Tung Oil

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Have any of you finished a stock with real Tung Oil? :hmm:
Fly

 

[Dave K]

I did allot of stocks in tung oil. Actually I was using Formby's. I got really nice looking finishes from it. One thing though, it is not as durable as other finishes nor as weather resistant, it is very easy to touch up though. But, I don't want to keep the gun in an ugly environment anyhow. I did change over to Tru-Oil though and I love it. I have even redone many of my tung oil finished guns, just because I know it is a better finish. Besides, I enjoy doing it anyhow as it seems I will have a "dammit" bruise on the stock some place that finally bothers me enough to fix it.

 

[BrownBear]

Well heck. Lots of things seem to crop up that point out subtle differences in technique, or as I suspect, differences in climates for everything from finish curing to wear and tear.

I've gone the exact opposite than Dave K, because up where I live Formby's Tung Oil Finish is not only a whole lot easier to use, it's lots tougher. I worked in a gunshop for a high end stock maker back in the 60's and he drilled linseed oil/TruOil into my brain and I know lots of tricks for it, always figuring there was nothing better. Then about 5 years ago I tried Formby's and quit TruOil all together. It just cures harder and is much more weather resistant in our 120 inches of rain a year.

Go figure!!!! If you've already bought the Formby's I'd sure give it a try and see how it works out for you. But if you've already got the TruOil, you'd be ahead to try that instead of buying Formby's. If you don't have either yet? Toss a coin or compare your climate with pushers of each type.

I don't think any of us are "wrong" for choosing one over the other, but there sure seems to be something going on with such different results from one user and location to the next! :hmm:

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Well the only problem is with Formby's is it is not 100% tung oil.I'm thinking of using 100% tung oil.

Also do you guys know what kind of wood my Lyman great plains stock is.Walnut, maybe :idunno:

Fly

 

[BrownBear]

Well the only problem is with Formby's is it is not 100% tung oil.I'm thinking of using 100% tung oil.

Also do you guys know what kind of wood my Lyman great plains stock is.Walnut, maybe :idunno:

Fly

I can't recall the details and I've never tried pure tung oil, but someone will correct me if I'm wrong. :wink: In any case, I've heard that pure tung oil isn't as tough because Formby's has some kind of "hardening" agents in it. Dunno, and if you try the pure, be sure to let us know how it turns out.

As for the wood in Lyman's, it's reportedly European walnut. There's a huge difference in color and figure from one stock to the next, but the grain sure seems consistent. I thought mine was a little too light, so I gave it a light touch of black walnut. My hunting pard's was just fine as it came out of the box.

 

[woodse guy]

A local duck call maker near me swears by 100% tung oil for all his duck calls. I don't think you could get much wetter then a duck call and someone blowing spit in it all day. He has a trick to get them oiled that was passed down from an old call maker from the 1960's. If I remember right it was a lot of work but was suppose to put on a nice finish. I don't use his method I just soak them down once a year and rub the extra off. You can get pure tung oil from Lee Valley.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Formby's has no true tung oil in it. It has derivitives of the oil mixed into a varnish that attempts to mimic an oil finish. Regardless, it works fairly well and is readily available. I use it on certain projects or when I cannot get polymerized tung oil. True tung oil is very water resistant and penetrates the wood deeply. It also imparts a warm glow to the wood better than any other finish I have used. However, you have to buy the right products. Pure raw tung oil takes forever to dry and when I used it in the past I either mixed it with polyurethane varnish or added some drops of Japan drier. "Polymerized" tung oil basically is cooked by the manufacturer and does not need any additives. This is what I mostly use now. It is wonderful stuff. The best polymerized tung oil is made by Sunderland Wells, however, you can also get good polymerized oil from Lee Vally. I've used tung oil and tung oil-polyurethane mixes on many muzzleloading guns and prefer it to all other finishes unless I am trying to match an historically correct varnish finish.

dave

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

BB you may be right & I plan on doing some research on the tung oil before I go that way.
I thought maybe some one here might have used
the pure stuff.

As far as my stock it's pretty dark with nice
looking grain & has a walnut looking color to
it.

I have finished a few gun's but I'm far from a
exspert & I don't want to get the stock so dark
you can't see the grain.

I still have so much sanding & finish work to do
I have alot of time before worry of the color just
yet.

I like the other post with the guy building his
GPR kit.The stock is a bit dark for my taste, but
it is a really nice job he is doing.

Fly :thumbsup:

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Dave how many coat's do you use of the Polymerized" tung oil & how long does it
take to dry beween coats?

Do you use a oil base stain with it?

Fly

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Polymerized tung oil dries fully in 2-5 days depending on humidity and temperature. An oil finish takes some time and cannot be rushed but it is the best finish with regards to bringing out the beauty in the wood and it penetrates the most deeply. My preferred method is to mix polymerized tung-oil with polyurethane varnish in a 25% oil, 25% varnish and 50% turps formula. I paint that on the bare stock and let dry for 2 days. That mix is very water resistant and seals the wood. I keep adding coats until the grain starts to fill and the oil pools on the surface. For hard maple that might happen after 2-3 coats. Walnut requires more unless I previously fill the grain with a sealer. After the the grain is mostly filled I change over to 50% polymerized tung oil mixed with 50% turps. With that mix I hand rub in small amounts if I want a low satin hand-rubbed look. That requires 2-4 more coats depending on the wood with each coat drying for about 2 days. If I want a glossier finish or to simulate a varnish finish, I paint on coats every 2 days until I build up a surface of finish. When the finish is sufficiently deep, I let the stock cure for a week. Then I rub it back with rottenstone on a cheescloth rubber dipped in linseed oil. That produces a the glassy finish found on many high-end guns during the 19th century. This all takes time and cannot be rushed. However, varnishes such as Formby's, Minwax, or those made with linseed oil work very well and can be done much faster. They simply do not bring out the life in the wood as well as the tung oil finish does. I use water-based dyes and/or nitric acid to stain the wood prior to finishing. You can use any stain combination that you want. I attached some photos of guns I built and finished using my tung oil mix. They range from low gloss to higher satin gloss. The pistol case lid was finished with Formby's, which show that a very nice job can be done with it.


