Tung Oil Tinting

[John Myer]

Can tung oil be mixed with a powdered dye?

[Prashun Patel]

An oil soluble powdered dye, yes. But beware. I've had bad luck adding oil dyes to BLO. It is really hard to get the powder to homogenize in the liquid and you can get 'dots' and runny streaks. You have to heat the tung to make it more mobile to accept the powder. Alternatively, you can pre-dissolve the powder in mineral spirits and then add that to the tung.

If it were me, I'd dye the piece first with an aniline dye in water, and then apply yr tung after it dries. The tung oil won't attack or lift the dye in this case.

More control, less mess, better results (for ME, at least).

[Scott Holmes]

Are you talking about pure tung oil or one of the "TO" finishes?

I think you're are playing with fire.