tung oil

[RichG]

has anyone ever used Old Master Tung oil varnish? Doesn't say anything on can regarding how much oil to varnish, but looked interesting. could you get the same thing by mixing Tru oil and Tung oil? I think Tru oil is a varnish.

[flinchrocket]

I mixed some tru-oil with old master pure tung oil, worked fine. Next time I will just use the tung oil.

[Marcruger]

I've used Tung Oil on various wood projects in the past.  Not rifle stocks though.   Once I was shown the Chambers finish, I stopped using the Tung Oil.  The Chambers finish was so easy to use, and the look came out just right for me.  Mind you, I am a novice at wood working. 

My dad was a fan of Tung Oil and used it on everything.  He'd clean hand tools, like wrenches and hammers, and dip them in Tung Oil.  Shiny tools!    ;-)   Even our front door knocker. 

God Bless,   Marc

[Mike Brooks]

Chamber's finish is tung oil.

[Marcruger]

Thank you Mike, I didn't realize that.  The brand Tung Oil I was using behaved a lot less friendly in application than Chambers.  A bit glossier too. 

[smart dog]

Hi Rich,
Old Master's tung oil varnish contains up to 40% linseed oil and only 5% tung oil.  I suspect it is essentially like mixing a little tung oil with Tru-Oil.  Tru-Oil is linseed oil that was heat treated (polymerized) to speed drying and then mixed with solvents.  I suspect it would be fine finish for a gun stock.  I have used Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil in low and medium sheen for a very long time and it is my favorite finish because I can duplicate the appearance of almost any original finish by using it in different ways.  Let me emphasize before somebody inevitably posts, "well I used tung oil and it took forever to dry", polymerized tung oil dries well in less than 24 hours and to the touch in 4-6.  It is not the tung oil product those folks were complaining about.  During my years living on Revillagigedo Island in SE Alaska, I could not easily get polymerized tung oil because of the solvents, which forced it to be shipped by barge rather than air and the hazmat cost was high.  So I formulated a very, very good alternative.  I could get raw tung oil easily because it did not contain any solvents and I could buy polyurethane varnish from the local hardware store.  I added (by volume) 25% tung oil, 25% polyurethane, and 50% mineral spirits or turpentine. This was a very high quality finish and it stood up to the harsh conditions of >150" of rain a year and salt water spray from the guns being carried in boats.  It just needs to be applied carefully to avoid a brittle or glossy sheen.  You simply apply it with a brush or rag, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, and then wipe off all excess completely.  Make sure to get into the corners.  Here are guns finished with that formula.  Notice some have a gloss and others are satin at best.  All can be achieved.

















A mix of Old Master's Tung Oil (not tung oil varnish) with polyurethane as I described might be a very good finish.

dave

[deepcreekdale]

Most finishes sold as "Tung Oil" in the box stores are really just variations of linseed oil with different dryers and solvents and really are not Tung oil.. You have to make sure you are getting pure Tung Oil, when I want it, I get it from Woodcraft. 

[RichG]

thanks all for the info.

smart dog- your oil-poly-mineral spirit varnish sound good. would it work the with spar urethane? I'm finishing a black walnut stock with yellow dye to make it look more like English walnut and was thinking the uv blockers would help the yellow from fading with time. English trade gun, so a finish that looks like a brushed on varnish would probably be appropriate.

[Dphariss]

This is how I look at stock finishing.
1. A stock finish needs to be ELASTIC as opposed to what the makers may call "flexible".
2. I don't see a use for mineral spirits in a wood finish. No need for it.
3. Tung oil was not used to any extend in the US until well into the industrial age from what I have been told.
4. Linseed oil varnish, if properly prepared, is a very good stock finish and really has far fewer "flaws" than most assume. But most people think that hardware store Linseed oil is Linseed oil stock finish. Its not. Its something people paint on log or natural wood siding or paint on a board fence. Tru-oil, which I am not finding much anymore, is really just a cheap oil varnish that is thickened as it comes from the bottle its of limited usefulness.
5. The various plastic stock finishes are prone to checking and crazing which makes them useless for protecting the wood.

As a result I like to play around making Linseed oil stock finishes. Over the years some have been a lot better than others. But I can, in summer, have a filled finish on American Walnut in maybe 4 days and only maybe an hour actual work. These have a VERY long history in wood finishing and have proven their worth over the centuries. And are in reality always less trouble than the solvent laden stuff sold at the lumber yard which is so deficient in actual solids that its almost like trying to finish a stock with paint thinner.
But everyone has their own ideas and many don't bother to check MSDS on products and then wonder why they do 10 or 20 coats to get a "finish" when 2-3 is enough maybe 4-5 on American Walnut IF you know how. If I needed to put 15-20 coats on a stock I would be suicidal at the end.

[AZshot]

There are some videos online from a finish expert, who goes into Tung oil details.  Like said above, many of them are just a small part Tung, and mostly modern solvents, plastics, and such.  I used Formby’s over the years, but have discovered it too is barely tung oil - mostly a varnish.  If I were to do a stock from scratch today, I'd start with boiled linseed.  Then finish with genuine, pure Tung.

[smart dog]

thanks all for the info.

smart dog- your oil-poly-mineral spirit varnish sound good. would it work the with spar urethane? I'm finishing a black walnut stock with yellow dye to make it look more like English walnut and was thinking the uv blockers would help the yellow from fading with time. English trade gun, so a finish that looks like a brushed on varnish would probably be appropriate.

Hi,
I suspect the spar varnish would be fine.  Just don't add too much varnish, maybe no more than 15-25% by volume and test it on scrap wood.  Many of my yellow stained black walnut stocked guns have been used in bright sunny conditions for years with no fading.  I don't think the UV blockers are needed.

dave

[Bill in Md]

A great place to start on raw wood or stained wood  is a simple mixture of 1 part gum turpentine spirits to 2 parts of boiled linseed oil. It can even penetrate woods such as Osage Orange and Black Locust and drys very quickly... From there you can hand rub your favorite oil.

[alacran]

Dave, I made a batch of 25% tung oil, 25% satin polyurethane, and 50% turpentine. So far, I like the concoction. It was dry to the touch in about four hours.
Checked this morning and it appears to be totally dry. I tried it on two samples of Paradox walnut.
I had all the materials at hand. I used the turpentine because I like the smell.
If it withstands SE Alaska conditions, it will survive anything. 
Spent a week in Sitka in my younger days. I don't think I was dry the whole time I was there.
Thanks for sharing your formula.

[dogcatcher]

Dave, I made a batch of 25% tung oil, 25% satin polyurethane, and 50% turpentine. So far, I like the concoction. It was dry to the touch in about four hours.
Checked this morning and it appears to be totally dry. I tried it on two samples of Paradox walnut.
I had all the materials at hand. I used the turpentine because I like the smell.
If it withstands SE Alaska conditions, it will survive anything. 
Spent a week in Sitka in my younger days. I don't think I was dry the whole time I was there.
Thanks for sharing your formula.

What were the brands of the tung oil and satin polyurethane? 

[alacran]

I got the Tung oil from Woodcraft. It wasn't polymerized and after it took a month to dry on a furniture project, I squeezed all the air out of the bottle and put it aside. The polyurethane I used is Valspar Satin interior.


This piece has three coats. I applied them according to Smart Dog's direction. With the exception that I used 320 grit sandpaper with finish to fill in pores.