dave

 

[ohio ramrod]

As a builder of custom built furniture I often finish Cherry pieces with pure tung oil. The pure Tung oil will take from one to three WEEKS for a coat to completely dry before putting on the next coat. If you put it on too thick or before the previous coat has dried you will get a "milky" build up.For this reason almost all of the "tung oil" finishes you buy are a mixture of true tung oil and varnishes or mineral spirits. :idunno:

 

[Zonie]

I have sitting in front of me a can of, "Old Masters WOOD CARE HAND RUBBED 100% PURE TUNG OIL".

It has no thinners, driers or anything except Tung Oil in it.

It takes as long for it to harden as Boiled Linseed oil, which is saying, it takes weeks to harden.

According to the instructions on the can it is meant to be hand rubbed into the wood. It goes on to talk about the oil being absorbed into the wood and when it is it produces a "water/alcohol resistant" oil finish.
Nowhere does it speak of building up a finish that would be on the surface probably because of its slow drying time.

It's just my opinion but if someone wanted a gunstock similar to the military stocks which do not have a oil buildup on them it would probably work fine.

IMO, folks wanting a built up finish should probably use something else like "Tru-Oil".

OH! I forgot to mention that the Military tried using Tung oil as a finish on their rifle stocks.
They found that some people are VERY allergic to tung oil and broke out in hives just from handling the guns. After this discovery they had the tung oil guns refinished with the older oils they had used for years and required that all new manufactured military guns be finished using the older oils.

 

[dave_person]

Hi OR,
That is why I recommend the polymerized oil because it is mixed with a solvent and a drier so that it dries much faster than pure oil. The Sunderland Welles polymerized tung oil cannot be beat for making wood look good and it provides good long-term protection as far as any finish goes.

dave

 

[JohnN]

According to Formby's their tung oil is " a blend of tung oil and other penatrating oils".

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Zonie I think your right about the build up with just plain pure tung oil.The thing I like most
is the water protection of the pure tung oil.

But as for as the build up that Dave was referring
to he said this quote " polymerized tung-oil with polyurethane varnish in a 25% oil ".

I would think the polyurethane would be where
the build up comes from.I have used tru-oil in
the past & I,m not that crazy over it.

I have hand rubbed my military rifles with
boiled linseed oil, & it does not repell water
after a short time.

I really like the grain on the GPR & want to darken some but not to much & bring the grain
out with the finish.

I know tung oil does that really good.But then
as you say, seal the pores also.

Fly

 

[Zonie]

As I've said before, before folks start thinking about staining walnut they need to carry the sanded stock outside into the sunlight or into a well lit room. Then wet the surface of the wood with some water.

The colors and darkness you see while the stock is still wet is exactly the way it will look without any stain at all, but with a coat or more of finishing oils applied.

 

[dave_person]

Hi Zonie, Fly, and John N,
You know this stuff comes up every time tung oil is discussed. I should simply save a short blurb that I post every time someone brings up tung oil on this forum. First, Formby's is a wiping varnish. The operative word here is VARNISH. The label says mix of tung and other oils. That implies it is tung oil mixed with other things. Formby's does not simply mix tung oil with other oils, it takes chemically altered derivitives from tung oil and mixes those with other chemicals to produce a varnish. That is why it dries so fast, savvy? Please try and understand the difference. It does not penetrate like an oil. It does not enhance colors in the wood like an oil. It is NOT an oil finish but a varnish. Secondly, polymerized tung oil alone will build up a nice surface that can be rubbed back to a high polish. Just look at the photos I posted. Fly, I use the polymerized tung oil-polyurethane mix only to seal the wood and fill the grain then I switch to only polymerized tung oil and turps to build up any finish that I require. I have used the stuff for over 25 years so I don't have to speculate about it.

dave

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Thats Dave for setting the record streight on
that.I ordered some Sunderland Welles polymerized tung oil.

I do think I will also try the wet test to see
if indeed I want to stain this stock darker.You
guy are a bunch of help.
Fly :bow:

 

[JohnN]

Dave you may be absolutely correct, I dont know. I only showed what they said about their product on their can. I'm only an amateur builder but have used it on my last 3 guns and like how it applies, looks, and protects. Other products like you described may be better. If I ever build another gun I may try it.

 

[dave_person]

Hi John,
I apologize if I sounded snippy. I had a bad day. You are right about what their can says but there is no law that forces them to actually divulge what is in the mix except to alert you to any hazard. A good example is "Minwax's Tung Oil Finish", which apparently has no tung oil or derivitives in it at all. It is basically a linseed oil based varnish that looks like a tung oil finish. My information mostly comes from Bob Flexner's book "Understanding Wood Finishing". Regardless of contents, Formby's "Tung Oil Finish" is not a bad product and for some purposes does a great job. However, it does not penetrate like a true oil finish.

dave