# Polymerized Tung Oil



## Warren White (May 31, 2018)

I really like a high gloss finish on things I turn.  I know that there are others who find such finishes 'plastic' looking, but I like shiny stuff.

I have tried a lot of different finishes on bowls.  I recently finished a Redwood bowl with pure tung oil and liked the result.  Before that, I have used Deft 'rattle can' gloss and was generally happy with the result (other than the occasional orange peel from bad technique).

I have read about Polymerized Tung Oil and thought I would give it a try.  I ordered a quart from Sutherland Welles.  At $44.13 per quart, plus $16.71 shipping, it was a bit pricey.  It turns out a little of this stuff goes a long way, so I could have ordered a pint, but it is what it is.

The bowl was sanded to 400 although I should have spent more time on a couple of end grain issues.  I went back and forth through the grits several times before I applied the finish.

It was a bit of a learning curve, but I think I have done all right.  The can instructs that application should be with "a natural bristle brush or a clean rag".  Later, I discovered their web site defines a rag as "Scott Blue Paper Towels" which I had missed.  I first tried cotton cloths, but I found I was taking too much off when I followed their instructions to wait 5 to 10 minutes and remove the excess.  I went to paper towels for application and removal (not Scott Blue, but quality paper towels) and the result was much better.

I have pictures of the Maple bowl I finished.  The picture was taken with my phone, so it isn't the best quality, but I hope it does the finish credit.  I purposely included a glimpse of the end grain issue, so you can see my procedure isn't perfect. I am constantly learning, yet never quite there.

I like how it turned out.  Your comments, and your suggestions are most welcome.  I hope this proves useful to someone.


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## monophoto (May 31, 2018)

I use Hope's Tung Oil, but Sutherland Welles has a good rep.

For application, I wipe it on using either a bit of paper towel or toilet paper, let it sit for 30-60 minutes and then wipe it down with a cloth (either freebie Harbor Freight microfiber towels or used underwear).  Let it cure for 4-8 hours, and then repeat the process.  After it cures fully (say a week), buff and wax.


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## Wildman (May 31, 2018)

Like yout bowl, thanks for sharing!

You don't say whether you thinned with mineral spirits or citrus solvent and how many coats you applied. 

http://www.sutherlandwelles.com/pdf/projects/Wood-Turning.pdf

Only have experience with Hope's tung oil which thinned with mineral spirits not a chemist but think about same as paint thinner which they list in their instructions.  I did use less than 50% MS after the first coat for total of six coats.  Did spend more time finishing than turning & sanding my bowl.


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## MRDucks2 (May 31, 2018)

Like the bowl and finish. 
Unlike Louie, I think I would prefer clean underwear to used ones. Must be something he has picked up since moving to New York. Lol [emoji23] 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## Warren White (May 31, 2018)

*To Bill*

Thanks for the question.  When I used pure Tung Oil, I did not thin it, and because of that, there was a lot of wait time between coats.  That is one of the reasons that I wanted to try something else.

The Polymerized Tung Oil does not require thinning, so I didn't thin it.  As for the number of coats, I would guess it was about five.


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## leehljp (May 31, 2018)

Warren, 

Great finish. Tung oil is probably the best water protecting natural finish you can get. I had read that and decided to try tung oil.

I will never forget that first time. I was in Tokyo and found some tung oil in a paint shop. It was the only paint in the shop that had English writing on the can and it was only the name. At that time, I couldn't read Japanese so I decided to try it on some walnut without knowing what the instructions were. I wiped it on, waited an hour, it was still wet, wiped it off, wiped a thick layer on again, waited an hour, nothing happened. Wiped it off and put a thick coat on and decided to see how long it took. Two days later, still wet. I wiped it off and gave up. The next week, I looked at the walnut and it had the best finish of anything I had ever finished.

Later, I learned that I was doing everything right without knowing it. Since then on special woods, I will use only tung oil.


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## Wildman (Jun 1, 2018)

Went back and read the instructions and see stuff already has either petroleum or Di Citrusol (citrus) solvent / thinner in it.  So don't need add anything else. 

Addition of solvent / thinner aid in those oils penetrating wood surface and speed up drying some what.      

Included this link because it tells you Tung oil comes from the seeds and not the nut itself.  You may find a link saying people with nut allergies should avoid this finish which is not true.  Almost the same for Walnut oil with this caveat some people with peanuts allergies are bothered and some not.  

Tung Oil - Woodwork Details

While like low luster achieved with Hope's Tung oil didn't like drying time even with use of solvent/thinner.   Did follow Flexner's advice on number of coats.

Many of my early turnings finished with commercial oil/varnish blends but switched to wiping varnish (any resin whether poly or varnish & mineral spirits). 

Thanks again for sharing.


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## monophoto (Jun 1, 2018)

This is interesting.  I thought Sutherland Wells produced a pure Tung Oil, but the product described by Wildman contains solvents.  And when I went to their web site, they say that they produce various versions with different solvents - a petroleum distillate solvent (mineral spirits), and a citrus oil solvent.  

