Pure Tung Oil or Polymerized Tung Oil?

[Randy Goodhew]

I'm no expert on the traditional finishing of huanghuali (a species of rosewood, for those who don't know), but note that lacquer was introduced as a wood finish only about a century ago.

Actually, Asian lacquer has been around since 7000BC.

Blessings.

[Randy Goodhew]

Please note: The Formby's product is purposely labeled as "Formby's Tung Oil Finish", not "Tung Oil."
It is Tung Oil/Alkyd Resin Varnish that is diluted with solvent to the consistency of a wiping varnish.
This is easy to prove - ask the manufacturer.

Also, I was a chemist and I developed tung oil testing protocols for gas chromatography. I have about fifty years experience with tung oil and Asian wood finishing products.

I personally knew Homer Formby. We were clients of each other.

Blessings.

[Charles Taylor]

Actually, Asian lacquer has been around since 7000BC.

Blessings.

I did not know that. I guess it is nitrocellulose lacquer in particular that I was thinking of. Thank you for correcting me.

[Devin Ginther]

I had a container of Behlen pure tung oil leak in the back of my finish cabinet over a period of years. The hardened material can't possibly be dented with a fingernail, though it can be cut with a sharp chisel--it's not so hard that it shatters, though (unlike shellac). In removing the container the wood underneath gave way before the finish would separate from the wood. I don't use it for tabletops, as it will certainly mark with standing water, but not with spills that are mopped up within 15-20 minutes. So decent water resistance but by no means waterproof, by my estimation. No experience with alcohol spills. I expect it will probably dissolve, at least slowly, in methanol (and certainly in methylene chloride), less so with ethanol or isopropanol. I wouldn't use it to finish a lab bench.

Great input here, Roger. Once again, just another point of validation which shows tung oil will cure and does offer some very good finishing attributes.

PEOPLE IS JUST TAKES TIME! That's the major downside with Tung Oil especially in today's fast food world. It offers some of the best looking results with a nice balance of solvent and moisture resistance. Just takes proper technique and many weeks. Most people simply aren't willing to take a minimum of 2 weeks and up to 4 weeks to wait for a finish like this.

If you want the ultimate in durability with added look of tung on dark woods? Great looking grain pop as tung oil with added durability then do 50/50 Tung Oil to Mineral Spirits blend for 3-4 coats. Let it dry to at least 5-7 days. Then hit the surface lightly with 320-400 grit. And add a few film coats of your favorite varnish or poly.

Or you can blend 1:1:1 of tung/PU/mineral spirits or tung/PP 38/mineral spirits. Endless possibilities here but you get the point. Much better mix than using BLO IMO.

You can see some of our project at RefinedElements.com


Devin

[Kelly Craig]

Old post, but I would note that the last time I inspected a can of Formby's, a few years back, it contained linseed oil and made no mention of tung oil. Many tung oil finishes are actually boiled linseed oil, resins and solvents, so, essentially, a kind of varnish [in the usual general terms].

Please note: The Formby's product is purposely labeled as "Formby's Tung Oil Finish", not "Tung Oil."
It is Tung Oil/Alkyd Resin Varnish that is diluted with solvent to the consistency of a wiping varnish.
This is easy to prove - ask the manufacturer.

Also, I was a chemist and I developed tung oil testing protocols for gas chromatography. I have about fifty years experience with tung oil and Asian wood finishing products.

I personally knew Homer Formby. We were clients of each other.

Blessings.

[kaiwen he]

you are right about it , that is why tung oil always heat treated first before they used as wood finish .

[kaiwen he]

The traditional huanghuali wood furniture were pretty much all finished with pure tung oil and have lasted for centuries - It is a wood/oil combination that is absolutely one of the most beautiful woods (off course taste is individual) and the real antiques (and raw wood for that matter is very highly prized. It is said to take more than 100 years for the wood to reach its ultimate beauty. I had to take a huanghuali desk and chair and chair apar as they were in a container (with a lot of our other antiques) that was dropped over the side in a harbor during a transatlantic move - all the hide glue dissolved and the finish obviously too a beating. However - since it is a $50K+ piece it was worth my while (after the insurance company had paid for all the "destroyed" furniture) to take it fully apart, clean up the pieces, thoroughly dry all the pieces in a controlled fashion, assemble them and then re-finish from scratch with the only finish that does the piece/wood justice - straight tung oil. Sure it is a tedious process and is best done in multiple thin coats without sanding in between and the timing such that the next coat is applied between "rubbery" and "fully cured" stages. 14 coats is what I did (over a couple of weeks) and then rubbed out in multiple stesp to a pretty nice semi-gloss sheenwith an incredibley deep and rich lustre. The piece has been evaluated by a couple of high-end antique evaluators and they put it as "fully and originally restored" at a $75k+/- price range.

The finish is very hard (obviously after the appropriate cure time) and water, alchohol resistant and shows off the wood beautifully.

Granted, this is not a restoration project for the faint of heart and the finishing process is very involved - BUT - it can produce some absolutely beautiful and pretty durable results. It is one of the finishes that draws max beauty out of many different wood species. it obviously helped me a great deal to have learned about fine antique furniturerestoration from my dad, who was one of the premier furniture restorer in Europe (talking about real antiques 200+ years old).

So - not an easy finish (in raw form) but worth it for the occasional exceptional piece. Some of the tung oil blends provide very nice results in a much more user friendly format.

generally speaking , lacquer is what consider as a better furniture finish in China , I really doubt that who could offer huanghuali would use tung oil as finish ,and as I growing up , nobody use raw tung oil for wood finish , we always heat treated it first .

[Ted Phillips]

I would highly recommend buying Bob Flexner's book "Understanding Wood Finishing". He is a guru on finishing and this book is the closest we have to a bible on the subject.

TedP