Minwax Tung Oil - anyone use it? Tips?

[grey]

I'm refinishing a stock right now with Minwax Tung Oil and I'm approaching the look I want except for the sheen. I was hoping to get a little more gloss out of it. As of now I'd say it has more than satin and less than a semi gloss finish after buffing it with a clean rag. Does anyone know if more gloss can be achieved and how I might be able to get it? I'll keep trying a few more coats for now but is there something I should be doing as a final step?

 

[cockpitbob]

I love the stuff but never went for a high gloss finish so I'm not sure if it will do it nor not. Here's what I would try.

Before your last 2 coats, gently wet sand it with 300 then 600 wet/dry paper. Then do the last 2 coats. If you don't like the gloss after that wait a few days for it to get good and hard then try automotive polishing compound. Not wax, but the super fine abrasive paste.

 

[grey]

I love the stuff but never went for a high gloss finish so I'm not sure if it will do it nor not. Here's what I would try.

Before your last 2 coats, gently wet sand it with 300 then 600 wet/dry paper. Then do the last 2 coats. If you don't like the gloss after that wait a few days for it to get good and hard then try automotive polishing compound. Not wax, but the super fine abrasive paste.

This sounds good. I think I have some fine buffing paste around here somewhere. Just curious, how many coats do you typically apply? And is 3 days long enough for the oil to harden for buffing? its in a dry 65f environment

 

[rep308]

I've had better luck with Boiled Linseed Oil, I must have done something wrong when I tried tung oil, it never really dried.

 

[grey]

I've had better luck with Boiled Linseed Oil, I must have done something wrong when I tried tung oil, it never really dried.

from what I gather, the only tung oil in the Minwax is the label. Not a drop in it but it behaves similarly to tung oil with mineral spirits added

 

[Harvey T]

Tung Oil

I have tung oil on furniture and a stair railing. I used two thin coats, applying 0000 steel wool between coats. It takes a while between coats...about 2 days..it hardens in about 5 days. The results are a soft sheen which, in my opinion, gets better over time. I don't think that you will achieve a significant gloss using just tung oil. I have never used minwax. In any case, a mature coating of tung oil protects the surface very well, and again, in my opinion, is handsome.

 

[grey]

I have tung oil on furniture and a stair railing. I used two thin coats, applying 0000 steel wool between coats. It takes a while between coats...about 2 days..it hardens in about 5 days. The results are a soft sheen which, in my opinion, gets better over time. I don't think that you will achieve a significant gloss using just tung oil. I have never used minwax. In any case, a mature coating of tung oil protects the surface very well, and again, in my opinion, is handsome.

hmm, maybe I should leave it alone then. I'm not disappointed with it, I was just wondering if it was possible to enhance the gloss. Just two coats? Wow, the pure tung oil must be different than the Minwax version. I'm up to 6 and it just is beginning to even out the "dull" spots where the oil is still being absorbed

 

[cockpitbob]

Just curious, how many coats do you typically apply?

I've never managed to build up that thick glossy look with tung oil even though I've put on 5+ coats. I think you hare in for 10 coats or so. I typically use it when I want the surface sealed but not look like it's varnished and not have a layer that can chip/scratch off.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

I've had better luck with Boiled Linseed Oil, I must have done something wrong when I tried tung oil, it never really dried.

Me too. This is 3 coats of BLO. Before and after pics.

 

[Spanz]

yeah one tip, burn any rags soaked in tung oil as soon as u are done. Spontaneous combustion.

 

[BrianK]

Some good tips above.

Unless the label says "pure" tung oil, it's a concoction containing a fairly small amount of actual tung oil. Which is okay.

I've done three or four guns with tung oil finishes. I generally give them upwards of a dozen coats, buffing gently with 0000 steel wool followed by a tack cloth between coats. IMHO tung oil beats BLO all hollow. For one thing, it actually protects the wood which BLO really does NOT. Also looks much better - again, IMHO.

