Tung Oil finish

[Dwight Van Lake]

Hi All,

I am a newbe at this forum stuff

I just made a crib for my new grandson. Use solid walnut & walnut ply, finished sanding down to 220.

1st coat: Watco walnut danish oil stain, 24 hour dry.
2nd coat: Woodcraft 100% Tung oil. mixed 60/40 tung oil/paint thinner, 12-14 hour dry.
3rd coat: same mix, 3hour dry
4th coat: 70/30 mix(approx)
temp for all coats was around 75-90 and very dry
The tung oil says 100% premium,

Problem: uneven shine, some spots dried slower, small amount of white film in spots, raised hairs on the ply.

All signs of rushing the coats, I know. However, I have used this tung oil for years and have put as many as 5 coats on a project in 12 hours, always wiping away the excess immediately & completely. End results has always been a incredible show of the woods beautiful grain.

Now I know there are lots of craftsmen, men & ladies, that don't like tung oil and those that do. I have always had fantastic results and it has always been my choice of finish when the desire to show of the woods beauty was higher then the need to have a 100% moisture resistant finish.

Question: what is the best way to fix it.

I was looking at Waterlox. I have found the sheen to be manageable if buffed with 0000 steel wool. In addition, Being a tung oil base, I was hoping I might get away without having to strip the past coats of tung oil off. I am also concerned about the front & 2 side pieces matching. They are oil stained only.

Open to suggestion!

[Howard Acheson]

Watco oil contains a resin (varnish) which, when it dries seals the surface of the wood. Additional applications of an oil will either not penetrate at all or will penetrate unevenly.

Tung oil is the slowest curing oil you could use. Certainly 3 hours is not enough. Tung oil takes 5-10 days to cure and additional coats should not be applied before that.

If it were my project, I would rub the surface with mineral spirits and rub it in with 3/0 steel wool followed by wiping with lots of paper towels to remove the gunk. Let the surface fully dry and at that point you can apply Waterlox Original. I would not apply any film finish until the surface is fully dry.

[Scott Holmes]

Your tung oil is doing very little if anything fo rthis project. The watco has sealed the wood; the tung oil can do little but leave a sticky mess.

Watco is an oil (linseed) varnish blend with a stain added. An oil/varnish blend is much better protection than pure tung oil.

Howie advice is sound, although I don't like steelwool between coats or on raw wood because the small shards of steelwool left behind will end up embedded in the finish and will rust. Probably wont matter on walnut.

Waterlox is an excellent varnish and looks great on walnut. They also sell it in satin so you will not need to knock the shine down as you would with the gloss finish.

[Dwight Van Lake]

thanks Howard & Scott,

You both confirmed what I was alredy seeing as the path. The only thing I was not sure about was how to use the MS and would it effect the the stain color.

98% of the project looks fine, most of the iregularity is on the walnut ply.

How critical is removing all of the tung oil? Waterlox, being a tung oil base itself. I ran test pieces, and it worked fine. Then again, I ran test samples with Watco and 5 coats of tung oil, they looked fantastic. I took those same sampples and added a coat of original sealer/finnish, 24 hours dry, 0000 steel wool rub, satin finish, 24 hours dry, 0000 steel woll rub. lookd great.

I guess I am just concerned with making a bad issue worse.

[Dave Shute]

I would email Waterlox and ask their tech people about your situation, they will advise you. I use Waterlox almost exclusively, it is very predictable once you get the hang of it and when done correctly is a premium finish.

[Dwight Van Lake]

Thanks Dave,

Spoken to the owner several times. Will see how it goes.

[Prashun Patel]

Dwight-

The issue is not compatibility. Although Waterlox is a tung oil base, it is modified into a resin-forming varnish. It, like any oil-based varnish (except possibly polyurethane) is compatible with the tung oil you've put on.

The issue is putting a hard finish on top of a soft finish. It can be done, but you risk the top layer remaining soft, and the surface appearing not to dry.

I believe that's why Howard is recommending to wipe off the tung oil with mineral spirits. There's nothing magical about then putting Waterlox on top.

[Dwight Van Lake]

Hi All,

ok, I used MS to clean off the tung oil. Using clean, lint fee, cotton rags. Not sure what I would see, having never done this before, Howard mentioned having lots of paper towels to wipe up the mess. well, I am not seeing a mess. I don't even see much residue on the white rags.

Is it possible that because I had already sealed the surface with the Danish oil stain, the tung oil I was wiping on and then off again, was not leaving much film on anyways, or do I need to be way more agressive with the MS?

I have also been running samples with the Waterlox and I am just not happy with the sheen and the dificulty in applying it. I have used both the original and the satin, steel wool between coats, original costs 1 & 2, followed by one final coat of satin. Used foam brushes. What I have noticed, is that neither like to be applied on a vertical surface, even thin coats. Obviously, great on floors and I could see it working well on tables, but having a hard time getting comfortable/confident using it on my project. Both the front and back pieces are loaded with slats and all 4 sides have muliti-angeled moldings, making it very very challenging to not have runs. Buffing between the coats was also problematic, especially in the conners where the top and bottom panels meet the corner post and the grains are running different directions.

I am also considering using a spray on satin lacquer, Deft. I use it on my stained kitchen cabinets, and I liked the outcome better then what I am seeing with the Waterlox.

any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

I tried to add photos, but cant seem to figure it out, using my ipad

[Prashun Patel]

Wipe it on instead of using a foam brush. Original sealer finish is already wiping consistency. Others need to be thinned.