Need Recommendations

[Roger Ronas]

I've always used Tung oil to do any kind of finish on small projects that I've built.
Now I'm going to do a set of cabinets for our house and I'd like to use a different finish, because 5-7 coats of Tung is too much labor.

The cabinets will be natural Knotty Pine. Also a recommendation on the drawers as far as finish would be great also. The drawers will be hard maple.

I have no spray equipment but am willing to purchase if that is what I need to do this right.

Thanks
Roger

[Jim Becker]

Roger...have you been using "Tung Oil Finish" or "100% Tung Oil"? The reason I ask is that if it is the former, it's just a wiping varnish and probably has no tung oil in it. Real tung oil is just that and doesn't build any appreciable finish. Wiping varnishes, because they go on thin, require 2-3 coats to be the equivalent of one brushed coat of regular strength varnish.

There are advantages to using a wiping varnish (which you can make yourself with a 50/50 ratio of varnish and mineral spirits for a lot less than pre-mixed) in that it is very forgiving...it's very hard to mess up and there are no brush marks. Brushing on a varnish is certainly a doable task, too...you just need a GOOD brush (not an inexpensive one...) and a little practice to avoid problems.

Personally, I like to spray for a number of reasons. Firstly, I generally use shellac and water borne finishes and since they dry so quickly, spraying is about the best way to put them on. (Brushing shellac is doable, but absolutely requires practice since you cannot apply it like you do an ordinary varnish...you cannot "over brush" it and get a good result) But if I need to hand-apply, a wiping varnish is my preference, despite the number of applications necessary to build the film.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Roger,

I built a large oak sideboard for my wife. As suggested by Jim, I made my own wiping varnish using 50% varnish and 50% mineral spirits. It worked like a charm. Even in a dusty environment I got few dust nibs because it dries fast. Because of it's thin nature, it left no brush marks. I used cheap foam brushes.

I brush on shellac too. I thin it with denatured alcohol and it works well too.

I'd use a wiping varnish.

I've tried spraying and it doesn't like me.

[Roger Ronas]

Roger...have you been using "Tung Oil Finish" or "100% Tung Oil"? The reason I ask is that if it is the former, it's just a wiping varnish and probably has no tung oil in it. Real tung oil is just that and doesn't build any appreciable finish. Wiping varnishes, because they go on thin, require 2-3 coats to be the equivalent of one brushed coat of regular strength varnish.

There are advantages to using a wiping varnish (which you can make yourself with a 50/50 ratio of varnish and mineral spirits for a lot less than pre-mixed) in that it is very forgiving...it's very hard to mess up and there are no brush marks. Brushing on a varnish is certainly a doable task, too...you just need a GOOD brush (not an inexpensive one...) and a little practice to avoid problems.

Personally, I like to spray for a number of reasons. Firstly, I generally use shellac and water borne finishes and since they dry so quickly, spraying is about the best way to put them on. (Brushing shellac is doable, but absolutely requires practice since you cannot apply it like you do an ordinary varnish...you cannot "over brush" it and get a good result) But if I need to hand-apply, a wiping varnish is my preference, despite the number of applications necessary to build the film.

Yea I'm using Tung oil Finish by Formsby. You learn something everyday.
I guess I'll stick with brushes and try mixing my own.
Thanks Jim and Ken

Roger

[Rob Amadon]

Roger,

Get yourself a good varnish. Behlens Rockhard or Waterlox Original, (not the sealer and finish, the sealer is already thinned to wipe-on consistency) would be good choices for cabinets. Thin it with 10% or 15% mineral spirits. Brush this on and wait 24 hours between coats. You will build film thickness 3 times as fast as wipe-on varnish. 2 or 3 coats should be enough. If you are having problems with dust nibs lightly sand the last coat and finish up with a wipe-on coat thinned 50% with mineral spirits, or thin with naphtha to make it flash off even faster.

Rob

[Steve Schoene]

Formby's Tung Oil Finish is a wipe-on varnish to begin with not tung oil. You won't see much difference between it and the wipe on varnishes you can make your self, except cost. It's an OK varnish, but I won't use it because of the almost deceptive marketing. (Although it actually does use the word varnish on the label, if you look closely.)

Waterlox comes in three flavors, Original/Sealer which is the one already thinned to be an excellent wiping varnish. It gives a mellow gloss that I like very much. But there is also Gloss varnish, which has a higher percentage of solids and would want thinning to be used as a wiping varnish and Satin which is in between the other two in solids content and can be wiped on with only moderate thinning. All of these will require the half dozen coats as you discovered with the Formby's. But, you can apply them more quickly--waiting only til they are barely dry to the touch before applying the next coat, but then after about 3 coats letting the "batch" dry overnight. You only need to sand after each "batch" not after every coat.

Brush on varnish--Behlen Rockhard is a very good one, require fewer coats, but they must be spaced 24 hours apart, and sanded with 320 grit between coats. Other good varnishes include McCloskey Heirloom (perhaps now under a new name Cabot Varnish not polyurethane) Pratt & Lambert 38 is also an excellent brush on varnish.