Using Pure Tung Oil

T

The Rattler

New member
It was necessary to remove 1/4" from the comb of my Benelli Montefeltro for fitting purposes. I am at the tail end of refinishing the wooden stocks with pure uncut ting oil.

I have 2 questions:

1. What is a reasonable range for the number of coats pure ting oil to apply? I already applied 10 coats of pure tung oil over a period of 6 weeks (the first coat was 1:1 Mineral Spirits and ting oil).

2. How long should I wait after the last coat to reassemble the gun and start shooting & otherwise using it? I read that one should wait 30 days before applying protective wax, but do you really have to wait that long before using the gun again?

All comments will be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi. It gets rubbed in using thin coats over several days with a clean, lint free, cloth every day and 24 hours drying time between coats.
Never bothered mixing pure tung oil with anything myself. Did a commercial M1 Carbine stock 30 plus years ago that hasn't needed anything since. Birch, I think. Aged to a nice honey blond, so it has.
Ten coats is more than enough and you won't need any wax. Tung oil produces a hard, waterproof, finish that will keep everything else out. Once it's dry to the touch, you can reassemble.
 
I use the "fat over thin" method.

1 unit of tung oil mixed with 1 unit of turpentine. This the first coat. The thinned oil facilitates penetration. Wait about an hour, and wipe off the excess. Wait 12 to 24 hours for the coat to cure.

Add tung oil to the left over mixture to the same total volume. Apply the 2nd coat.

Repeat for subsequent coats. So the mixture proportion keeps increasing each coat. 4 or 5 coats are quite adequate for the first application. Every few years or so I will put in a new undiluted coat if I feel like it.

-TL
 
I am going on 25+ years of bad memory, but....

Tung oil has a vapor pressure that is of some concern. It will evaporate.
Additional polymers are added to make spar varnish, but it only lasts 5 years in the sunlight on a boat.
More polymers are added to make Sea Fin Teak oil.

There is an odor.
After going through a couple 5 gallon cans, I may have suffered some brain damage.

I am almost better now.
I now apply Mineral Oil and cover with bee's wax. This is how to make non toxic salad bowls and cutting boards. It turns out that it makes an odor free gunstock too.
 
You only get the real pure tung oil from fine woodworking stores, and it is pretty pricy. Other stuff gets polymers to mix in to "improve" things, and it is not the real thing.

Oil finish is nowhere near the most durable sort. It is the favorite among few woodworkers for its feel and appearance. I haven't heard anybody complaining about odor of cured tung oil finish. But it is subjective.

The other oil that I like is walnut oil. I used it on utensils, furniture, and gun stocks.

-TL
 
The last stock that I finished used my grandfather's mix:
8 parts mineral spirits
1 part pure tung oil (I use Hope's, my grandfather's mix was still using Herter's ;))
1 part Formby's Tung Oil Finish (added polymers - technically a 'wiping varnish')

At that time, the mix included "Satin" finish Formby's, but I can't find that any more - even on their website. What I have right now is labeled "Low Gloss".
If you try it, you can use high gloss, or anything else they offer. My family just prefers the 'satin' finish on our stocks. We don't polish or wax after the Tung oil finish is done.

Since the mix is so thin, penetration is fantastic. But, it also means that it takes quite a few coats to get to the finish line. That last stock took about 5 weeks and 13-15 coats before I called it good. (And that was in a 73-76 F kitchen with 20-30% humidity.)


I have used thicker mixes on other projects, such as 3:1 and 5:1 (mineral spirits to Tung oil), but I have never been satisfied with penetration and drying time. The last knife block that I finished took nearly 4 months to dry, when finished with 5 parts mineral spirits to 1 part Hope's "100% Pure Tung Oil."
Perhaps part of my problem is the oil that I'm using. Perhaps it's the mineral spirits. I don't know. But I do know that I prefer a thinner mix, even if it requires more time and labor.
 
3:1 is too thin for my liking. 1:1 is my starting mix. I prefer turpentine to mineral spirit for solvent. Gradually I increase the mixture to 100% as I approach the final coat.

I use the pure tung oil from Rockler. $20 a quart about 10 years ago. It is good stuff. It always cures within 12 to 24 hours.

-TL
 
In addition to being a hunter and doing a stock now and then, I'm a woodworker. Between big projects, I do small projects like bowls and wooden cooking tools. I started with Mineral Oil. That was Ok. Then tried Walnut Oil, and that was better. Then went to Tung Oil and like it best, of the three. Mineral oil and walnut oil will not build a finish or repel water. Tung Oil is a bit better and holds up a bit longer under repeated kitchen use.

If you want a truly great stock finish, get your hands on some Waterlox Original Finish in satin. Not a fast finish, but the best I've found. It contains Tung Oil.

Odor from a finish is telling you that it is still curing. And once it's cured, most finishes are food safe.

I rarely use boiled linseed oil for anything anymore.

And, one other option for a stock finish is one I've only used on butcher blocks so far. It's Watco Butcher Block Oil and Finish. It will build a hard finish, and seems to do so better than wiping varnishes. It should look good on a gunstocks, and should hold up well.
 
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