to this that they are similar I'm curious as to what the down side was to using the boiled linseed oil?

The stock on my original 1863 Colt special model contract musket soaks up Old English like sand in the desert so I have a gallon of the linseed oil I was about to try before a friend of mine who restores antique wood said to use tung oil. Is there a major difference in the two for maintaining reasons or ...?

 

[Titanvk56]

I have used Formby's tung oil finish, true oil and linseed oil with great success.

As far as the differences I don't have a clue but if I had a gallon of linseed oil on hand then that's what I would be using.

 

[S&W45]

I bought a nice used Piatta 1851 Colt Navy Civilan Model last spring. Grips look like they had been coated with melted plastic! I striped them and used Formby's tung oil. I only used 2 coats but they look great now.
Very nice job on your Henry.

 

[djfrank14]

Time will tell...

How is the flitz polish holding up after 2 years+ when this thread was started?

I have a Tunged guitar body that i'd like to really polish up but i'm not sure how to treat the final coat (Carnauba Wax or Flitz?) Any help or advice would be appreciated, this is my first project using Tung.


Cheers,

Dan

 

[gizmodog]

i may be mistaken but from my experience.. boiled linseed oil will stay gummy if japan drier is not mixed with it.

i have used tung oil (formbys) and linseed oil.

i have had great success with tung oil. many light coats and then a lite steel buffing between several coats produces a beautiful finish.

i have a little .22 with a breechwood stock bought for a grandson. stripped the stock breached it a little and hand rubber linseed oil / japan drier about fifty coats. beautiful satin finish which is as smooth as a baby's butt.
when folks pick up that little $87.00 rifle they usually comment.

nice job on the henry almost to nice to touch!

gizmodog

 

[donjr5]

Tung oil (true tung oil) is BLO with Japan dryer added to speed drying. Danish oil is BLO based, but slower drying than tung oil. Tru Oil (a Burchwood-Casey product) has more Japan dryer and some tint added.
When using a BLO-based product, you'll get better results rubbing with steel wool rather than sandpaper. Glitz or Guitar polish will help you polish up a good shine, paste wax will protect that finish and add more shine.

 

[Jaymo]

Tung oil is not boiled linseed oil. They are two totally different oils. Boiled linseed oil has been treated with dryers. Raw linseed oil won't ever dry enough for stock work.
Tung oil provides better protection from acid, moisture, rot, etc, than linseed oil.
Linseed oil will sweat out of the wood when it gets hot. Tung oil will not.

 

[788Ham]

Coltdriver,

I used BLO on an old Rem. model #33 stock, it was drier than corn flakes! I sanded it with 0000 steel wool, and over 2 weeks time applied 8 coats of the BLO, sanding between coats. Another gent on this forum told me about "Rotten Stone", its a fine powder that you can buy from Brownell's. Dip a felt pad lightly into the BLO, shake a little bit of RS onto the felt pad and "lightly" rub the pad over the whole stock, you might have to reapply the BLO and RS to the pad, it won't cover the whole stock with one dipping. DO THIS on a dry stock only!! After the rubbing is complete, wipe off the stock completely, set it up to dry. It will leave a satin finish when dried. I was amazed at the outcome of this stock, my buddy couldn't believe it was the same rifle!