Tung Oil Stock refinish (sticky?)

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cgjunk2

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Hello all,

I am refinishing the stock and forend on my Ithaca 37 DSPS with straight tung oil (made by minwax). I have put one coat on and buffed and it seems a bit sticky still after nearly a day of drying. I plan on putting several coats on over the next few days, but I am worried that it will stay sticky. Does tung oil ever dry to a point where it feels truly dry, or does it keep some stickiness? I have somewhat sweaty hands and would find it really annoying if it stayed sticky even after it is dry. If it does stay sticky, can anyone recommend something to put over it that will eliminate this problem.

Thanks for any help.
 
The trick is to use thin coats. If it's still sticky after two days, you've put on too much.
 
If you use thin coats it doesn't penetrate the wood as well as if you use thicker coats. Don't soak it in the stuff, but it should be pretty well covered. You'll find that the first coat gets soaked up pretty well, then the second, thrid, etc. coats will take longer to dry. make sure you sand out any bubbles/pooling between coats and it should look pretty fancy when you're done. Depending on the dryness of the wood and the relative temperature and humidity the tung oil may take a few days to completely dry.

If it ever needs touching up you don't have to sand the whole thing down, just hit the affected spot lightly and apply more tung oil to even it out.

(I used to lay wood flooring and we finished it with tung oil a lot)
 
My method on milsurps is to rub the tung oil (I use 100% tung) into the wood with 0000 steel wool. Immediately after application, I get any excess oil off the stock by very lightly wiping with a clean cloth. Depending on temp and humidity, it generally takes from one to two days for the stock to dry. I then gently rub down the dry stock with 0000 steel wool again. I repeat these steps ~4-8 times, depending on the stock.
 
I have done a few stocks in minwax tung oil.

First of all, wipe on the first coat, let it sit for a few minutes then wipe it off.

Give it two days to dry if you are in a humid climate. Do not paint a fresh coat over a sticky coat!

Sand the wood with very fine sand paper, 220 or so. Then repeat step one.

Then repeat this process about three or four times.

Then repeat but instead of sanding use steel wool. Preferably 000 guage. And stop wiping the tung oil off. But do use very thin coats.

I personally like very deep high gloss. You can flatten or satin the coating by wiping it off.

You will bring your stock to an absolutely beautiful deep gloss if you follow this method. It will take a couple of weeks to get it right but it is worth the wait. And if you ever scuff it, just hit it with steel wool and put another light coat on it.

If you want a quicker finish try this same process with spar varnish. It will only take about three coats to get a nice gloss. The problem it that it is tough to get the same very smooth coat that tung oil will give you.

Good Luck!
 
Minwax isn't Tung Oil. Not sure what it is, but the amount of tung oil in the can is very small.
Tung oil, Minwax or the real stuff can be cut with mineral spirits to get a thinner mix. I use a cut about 60% Tung oil and 40% mineral spirits. Gets a great looking finish that isn't tacky or thick looking. The other posters are right on. Thinner coats are better.
Hopes pure tung oil is the stuff I use.

ZM
 
Thanks for all your input folks!

Zeke, you mentioned that minwax isn't tung oil. The stuff I bought is called Tung Oil Finish in a yellow Minwax can. Does anyone know if this is thinned down tung oil, or is it something else completely? Wouldnt this be a truth in advertising issue if it wasn't tung oil, or is it because the name has "finish" in it, that gets them off the hook (like Orange juice "drink", with 5 percent juice) :cuss:

I wonder if it would be a problem to do the follow up coats with pure tung oil?
 
I have some "tung oil" I bought at Wally World that is only 50% tung oil. It still says "tung oil" on the can. The tung oil I buy from Brownell's actually says either pure or 100% (don't have the can handy) tung oil on the can.
 
I have no idea what Minwax put's in it's "Tung Oil". I have a couple of guns done with Minwax. It's a heavy, thick, shiny almost varnish-like. In contrast pure tung oil or my 60/40 mix, soaks into the wood and gives a duller, matte finish. Not near as thick.

I think the minwax stuff has it's uses. I plan to use it as a final topcoat on my next project. This is after I soak the stock in as much tung oil as the wood will take. The gun is a Enfield Sporter so a little gloss is OK.

I think I had to wait 72 hours between coats when I refinished my Ishy 2A. The time is well worth it.

