Tung oil help?? winged bowl

[John Nowack]

I just finshed my second bowl ever (actualy tried a winged bowl to see what happens) and used Tung oil for the finish (3 coats thinned with paint thinner and 3 coat straight) it has set for at least 3 days but the oil still comes to the surface when you touch it.

doesn't pure tung oil (woodcraft brand 100% tung oil) eventually dry hard?
if not can I go ahead and buff with white diamond and follow up with wax (I want it to have a glossier coat than it does now?

the wood is Mamosa
trying to attach a quick pic with no set up just so you can see the unfinished product

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hi John, did you read the instructions on the use :D ???

Also was it 100% pure tung oil or was it Polymerized tung oil ??

If pure Tung oil, you have to let it cure before putting another coat over it, pure tung takes from 1 to 2 days to cure, depending temperature, and the temp. has to be warm as it will not cure if the temperature is too cold.

If you use Polymerized tung oil you can add another coat after 8 to 12 hours depending the temp and drying conditionings.

Ifyou go here you can get the info for the tung oil use HTH

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=20049&cat=1,190,42942

Note the Ample drying time with pure tung oil !!!!! in the instructions.

[John Nowack]

i did read the specs and they were exactly what I did---it is woodcraft brand tung oil and it does not say anything but 100% tung oil---the instructions are the same as the site you provided (thanks by the way) but it says to thin with paint thinner on initial coats--Then add additional coats after 1 hour--do you think i can let it set for a couple weeks to harden given what I have done already--thank you very very much for your time to help me figure this out

[John Nowack]

just read all the attachments you took time put in your reply---wish the product I bought had the detailed of information---thanks again for your time to help me out--I sent the previous post before figuring out how to read the info you already supplied

have a happy and safe holiday

[Louis Harvill]

Sir
I too us Tung oil and have had problems with different brands following these in structions. Finally switched to a brand called Frombey and never had in more trouble. I don't even thin it with paint thinner any more. I mostly use the high gloss and seldom have to buff much to bring out the luster. Three thin coats is all I ever apply. Some times and oiley wood will do strange things to a penetrating oil finish and would not use it on these woods. Hope this helps
louis

[todd johnson]

Sir
I too us Tung oil and have had problems with different brands following these in structions. Finally switched to a brand called Frombey and never had in more trouble. I don't even thin it with paint thinner any more. I mostly use the high gloss and seldom have to buff much to bring out the luster. Three thin coats is all I ever apply. Some times and oiley wood will do strange things to a penetrating oil finish and would not use it on these woods. Hope this helps
louis

If you're talking about Formby's tung oil as in tung oil finish - it's not tung oil. It's more of a wiping varnish with very little to no tung oil in it. They use the name tung oil only as a marketing gimick.

[robert hainstock]

If Mamosa is an open grained wood, you probably should not ever buff with white diamond. Just a thought. :eek::):) Nice looking bowl.
Bob

[Curt Fuller]

Oils in their pure state don't ever dry hard. Pure tung oil is a nut oil much like most of the others such as peanut oil or walnut oil. It's squeezed from the nut of the tung tree that comes from China. So you can expect it to have a little oily feel and maybe even get sticky after time. The different oil finishes like the Formbys or Minwax and others available have different chemicals added to thin them for better penetration, hardners and dryers to make them more convenient to use and more durable. And they don't get rancid. I also tied some pure tung oil from Woodcraft a few years ago. I honestly couldn't see any difference in the look it gave the wood from the minwax tung oil. And I eventually put a couple coats of the minwax product over the pure tung oil because I didn't like the oily feel. I've learned from my experiences that the oil finishes give a much better finish than the pure oils and with a lot less problems. And that includes linseed oil, walnut oil, etc.

[Barry Elder]

Put it on a shelf and check back in 2012 and the pure tung oil might have cured!

[Bernie Weishapl]

I quit using pure tung oil just because it doesn't cure hard. I started using Danish oil or Minwax Antique oil and the latter most of the time. It can also be used on utility items if cured 72 hrs. or longer.

Formbey's Tung oil and Minwax Tung oil as Todd said is not tung oil and have been told by a chemist friend of mine who is a turner that neither has very, very little if any tung oil in it. It is actually a wiping varnish.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Hi Curt, sorry I have to disagree with what you are saying, and I have used and do use both pure and polymerized tung oil.
The tung oils do polymerize, they do not dry and can not be made soft again with thinners, unlike many other finishes.
When the oil has polymerized it is not oily anymore, but becomes a firm dry coating.
Having said all this, there's the problem of what is a finish if it's called: "such and such Tung oil finish", there might be some or no tung oil in it at all, a finish that supposedly makes the wood look like it has a tung finish on it, is all it takes to call it that.

I have done hundreds of bowls and other turnings, and can attest that Pure tung is not oily after it has cured.

You do have to follow the rules, and I believe that that is the biggest obstacle with the problems of using tung oil.

It has to be warm,or it will not polymerize, and you do have to let the coat polymerize fully before putting on the next coat, also it has to have a mechanical bond to the previous coat, so applying with a very fine steelwool or synthetic steel wool should be used for good adhesion.
Here's some excerpt from tung oil properties and characteristics, have fun and take care.

[Louis Harvill]

Thanks Todd and Leo I did not know it was a wiping varnish. Put 3 coats on a 10" X 3.5 " butter nut bowl today. 1st. at 5 am. 2nd. at 10 a.m and third at 3:00 -pm. By 6 p.m. I pulled it off the lathe and set it on shelf to cure. I just had some much trouble with the pure tung oil. Then the lumber yard man susgested the Fromby's. Now that's about all I ever use somes times top it off with jelly jar wax and light buffing. Humidity in North Central Texas varies quite a bit. But I have yet to see a day that I could not apply 3 coats 5 hrs. apart summer or winter. Been using it for some time now.
louis