Finishing

[DC]

 I'm not good at finishes. I use "Tung" oil. If I apply it like I think the can says I have to wait for a couple or three days before the tackiness goes away. If I put on a thin coat it's tack free in a few hours(weather dependent) but I wonder if the wood is getting any protection from such a thin coat. By thin I mean just applying enough oil to darken the wood. I use a makeup pad and I wipe it off quite enthusiastically. When I put it on that thin is the wood getting any protection or is there just a thin layer of cured oil laying on top of the wood? Any guesses as to how many coats it needs if it's that thin?

[bownarra]

Tung oil is a great finish. Probably my all time favourite for wood bows. It has superb moisture resistance.
The trick is to cut it with white spirit 50/50 for the first few coats.
Apply a coat, let it sit for an hour or so then rub off any excess.
Use the dilute mix for 3 coats.
Then do as many coats as you can be bothered with of pure oil.
Sunlight, low humidity, air movement and temeprature all affect drying time.
When all is good it takes around 12 hours for a coat to dry properly.

[DC]

When you wipe it off, is it quite tacky?

[DC]

What do you apply it with?

[PatM]

If you mean pure tung oil you need to do multiple coats.   Even Tung oil "'finish"  will need multiple coats just like tru-oil.

 Just be patient and add a coat every few days and wipe off the excess.  Many guys using tru-oil use about 10 coats.

[backtowood B2W]

I apply it with my thumb and index finger. Like this I get the best feel for spreading the oil evenly. Sunlight and air really helps to speed things up.

PS: Congrats!! I knew you will hit the 200 rather soon than later. Really hope your obsession is still driving you...love your work...

[DC]

It's the thickness of the coat that I'm having trouble with. When you say wipe off the excess does that mean just enough so it won't(hopefully) run or do you wipe it off thoroughly?

[mmattockx]

It's the thickness of the coat that I'm having trouble with. When you say wipe off the excess does that mean just enough so it won't(hopefully) run or do you wipe it off thoroughly?

I've not used tung oil on a bow, but I have finished tool handles and other hardwoods with it. I just wiped on a heavy coat with a blue paper towel, left it for 15-20 minutes and then wiped all the excess off with a clean blue paper towel. It never took longer than overnight for the stickiness to dry. I was using Minwax Tung Oil Finish in this case, which has some drying agents and maybe polymers in it to help dry faster. I used 4-5 coats until a sheen built up and left it there.


Mark

[willie]

Is "Tung" the same as a tung oil finish like Mark mentions? 100% tung acts different.

[PatM]

No Tung oil finish is a different thing.  It may not even contain Tung oil.

 With any drying oil you're better off overwiping it. 

 

[DC]

It's Minwax that why I put Tung in quotes. I thought that if I had said Minwax Tung Oil the topic would have dissolved into how it isn't Tung oil. I guess I never thought that they would behave that differently.

[PatM]

Natural pure oil has to polymerize with oxygen reaction over time.  The mixtures are loaded with quick drying agents and likely some resin as well.

[bushboy]

Armour all is suppose to make tung oil flash cure....do a search....

[PatM]

Apparently it will also contaminate your shop and give you  glue-up troubles for eternity.

  Patience is better.

[bushboy]

Don't know...always did my finishing out side