ZM
 
Thanks Zeke, now that you mention varnish, it does smell kind of varnishy. I'll probably finish this project with the Minwax Tung oil, since I know I'm not the only one thats done it :p . It's good to know that results are acceptable with it. After the first coat, it looks really nice. After the first coat, it is satin, but I expect it will luster up a bit more after a few coats. I guess Ill have to be patient and let it dry really well before putting on any other coats.
 
That is the Minwax Tung Oil Finish. I got that finish over the laminated stock with no stain using the method I described above.

I sent Minwax a note and asked what percentage of tung oil was in their tung oil finish. I had read that it was not pure tung oil too. I will post back here their reply.

I suspect there are some hardeners in their finish as pure tung oil is not as tough as laquer or spar varnish when you build it up to a gloss.
 
The Minwax finish (and that's how you know it's not pure tung oil: "finish") is not bad stuff, nor is Formby's (which I think is better/tougher). I wouldn't sweat it at all.

The only place I've found pure tung oil is at Woodcraft. I have also cut it when using it as a finish to promote faster/deeper penetration of the wood grain, but I've used denatured alcohol. Seems to work ok.
 
The Official Minwax Reply

I asked: Can you tell me what percent of Minwax Tung Oil Finish is actually Tung Oil?

They replied:

The Minwax Tung Oil Finish is not a pure 100% tung oil. The Tung Oil Finish is a blend of tung oil and an alkyd varnish resin. The formula is proprietary and can not be disclosed.
 
Thanks for the info. It's funny that they replied that it has varnish...

I just put on a second coat of minwax on the stock and after smelling it for a while, now I have a varnish taste in my mouth. :p
 
Have never used Tung Oil, but have used linseed oil quite a bit. It too will produce a high gloss hard finish after numerous coats. Is Tung Oil supposed to be superior to linseed?
 
Ask Minwax for an MSDS sheet and you can probably find the percentages there.
Linseed oil (even the boiled stuff) does not harden very well unless additional driers are added. If it made a hard glossy surface more than likely the driers are present.
 
"...thin coats it doesn't penetrate the wood as well as if you use thicker coats..." Nonsense. Rub it on with a clean lint free cloth until the wood is covered and stop. Then with another clean lint free cloth rub it so it gets warm by friction. Keep rubbing until that coat is rubbed into the wood. Leave it to dry for a minimum of 24 hours and repeat the whole thing until you get the finish you like. Just remember that with enough coats and lots of rubbing you will get a shiny stock that you can never re-stain. Mind you, if it gets a scratch a bit of tung oil on a cloth and a bit of rubbing makes it go away.
Minwax sells pure tung oil and a tung oil based furniture finish. Circa 1850 is another brand that works well.
"...have a varnish taste in my mouth..." Quit sipping it. It isn't moonshine.
 
Tung oil On Ironwood Grips

Hi Guys!

The Thread is very informative! I was hoping to get some advice on how to use tung oil on My Colt 1911 Wood Grips. I have pretty sweating hands and used to believe that rubber was the best grip for me till I tried my friends Colt 1991A1 NRM. It has the CMC Rosewood Grips Which he stripped off the original finish and applied "Natural" wood oil finish. Tung oil he said. The natural finished wood grips are so much better than the rubber. They felt warmer, alive. I could almost feel the fiber helping me grip the gun better. And they were by far the best looking wood grips I've seen! Natural looking not polished or varnished.

I purchased a locally made wood grip and stripped off the varnish. The wood is called "Kamagong" also Philippine Ironwood. Its really hard stuff. It doesn't even sound like wood! I'm told its so dense this wood will not float! If I may trouble you to get advice as to how I should apply the tung oil to the grips. I'm not after a polished finish, just to protect the wood and keep its "Natural" feel and look.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thank you!

Nano
 
I can't tell you definitively -- hopefully someone else can -- but my experience with ultradense hardwoods has been that it's very tough to get them to absorb any finish. This would be especially true for a very thick natural finish like true (undiluted with driers) tung oil. I once tried cutting the tung oil with alcohol, which worked to some degree, but I think that it also dissolved some of the natural oils in the wood, so I think it was at best sort of a break-even situation.
 
I know I am necromancing up a 6 year old thread for my first post but I just used Minwax Tung Oil to refinish a stock...

The MSDS for Minwax Tung Oil finish can be found at http://www.rockler.com/tech/RTD20000218AA.pdf

According to it, Minwax is 65% mineral spirits (or solvent naptha), and 0.2% Cobalt 2-Ethylhexanoate, which is a drying agent.

It's reasonable to assume the remaining percentage is actual tung oil, around 35%.
 
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