Formby's T/O Another Question

[Stephen McGregor]

I've got about 7 coats of Formby's T/O on my walnut project(I may put one more on it, just because). Can I use something like BriWax with my 0000 steel wool to do my final buffing of the project? Is there something better??

Thanks,

Steve

[Joe Chritz]

Formby's tung oil isn't really tung oil. It is a varnish of some sort made from a tung oil base. I don't know what resin is used but it really doesn't make any difference for your ?.

You can use wax if you wish after a film finish and it is often used to change the sheen of the final finish. I don't believe it adds much in the way of protection at all but must admit I don't really ever use it on finishes.

I don't use steel wool. Lots of people use it a lot without problems but the synthetic stuff is a lot better and easier to use.

Joe

[Steve Schoene]

Don't use BriWax, unless you mean BriWax 2000. A solvent in the original Briwax (toluene) is strong enough that it can damage finishes that haven't had LOTS (ie. multiple months) to cure. It's really designed as a cleaning wax for old furniture with years to have cured.

As Joe pointed out it tung oil, it is a varnish, but I'm not even sure it is based around tung oil.

[Stephen McGregor]

Thanks gentlemen, what synthetic stuff would you recommend for the final buffing?

Thanks BUCOOs for keeping me from putting the Briwax that I have on it.

Steve...

[Stephen McGregor]

PS: I'd read quite a bit about the Formby's in some of the earlier posts not having any TO in it, and having some vegtable Tung or something. But I wil say, it does give a very nice soft Hand Rubbed finish to the walnut.

Steve

[glenn bradley]

I've used plain old Johnson' Paste Wax with success for years when i want to wax a finish.

[Stephen McGregor]

Hi Glenn, thanks, that's what I'd used for years, but somewhere read about BriWax. I have the Johnson's Paste wax and that's what I'll used. "

Great help Genn/guys, thanks,

Steve

[ron jones1]

Just finished a walnut stand for the tv. Used "wiping varnish" type of tung oil. Read somewhere that someone recommended using a paper grocery bag to buff the finish but I couldn't find one so I used some 2000 grit sandpaper very gently. I was impressed. It made a big difference. Very smooth and looks great.

[Joe Chritz]

I have no idea the brand but I have used "synthetic" steel wool from a number of sources. I order it from any of the online suppliers if I remember to add any to an order going out and if I don't I grab some at the local borg.

Joe

[Andrew Gibson]

I have found that the white scotchbright works best for my, for applying and final buffing.

I have been told that you can get white scotchbright pads for a floor buffer, and they cost the same or a little less that the pack of the 2 little squares. I always mean to check at the borg when I'm there but always forget. It might have to be a borg with a tool rental, I don't think they all rent tools.

[Scott Holmes]

Mr Formby has made a fortune selling a highly thinned alkyd resin/soya oil varnish. The only thing it has to do with pure tung oil is the color is about the same and the WORDS "Tung Oil" on the label.

VERY VERY expensive wiping varnish, it's 85% mineral spirits.

[Steve Schoene]

Scott--you should check the MSDS. The one I looked at showed that it was only 70% mineral spirits, which is well in line with other wiping varnishes.

I agree it is expensive per ounce, but for smallish projects, you may well end up spending less for Formby's than for other varnishes, where you have to buy a quart, and letting most of it go bad before you get to the next project. The shelf life of opened varnish isn't all that long. (I saw it at about $8 for an eight ounce container, which would be $16 for half a quart--not too far from the price of a quart of good varnish.)

It is about the only non-poly varnish you can find at the big boxes and lots of other local outlets, as the Cabot 8000 series, or the Pratt & Lambert varnishes become harder to find.

[Stephen McGregor]

Ah, very interesting... But I agree, a $6 can makes for much easier than some of the "mix it yourself" things (while great) can be very labor intensive(well for a novice like me anyway).

But it is sad they are allowed to "mis-lead" if that is the case, what's truly in the can...

[Steve Schoene]

Though the product name is Tung Oil Finish (my emphasis) The noun saying it is Finish, while the words Tung Oil are merely adjectives describing what the finish is supposed to represent. The label does say that it is varnish, on both the front, and on the back in the instructions sections. The MSDS says it very clearly, as well.

The ONLY pure tung oil products available are very specifically labeled as 100% or Pure tung oil. All the rest of the tung oil finishes, from a number of companies, are either wiping varnishes like the Formby's or mixes of oil and varnish like the Minwax Tung Oil Finish.

Why do the manufacturers do this? Pure tung oil is a very inferior product as a finish. It dries very slowly--best allow 3 days between coats. It typically requires 5 coats, sanded between each, to achieve an even satin sheen. And, that finish isn't very protective--only a little more moisture resistant than a boiled linseed oil finish (also not recommended as a finish). In addition, it isn't very long lived. About every year or so it would need to be cleaned, scuffed and a new coat added to keep in looking fresh. BUT, the manufacturer's know that Tung Oil NAME has acquired a market appeal for an natural thin or "in-the-wood" finish, but the real stuff does such a lousy job of accomplishing that, so they market "imitation" tung oil FINISH, that in the end is superior to the real stuff.
Convoluted, yes. Deceptive, not so much. At least it's the kind of everyday marketing deception that consumers must learn to figure out to avoid being babes in the woods.

Besides it is a quite decent, relatively light colored varnish that because it is based around soya oil will yellow less overtime than the linseed oil varnishes--which include virtually all the polyurethane varnishes. It's expensive per ounce, if you really need to buy 4 little bottles to make up a full quart.

[Scott Holmes]

Hey Steve,

Looks as if they changed the MSDS sheet, I have an old one that showed % by volume not weight.