pine tar finish

[Duane Harshaw]

I need some information about pine tar finish,what it is mixed with,how to apply,and any picture's of a tar finish would be apreciated...Thx.

[Cory Joe Stewart]

Wallace Gussler used a tar and turpentine finish in his Carving DVD.  At least I think it was turpentine.  I would have to go back and watch it.

Coryjoe

[JCKelly]

Reminds me, the Tigres are on, playing NY tonight. Gotta go.

[volatpluvia]

Coryjoe,
I believe it was a pine tar and Boiled linseed oil finish.  He might have thinned the first coat with turpentine, but it has been a long time since I saw it last.  When I go back to PA to get my furniture, I will make sure I see it again.
volatpluvia

[Tom Currie]

Would be hard to put a pine tar finish gun down. Sure would be easy to get attached to a gun with this finish.

[pathfinder]

I use "Ashphaltum",road tar,thinned with real turpentine on my Ash stock's. While a kid growing up in the furniture restoration biz,Grandpa used to have us kid's on hot day's,"borrow" road tar from the crack's in the street's for use in the shop.

Gives a nice warm golden brown.

[pake]

....from the nearly frozen northland.

While it's true that not nearly as many people up here cross country ski as once did, and those that do have mostly switched to wax less composites, a few of us "old timers" still use a wooden ski. Those that do prefer a pine tar base finish with a wax overcoat. It is a wonderfully durable finish when you consider that it spends it's life being dragged face down over snow and crystalline ice surfaces.

The application is simple and nearly fool proof. Smear it on with and old rag and melt it in with a propane torch. As it melts and cools, rub like crazy with anything that helps spread it. An old sock, a towel, a piece of burlap; anything. Add more coats if desired. Wonderfully smooth, waterproof and, it smells good. Finish with wax.

pake

[WadePatton]

I use "Ashphaltum",road tar,thinned with real turpentine on my Ash stock's. While a kid growing up in the furniture restoration biz,Grandpa used to have us kid's on hot day's,"borrow" road tar from the crack's in the street's for use in the shop.

Gives a nice warm golden brown.

or, for those who don't live near a chip/tar public surface, the feed stores sell it for equine use (i think it has for hooves). 

[FL-Flintlock]

If you're going to purchase "pine tar", request the complete ingredient list from the mfg because most of the equine/critter products are not pure pine tar.  Real pine tar contains upwards of 10% volatiles, be sure to allow ample time for evaporation and off-gassing before attempting to top-coat with a finish or you'll end up with a real mess.

[gusd]

I use tree & ornamental wound paint. Old qt. can made by
Bonide. Smells like a road just tarred.
Can vary color with min. spirits. I don't know if it is
still avail.
gus

[Kermit]

Here's the real stuff. Genuine olde fashioned marine Stockholm tar. Accept no substitutes.

http://www.tarsmell.com/tar.html

In my years around traditional wooden boats, I often encountered folks who tried to use roofing tar, horsehoof tar, road tar, yadayada... I've never encountered anything that works--and looks--like the real deal. Opinionated? Nah.

There are a lot of boatbuilders who have secret formulas for "boat sauce" or "boat soup." Many of them are just adding a dolup of tar to some other marine finish. About as easy and traditional as you can get, though, is equal parts by volume of true Stockholm tar, genuine turpentine (I've heard some claim "mineral spirits" is as good, but I don't think so), and boiled linseed oil. My only secret ingredient is a small shot of Japan drier. You can make it more expensive, but you can't make it better, IMHO. You might want to fiddle the proportions some to increase the turps, but keep the tar/BLO about equal.

Apply, let it soak in, apply again, etc. Big hint: it kicks off with exposure to UV. Those who have trouble with the stickies use too much at a go and don't set it in direct sunlight to cure. Using other tar products eventually results in a dull black finish that's hard to do anything with but keep on oiling and claim it's traditional.

Use the real stuff, use the sun, take your time. And show us your results!

[flintriflesmith]

Wallace Gusler used a tar and turpentine finish in his Carving DVD.  At least I think it was turpentine.  I would have to go back and watch it.
Coryjoe

I think this thread is mixing apples and oranges --- Finish and Stain. The use Wallace and I made of "tar and turpentine," as far back as 1960, was as a stain --- not a finish. We also used tar (Ashphaltum) with hot linseed oil but the tar was stain and the oil was finish.

I tried some pine tar that Mark Silver gave me on a maple tomahawk handle and that batch would not not get as dark as I like for a rifle stock. It also remained sticky and needed a top coat of "finish."
Gary


Gary