Most of the tung oil finishes come in low- and high-gloss variants so you can pick the one you prefer.

 

[Nothingfancy]

Tung oil is a product of the Tung Nut, from China. There have been wooden boxes found in the ground in China, two to three thousand years old, still preserved by tung oil. Problem is, some have as many as. eleven hundred coats. You can get pure tung oil but, the buildup takes forever. Tung Oil penetrates to the bottom most pores of the wood and, builds from there. Modern day Tung Oils like Formby's are a combination of Tung Oil and Varnish. Quicker buildup! For a great sheen, durable finish, great results, order Waterlox original finish Tung Oil. Google it and, order directly from them. Brush it on and, rag guide your finish. Do not rag it off, simply smooth it with a good cotton lint free rag (Tee Shirt).

 

[hikerlt]

on stocks I use BLO, and then final coat is a mixture made from of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 beeswax ( warm the beeswax until it is liquid and then mix into the BLO and Turpentine.)

slather it on, let it dry a day or 2, and then wipe and buff it down.

 

[OldNorth]

on stocks I use BLO, and then final coat is a mixture made from of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 beeswax ( warm the beeswax until it is liquid and then mix into the BLO and Turpentine.)

slather it on, let it dry a day or 2, and then wipe and buff it down.

Same, but I buy Tom's 1/3 mix instead of making it myself. I highly recommend it, it's good stuff.

 

[dcmdon]

To the OP. I've refinished stocks with Minwax Tung Oil. Whatever is in it, it has always turned out well. I like the fact that the build up is slow. It allows me to get just the level of sheen I want.

If its not shiny, just keep putting coats on.

I wet sanded with mineral spirits between coats. Once I had what I wanted, I used 0000 Steel wool with pure paste wax and buffed it with the wool and wax. I've done gun stocks this way as well as furniture. It always comes out gorgeous.

I've since switched to Minwax Wipe On Poly. It won a recent shoot out in Fine Woodworking Magazine. It was a blind test. The testers were given unmarked bottles and used the stuff. There were several BLO and raw linseed variants as well as esoteric stuff and tung oil.

Wipe on Poly won the shoot out. I use it a lot. It works just the tung oil. I do wonder if its not just regular poly cut down so each coat builds less. Either way, it works great. The purists will hate me but I worked great on an M1 Carbine I did.

 

[MrMollusk]

I recommend Tom's 1/3 Mix Military Gunstock Wax. Its worked on the three stocks I've refinished.

 

[garandman]

Birchwood Casey Tru Oil can be made quite glossy if you sand between coats. I knocked down the finish coat with 0000 steel wool.

I've had better luck with Boiled Linseed Oil, I must have done something wrong when I tried tung oil, it never really dried.

The problem is that some people think they should use raw tung oil, which was never used as a finish. It was mixed with other materials. All woodworkers did this back in the day so no one even knows anymore what the exact composition was of the finish used at Springfield Armory, for example.

Most tung oil or BLO finishes are mixtures: take a look at their MSDS.

Article

 

[dcmdon]

If I remember my history correctly, when these rifles were made, it wasn't even applied in coats. I believe the stocks were submerged in hot tanks of the stuff for some length of time. So they were still stickey and gooey when issued.

 

[Knicks]

I used formbys tung oil finish. The furniture on my ak came out a little glossier than I wanted but I'm happy with it. Took several coats over a course of 10 days. Sanded with 0000 steel wool between coats.

 

[grey]

on stocks I use BLO, and then final coat is a mixture made from of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 BLO, and 1/3 beeswax ( warm the beeswax until it is liquid and then mix into the BLO and Turpentine.)

slather it on, let it dry a day or 2, and then wipe and buff it down.

what do you use for buffing? reason I ask is because some people use rottenstone type products. I wasnt sure if you meant rag buffing

 

[dcmdon]

I don't know what hikerlit uses to buff, but the combination of 0000 steel wool and Simoniz original paste wax works fantastic.