tung oil ???

[la Huerta]

morning everyone, friday at last !...

has any body tryed using tung oil over brushed shellac, feast watson recommends it but i'v no idea how tough it is as a finish, i need a protective coating for the shelac, something that does not look plastic and i can wax later, thought the tung oil would be the go...

any tips , sugestions or experiences would be appriecated...

[bennylaird]

One of the really great finishes available today (and under rated in my opinion), is tung oil. Most of the tung oil products on the retail market today are not pure tung oil. They have tung oil as a major component but have other additives, primarily varnish. Pure tung oil is available from refinishing supply houses, but don't expect the product you buy across the retail counter to be pure. And please don't be fooled by the phrase "contains pure tung oil". If this line is on the can, you can bet money it contains something else in addition to the 'pure' tung oil.
The positives of tung oil include ease of application, ease of repair (when necessary) and overall durability. Minor scratches can usually be repaired simply by applying another coat of the finish, whether it's next month or next year. The major drawback is its lack of grain filling ability. Unless you're working on a very smooth and grain free wood such as maple, you're not going to get a smooth finish with tung oil. If, however, you like the 'feel' of the wood and don't mind having the texture of grain showing, tung oil may be just what you're looking for.


Tung oils are usually applied in a wipe-on wipe-off method with a short drying time in between. After the wipe off and the coat has dried completely, 0000 steel wool is used to remove surface irregularities, and the process is repeated. Depending on the look you're trying to achieve, you'll apply anywhere from 3 to 6 coats in this manner.

Tung oil is more durable than lacquer and is impervious to water stains. As mentioned before, minor scratches are easily repaired. It's readily available and an ideal finish for butch block tops in kitchens, as well as wooden salad bowls and other wooden food preparation surfaces. Furniture in areas of high use (or abuse) could also benefit from a tung oil finish.

Stolen from http://doityourself.com/woodfinish/wftungoil.htm

[JDarvall]

I've used it on a set of draws I made about 5 years ago. The kids have been ruff with it, yet no apparent pealing, flaking etc. Seems pretty tuff.

I like the oil, cause it sinks in.......also easy to apply. Simple really. Lot of elbow grease though.

[Mike Jefferys.]

Tung Oil (aka China wood oil) is a component of many wood finishing oils but look carefully at the can when you buy. Other oils are used as extenders. I think it's fair to say that there is no badged Tung Oil on the general hardware market which is anywhere near pure. We are in the process of getting pure tung into stock much more affordably than a recognised brand from the UK/France which sells for $120 a litre which we can't / won't stock because of the price. Check with us in a couple of weeks

Mike Jefferys - The Wood Works Sydney - Sorry if the Ad offends!

[la Huerta]

Mike...do you have a website? what sort of woody stuff do you do over there...

[barryr]

Hell of a long answer Benny but you forgot to answer the question !

La Huerta why put Tung over Shellac , I would of thought maybe under it , but over the top ? What do you mean by a "protective" coating over the Shellac , hard Shellac is a pretty good protective coating ?:confused:

Bazz

[bennylaird]

Hell of a long answer Benny but you forgot to answer the question !

La Huerta why put Tung over Shellac , I would of thought maybe under it , but over the top ? What do you mean by a "protective" coating over the Shellac , hard Shellac is a pretty good protective coating ?:confused:

Bazz

Yep was more interested in finding out myself as I've only seen blends used. Was wondering how durable the finish is.

Shellac is a pain when a hot coffee cup is rested with some spill. You can recover but it's a lot of work to strip it back with metho and then apply another 100 coats with the rubber.......

[la Huerta]

well maybe hard shellac is the answer, what i mean is you should'nt really use a normal shellac finish on say a dining table that is getting used day in day out , with hot spills from kids , food fights etc, but shellac is such a nice and easy finish that i would not want to replace it with a plastic looking polly, feast watson recommend to use there 'floorseal' over the shellac to make it tough (floorseal is pretty much tung oil) wilst still giving that hand finish...so they say...

[woodcutta]

The kids have been ruff with it, yet no apparent pealing, flaking etc.

That rings a bell

[la Huerta]

yes i read that woodcutta, was just seeing if your paying attention...


i just applied a coat of tung oil to the job, looks great, i'll put a few more coats and post the results...

[Auld Bassoon]

Tung Oil (aka China wood oil) is a component of many wood finishing oils but look carefully at the can when you buy. Other oils are used as extenders. I think it's fair to say that there is no badged Tung Oil on the general hardware market which is anywhere near pure. We are in the process of getting pure tung into stock much more affordably than a recognised brand from the UK/France which sells for $120 a litre which we can't / won't stock because of the price. Check with us in a couple of weeks

Mike Jefferys - The Wood Works Sydney - Sorry if the Ad offends!

G'day Mike,

No offence at all, for me anyway, as your position is clear.

Please advise us when you get the stuff in!

Cheers!

[Mike Jefferys.]

Ordered the Tung today and we expect we'll have it available by the end of the month and, best of all, it can be mailed, it is not a "dangerous good". It has an MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet) which doesn't scare the pants off you. We'll market it as Pure Tung Oil and look forward to feedback - the good the bad and the ugly.
I'll post the link when we get it in
The site is www.thewoodworks.com.au
Mike Jefferys

[rsser]

Too late, but I'd have suggested Danish Oil rather than Shellac and Tung.

[Mike Jefferys.]

TUNG OIL UPDATE
200 litres delivered today October 25th and cans to re-pack it due Monday. Pricing on-line soon thereafter.
Mike Jefferys - The Wood Works Sydney

[Mike Jefferys.]

Too late, but I'd have suggested Danish Oil rather than Shellac and Tung.
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Cheers,
Ern

Picking up Ern's point as I understand it 'Danish oil' is a term for a generic type of finish (no criticism or approval implied) which is dependent on what the manufacturer wants to put in the product which they call Danish Oil (Cabots, Watco whoever), whereas Tung Oil and Shellac are more legitimate terms for simpler, more elemental, unstuffed with products in that they exist un-blended in their own right. You can buy either tung or shellac alone, Danish Oil is a mix of several products.
Perhaps the real issue here is to pose the question can you assemble remarkably different and better finishes yourself by making your own decisions about both the components of the finish you concoct and their proportions. It is axiomatic that any badged finishing product you buy has had numerous decisions made in its development and production not least by persons who probably have a different set of interests than the end user (accountants for instance) who have to keep the business afloat and who will ultimately, and in large part quite appropriately, decide what is in a product. In other words a compromise to stay alive - we all do it every day.
I suggest that the stuff in the commercially produced can is not going to be based on the best of what can be achieved - it's what will sell at the best price given the costs of production and the competition and hopefully be good enough to satisfy the customer to use it again.
And we haven't even started on the marketing department who can sell crap with a good design on the can and a slick sales pitch.
Mike Jefferys