Tung oil question

[dragonman]

was wondering if any one has any experience how effective pure tung oil is at waterproofing bows? bought some the other day and it goes on nicely and appears to dry quickly and a leave a coating on the surface but I'm not sure wether to rely on it in my very damp climate here in Wales?

[BowJunkie]

Excellent question dragonman.  I was wondering the same thing with tung oil.
I have a bow I was looking at water proofing for wet / rainy conditions also here in Texas.
Maybe a few of the older timers could chime in and recommend a "natural" water proofing method.
 

[Gus]

Hello Dragonman,

I like a nice deep tung oil finish.
Its a nice protective finish that is infinitely easy to repair when damaged.
On top of the Tung oil I go with Carnuba Wax.
Carnuba reads as one of the toughest naturally occurring waxes available.
And I'd touch up the tung oil as needed for normal wear and tear or minor damage on the trail through out the year.
But I'll reapply the wax at various points through the year.
You can apply a fresh coat of wax if there is a chance the weather might turn bad while out.
Only takes a few minutes.

Wax my boots, belt and scabbards with Kiwi and my wood with Carnuba and out the door I go. 

Or you could always mix in a bit of Polyurethane with your Tung oil to up the waterproofing level of your finish.
One of my buddies does a 70/30 mix Tung Oil/Polyurethane.

-gus

[Gus]

For a totally natural waterproofing you can use bacon drippings or lard.
It's more water resistant than waterproof but it would give you time to seek cover for your bow.

True Story.

-gus

[sadiejane]

have not used tung oil on a bow(and likely wont-prefer more natural finishes-
bear fat being my favorite right now, along with a beeswax/walnut oil mixture)
that being said, i have, for many years, made welded tubular steel racks for bicycles.
most have had wood inserts(more for looks than anything)
and i have always used many hand rubbed coats of tung oil, steel wooled in between coats, for these wood inserts.
i have(and so do many customers) racks that have been in the weather often for many years,
and the tung oiled wood holds up very well in those conditions.

[PEARL DRUMS]

That is some solid info, thanks Sadie. Makes me feel even better about the last few bows I finished with Tung Oil.

[dragonman]

after looking into it on the web , it appears the chinese have used it for a long time to waterprof their wooden boats.....so it must be pretty good?

[rps3]

Pure tung oil and something like formbys tung oil are different things. When I did research a while back pure tung oil seemed a poor choice.  Formbys, a wiping varnish, had many of the qualities I was looking for in a selfbow finish, and you can mix your own, here is a link.

http://www.woodsmith.com/files/issues/169/make-your-own-wiping-varnish.pdf

[johnston]

I use and like the Formsby's...Got some drying right now. Here in the Southeast with
high humidity the norm I am trying mink oil especially on hickory. Been rubbing it on
then heating and working it in. Don't know yet how effective it will be.

Lane

[JackCrafty]

I have used pure tung oil for several years and I have to admit that it's a high maintenance finish if you want it to repel water under heavy use.  A urethane finish is much more effective.

That said, tung oil will make the wood look great.  It really brings out the natural beauty of wood with striking grain or color.  For display items, you can't beat it.

[Marc St Louis]

Tung oil by itself is only a moderately good moisture resistant finish, certainly much better than Linseed oil though.  That's why I use it in combination with shellac and wax.  I figure that the 3 different types of finish applied in layers should be pretty effective at slowing down moisture incursion.

[k-hat]

Teak oil is still used by boat craftsman to give a waterproof finish to pulpit and other wood parts on the boat.  Applied correctly and patiently it is said to stand up quite well to water with an extra coat every 4 to 6 months.

here is a link about applying teak oil to boat parts: http://woodworkingforwatercraft.com/teakfinish.html

I can't imagine a bow getting wet as much or as often as these!  Not sayin it's the best or anything, but it is a good choice

[k-hat]

Ok, just realized that teak wood (used for some of these parts) is itself perty water resistant, so that might help the teak oil do it's work out on the open sea. . . a little

[Gus]

Yes Sir,

That's pretty funny right there Stixman! 
In a good way.

-gus