True oil or Tung oil?

[criveraville]

What is best True Oil or Tung Oil? I live in a HIGH humidity area and I have always used other less natural finishes that I can't think of the name right now that are carcinogen. I want to go more natural from now on and on my trade bow..

Thanks,
Cipriano

[Rufledt]

I'm not sure which is best for your situation, but a guy at a woodworking store once told me true oil isn't as "natural" as people say.  He said you have to be careful when you're looking for a completely natural finish, as many of the ones that claim to be 'linseed oil' or 'tung oil' are just finishes to mimic the look.  For example, the boiled linseed oil carried at home depot isn't actually boiled linseed oil, but linseed oil with chemical dryers and other stuff in there.  The real boiled linseed oil can't put "boiled linseed oil" on the container, because the company that makes the other stuff owns that name, so the real stuff, despite being linseed oil which has been boiled, has to be called soemthing else.  Natural finishes can be tricky like that.

[criveraville]

Thanks Rufledt... Ducky.. Sounds real ducky..

Cipriano

[Rufledt]

yeah its kinda screwy.  The finish he suggested was from a company called Tried and True wood finishes, not to be confused with True Oil.  They have a couple things and I used a linseed oil w/ beeswax on a couple bows and some furniture, but I don't know how well it works for moisture resistance.  I think natural oils alone kinda suck for moisture, but the wax might help.  What I do know is that the stuff from that company (the linseed oil and beeswax anyway) meets the criteria for being food grade, so it's definitely not carcinogenic. 

[bow101]

One oil i have used lots in the past is plain Mineral oil. I buy it at Walllly World.
It does eventually dry out, so i coat over top with your Favorite clear finish, that's it your  off to the races...

[JonW]

I don't have a preference with either Tung or Tru. I'm not certain but I think Tru-oil is a combination of linseed oil and shellac. As far as a natural finish goes, lard and beeswax heated together and rubbed in is a pretty good finish.

[mikekeswick]

Tru oil certainly looks good when many coats have been applied but I don't think it's very hard overall. The moisture resistance is good but NOT excellent. I've done a fair bit of testing with various finishes so i'm not just guessing. I use a UK version of Thunderbird now - very hard and superb moisture resistance but certainly not 'natural' - full breathing apparatus needed!
If it's something fairly natural (?!) then a parrafin wax finish where you use a heat gun to first warm the wood then melt the wax is very good at keeping moisture at bay. After all it's whats used to seal the end of boards so must work. I first found it mentioned in Dean Torges excellent book 'Hunting the osage bow'.

[lesken2011]

Not to highjack the post, but I put several coats of shellac on my trade bow, then a couple coats of satin poly. It looks pretty good, but I wasn't sure about the moisture protection. I figured since many of you recommend sealing staves with shellac, it would do the job. What do you think?

[jimmy]

I've used lard a lot.  I believe if you put a coat of it on your bow very often and maybe even set it in the sun to help soak in it is a very good finish.  Multiple coats over a period of time will saturate the wood, just like those wood rails you might see at amusement parks.  People have put their hands on them so much that they are preserved and impregnated with oil.  And they are exposed to weather year round.  Of course, I usually use lard on osage, and it is more resistent than some other woods.

[sadiejane]

prefer more "natural" finishes myself.
so i use a mixture of beeswax and walnut oil.
as jimmy mentioned, set it in the sun, let the wood warm and rub the mixture in.
i keep at it till it wont soak in anymore.
if its not warm enough out i use a blow dryer to warm the wood and the mixture so it gets absorbed more readily.
you can really tell when its taken all it can.
have used it for about 3 yrs now and seems to be a very durable finish.
if you do a bit of research you will find claims that both beeswax and walnut oil are moisture resistant.

[mikekeswick]

All finishes are moisture resistant....but to what degree is the question....
Most finishes aren't upto the job when you are out in the weather for days on end but how many people are out with a bow in the rain for days?? If you are only using it in humidity/rain for a few hours then bringing it inside and storing there then most finishes of the popular finishes will be fine. It's all down to how you are going to be treating the bow and also how you want it to look.

[toomanyknots]

I buy my tung oil as pure tung oil from woodcrafters. I believe the store is called "woodcrafters" anyway? The stuff I get is supposedly pure tung oil, and I use it pure and just rub it in with my hands. It smells really good. Not like chemicals at all, it smells rich and nutty. So I am pretty sure it is pure like the bottom says. It takes forever to dry though since I don't cut it with anything. It takes at least a month to dry. No joke. Sometimes longer. And it adds alot of weight to whatever you seal it with. I don't use it for bows typically. I have before and it has been really good looking with a very light buffed beeswax finish on top, but it just adds so much weight, I just burnish every bow I make now and add a light beeswax finish on top of that. Unless I want to make a selfbow that will be out in the rain. Sometimes I will add one coat just to color the wood a bit. I love it as a finish for arrows. Never tung oil a bow and then shoot it before it is dry, it can take alot of set from the added moisture the oil adds at first. I did that with a bow and it took alot of set that it never had before. I also tung oiled a bow that was linen backed, and the oil got under the glue layer on top of the linen backing and seeped into the linen. I pulled it on the tiller afterwards and the bow broke out of nowhere. Don't know if the two were related, but I have always thought so.