Oil on Cherry?

[Hans Braul]

Somewhere I read that tung oil on cherry is not a good idea. I have just built an end table of cherry, and am about to finish it. I want to pop the grain, and am seeking advice. I was amazed at how good Min-Wax wipe-on poly was on my last project, but am sure I could do better. I need the piece to be tough and water resistant (drinks placed on table). Should I apply an oil coat under the final finish?

Hans

[Jim Becker]

Garden variety BLO is what I use. "Real" tung oil takes eons to cure, is more expensive than BLO and will not really look any different. My finishing schedule for cherry (which is my preferred species to work) starts with BLO, followed by de-waxed garnet shellac, followed by whatever top coat I've chosen to use. Sometimes it's just shellac. Sometimes it's water borne. (Target Coatings USL) On some decorative items, I use Tried and True original with the beeswax as the complete finish.

[Scott Thornton]

Jim:

How long does Tung Oil take to cure/dry? I have never used BLO or Tung, but have some pure tung oil. I had read somewhere that if you thin it with mineral spirits, it dries quicker.

The reason I am asking is that I am experimenting with different finishes. I am making four tables and on the bottoms, I am trying different things.

The first table I am working on, I have used several coats of dewaxed garnet shellac and am going to use a varnish. I would like to try an oil, then shellac, then varnish on the next one. I was planning to use the tung oil, but am concerned about the drying time.

I'm trying to find a way to evenly color my cherry without staining and blotching. The cherry I have is very figured, but varies from almost white to red in some spots.

Thanks.

[Steve Schoene]

Tung oil can easily take a week to cure enough to overcoat--in good drying conditions. Thinning will have some but not a dramatic impact on the speed of curing. A thinner coating may have greater contact with oxygen helping the chemical reaction along a bit faster.

[Dennis Peacock]

BLO for cherry for sure. Thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits and rubbed on nice and thin...just enough to pop the grain. The best use of Tung oil is the Minwax brand that I used most of the time when using tung oil. Thinned with mineral spirits, it will dry enough for me to topcoat in about 2 days. BLO will do a nice job on the cherry and will cure well enough to clear coat in about 48 to 72 hours (depending on shop environment and temp).

My vote would be BLO thinned with MS at a 50/50 mix.:D

[Chris Barton]

I have tried real Tung oil on cherry and it's a nightmare. Not because of how it looks but, because it does take forever to dry just as Jim points out. Additionally, it's very difficult to tell if it's really dry. I did this on a curly cherry table I made this year and found that the shellac that I was using for my final finish kept having bleed through from the oil. The commercially available BOL finishes often have no actual linseed oil in them but, are just wiping varnishes. I have also tried water-based satin poly for this kind of work when you need extra durability and it has worked well for me.

[Hans Braul]

Thanks guys - I have applied BLO 50/50 as Dennis suggested and it really has popped out the grain and given the wood a deeper colour than if I had gone straight to the wipe on poly. I will wait a couple of days before continuing with the finishing process (as impatient as I am to keep the project moving!).

Hans

[Steve Schoene]

The best use of Tung oil is the Minwax brand that I used most of the time when using tung oil. Thinned with mineral spirits, it will dry enough for me to topcoat in about 2 days.D[/QUOTE]

Minwax Tung Oil Finish is an oil/varnish mix, that has already been significantly thinned--its MSDS shows 65% Stoddard Solvent--a variety of mineral spirits. I couldn't tell if there is actual tung oil in the product.

[Jim Becker]

I couldn't tell if there is actual tung oil in the product.

Rumor has it there isn't any...the marketing folks got quite creative when they named it.

[Matt P]

I don't know how everyone keeps getting great results with oil as a first coat on cherry or walnut, but for me I find that the oil does not penetrate evenly and results in a blotchy looking finish, and darkens the walnut considerably. I find that using only shellac avoids any blotching, and doesn't darken the walnut. What am I missing with this blotchiness?

[Jim Becker]

"Blotchiness" is just the figure of the wood absorbing the oil at a different rate. Multiple application of oil sometimes will even it out, but if you don't like the look, avoid the oil.

As to the walnut, yes the oil will darken it a bit...but walnut lightens over time with UV and oxidation. But given this is a personal preference thing, there is no harm in going directly to shellac if you like that!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Rumor has it there isn't any...the marketing folks got quite creative when they named it.

Jim I wrote to Minwax about there Tung Oil mix. What I was told is yes it did have Tung Oil in it but could not tell me the how much or what % because it was a trade secret. What did surprise me was he did offer to tell me that Homer Formsby Tung Oil finish is about the same and it does have more tung oil in it than Minwax does.

[Steve Schoene]

Well, Formby's Tung Oil finish has no tung oil, it is a varnish, not an oil/varnish mix. The varnish may have used tung oil as one of the ingredients but it is now just a part of a different chemical compound. Calling it a trade secret is actually a bit disengenous it seems to me, since surely any of the larger competitors can analyse its chemical content. It's consumers Minwax wants to keep in the dark.