Finishing Stock with Pure Tung Oil

[Springerpanhead]

Shellac is not a very durable outdoor finish.
Robin

Didn’t say it was. Only mentioned it cuz it’s the historically and tonally correct finish for a quality violin. Varnish is used on relative cheapies. Besides, most violins are not played outside in bad weather a whole lot. However, today you can purchase a carbon fiber one you can play in a thunderstorm if you are so inclined, with little or no damage to the instrument. But, they tend to fall a tad short on tonal quality when compared to a Guarnerius, or a Strad.

PS. Come to think of it the horse hide glue they are put together with ain’t exactly waterproof either.

 

[Robby]

Um, okay.
Robby

 

[Loja man]

So those of you who do use the polymerized Tung oil. How many coats would you say is the minimum? From reading through the forum I know many uses 8-12 coats of finish. Depending on the level of depth one is trying to achieve. Yet I’ve not see a “you must do at least x amount of coats” . Guess I’m looking for the base line….
So my 30 days for the raw tung oil is past! I did some sanding and re staining. I currently have 4 coats of Sutherland Wells polymerized on my stock.
Thanks again!

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Loja man, the minimum number of coats of the polymerized tung oil needed is the number of coats that provide the finish that you like. Some of us go rather crazy with applying and rubbing back to get that perfect depth of finish.

 

[dave_person]

Hi Loja,
You do want enough coats to fill the grain. That usually takes 4 coats or so of polymerized tung oil. Then it is up to you how shiny you want the finish. Just makes sure when applying the oil to let it sit for 10-15 minutes with the finish applied and then wipe off all excess oil. Every bit including build up in tight corners. Then let dry at least 24 hours before the next coat. On maple, it should only take 6 or so coats to have a nice satin sheen.

dave

 

[Loja man]

@Loja man, the minimum number of coats of the polymerized tung oil needed is the number of coats that provide the finish that you like. Some of us go rather crazy with applying and rubbing back to get that perfect depth of finish.

Hence my question! I know some people tend to want to take it a little bit overboard! ;-)
Dave that is super helpful. I guess that was the question I was wanting answered. What’s the minimum to seal the wood well and then after that it’s just depth of sheen. So I have been letting it sit between five and seven minutes before wiping off. That is the manufactures recommendation on time. Even in that amount of time though the tung oil is tacking up a lot. Per manufacturers instructions I then add a light coat to moisten and then wipe the stock. Since I’m having to moisten it with tung oil before wiping at 5 to 7 minutes would I could probably leave it 10-15 then moisten and wipe?

 

[Loja man]

After your final coat on a stock what do you use to buff out any roughness or tone down the sheen?