tung oil my first try

[John S. Genzer]

Hi
I am making a plant stand out of mahogany for my daughter. This will be my first hardwood project. I have made 2 “proto types” out of pine. On these, I used stain and poly with ok results. For this mahogany project, I would like a more professional looking finish. I think I want to skip the stain and get the natural wood to show up. I’m thinking of using Tung oil? I read some threads about products advertised as Tung oil but they contain no Tung oil. Is there a good Tung oil someone could recommend I get? Do I simply rub on several coats or is there more to it than that? Will a Tung oil finish protect the wood from an occasional water splatter? Is poly or varnish applied over Tung oil for wood finishes that might get water on them?

Obviously I put some money in the mahogany and I sure don’t want to give my daughter a crappy looking plant stand to remember me by.

Thanks for any help,
Nubie:confused:

[Roger Warford]

I'm sure you will get plenty of advice from the experts, but as a beginner I can tell you I just completed my first hardwood project (a small display easel - pics coming later in another post) made of mahagony and finished with tung oil finish. It couldn't have been easier and produced a great finish. I just flooded the surface using a brush, waited about 10 minutes or so making sure that I kept flooding any spots that began to dry out, then wiped off the excess.

In my case, I was in a hurry and wanted to finish both sides at the same time so I rigged up a couple of blocks and used nails as standoffs. I covered the nail heads with painters tape to prevent any reactions with the wood and finish, then finished both sides and laid the pieces gently on the nails to dry. Worked like a champ and didn't leave any marks.

I'll defer to the experts on the protection provided by various finishes, but my understanding is that oil does not provide any protection. A wiping varnish (like the "tung oil finish" I used) will provide some protection.

I picked up Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner that I've seen recommended several times on this forum. It's a great introduction into finishing and you may find it helpful (order it by clicking on the amazon link here at SMC and the forum will benefit a bit too!).

Edit: Oh, and welcome to the Creek! :-)

[Prashun Patel]

John-
I completed a bench for my father out of mahogany. I used boiled linseed oil followed by Waterlox. The BLO really makes the mahogany turn a brilliant shade of reddish brown.

A poor man's alternative to Waterlox is Ace Hardware's Spar Varnish. It's a phenolic resin/tung oil blend as is Waterlox. The Spar Varnish is thicker, though, so you should really thin it with Mineral Spirits if you want to wipe it. I used both the spar varnish and Waterlox on the same piece and I can't tell the difference.

Personally, I like wipe on the 1st couple coats of wiping varnish, and then brush on the middle coats, and then wipe on the final coat. That worked easy for me.

[Danny Thompson]

I think the best choice for you is probably a Tung Oil/Poly blend made by General Finishes called Arm-R-Seal.

I have used pure Tung Oil (mixed with Mineral Spirits to allow thinner coats) with okay results. The Mrs. watered a plant on it and. although it held up pretty well, I wasn't very comfortable.

The blend is a safer route. I have read that this is the same product David Marks uses on his show.