The Hopes site describes their product as "Hope's is *pure 100% Tung Oil.* It is not "thinned", contains 				*NO petroleum distillates".  *I sometime use it straight from the bottle, but I sometimes thin it with turpentine.  Bottom line - you have to read the label (and perhaps the MSDS) carefully to understand what these products actually are.


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## Wildman (Jun 2, 2018)

I think this article by Bob Flexner will clear up some misunderstandings about oil finishes but not all.   The products mentioned  whether pure oils, oil varnish blends or wiping varnish are certainly easy to use.  Of course turners have been mixing there own oil & wiping varnish finishing materials for a long time.  

Pure drying oils do not really penetrate to deeply into wood surfaces by themselves thus solvents/thinners recommended.  Already mentioned solvents and thinner speed up drying and penetration of pure oil finishes.    Walnut oil the one exception solvents/thinner not listed in instructions; we do see modified Walnut oil available to obtain more sheen.   Many commercial products labeled Tung oil may not even contain any Tung oil.  

Only gripe have on many commercial products listed in the article whether wiping or oil varnish blend is deterioration in the can.  Stopped buying WATCO Danish Oil  & Formb's Danish oil for that reason and prefer to make my own wiping or oil varnish blend.  

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/oil-finishes-their-history-and-use

Have never seen Hope's wiping varnish, but stated before used their  100%Tung oil.  Cannot find their wiping varnish anywhere.  Not too worry have bought Boiled Linseed Oil which also claims to be 100% too!  Stopped using BLO years ago for personal reasons.  

Good luck checking a products Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) or Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for more insight other than ingredients listed on the can.  Manufacturers supposed to list all hazardous chemicals but don't list everything if they feel its not important.


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## Warren White (Jun 10, 2018)

*An Update:*

I just finished a bowl similar to the one that started this thread.  This blank is another one that my friend Charlie (Dieseldoc) gave me out of his 'rough turned' stock.  I REALLY wished I had taken a picture of this before I finished turning it.  I was amazed at the figure that was waiting inside.  It was beautiful!  Thanks so much Charlie. 

This time, I went back to Gloss Deft Spray Lacquer.  As you may be able to see in the accompanying pictures, the gloss isn't as shiny as the Polymerized Tung Oil.  I improved my spray finishing technique (I mentioned that I sometimes had problems with orange peel), using 0000 steel wool in-between applications; the result is a very smooth surface with noticeably less sheen, but I think it looks really nice.  

According to Deft's instructions, I waited 30 minutes between coats.  I sprayed the bowl in my garage to reduce issues of it drying too quickly because of the sun, and to eliminate wind blowing stuff on the wet surface.  I applied probably 5 or 6 coats.

I like both the Polymerized Tung Oil and the rattle-can Deft, and learned a valuable lesson in the process.  I need to SLOW DOWN and really look carefully at the item to be finished and NOT RUSH into the application of the finish.  I also need to be careful all along the way.  When the "little voice" whispers in my ear that I need to reconsider, I need to listen. Patience is a bit hard for me.

I always learn from comments and suggestions, so fire away!


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## leehljp (Jun 10, 2018)

Warren White said:


> I like both the Polymerized Tung Oil and the rattle-can Deft, and learned a valuable lesson in the process.  I need to SLOW DOWN and really look carefully at the item to be finished and NOT RUSH into the application of the finish.  I also need to be careful all along the way.  When the "little voice" whispers in my ear that I need to reconsider, I need to listen. Patience is a bit hard for me.
> 
> I always learn from comments and suggestions, so fire away!



Charlie did you well with that blank. Great looking!

I am not one to be preaching about finishes as I have rushed my shares of finishes in the past, but you hit upon one of the greatest needs for wood workers, wood turners and pen turners in general. When the product is done except for the finish, we tend to rush the finish. The finish is what shows off and show cases the beauty of the wood or construction. 

A fine frame showcases a great picture. Finish is what showcases our products. Finish often takes more time than making the product, and it will show.


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## denharv (Jun 10, 2018)

Nice work. Curious where you get your Deft spray bombs? Loved that stuff but Lowe's quit carrying it a couple years ago. Deft's nozzle puts out a more even and finer pattern than the Minwax equivalent. Would buy it by the case if I could find a supplier that doesn't want $6 shipping for each can in the case.


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## nativewooder (Jun 11, 2018)

I had a long, too long, conversation with a gentleman at SutherlandWelles a couple of years ago and spent too much money also.  I then followed his advice and contacted Lee Valley and talked to a guy there who seemed well-informed and carries several different sizes of polymerized Tung Oil which suited my purpose of sealing bowls made from our local Seagrape wood which I salvaged from our local Botanical Garden which had lost a lot of trees to two hurricanes in Sept. 2004.  I wanted to turn a group of bowls suitable for "Foodies" so that my customers could put food in them without worrying about contamination.  Due to health issues I have not been able to finish them all but hope to do that this summer.  Lee Valley also sells a "sealer" but that my be overkill since all it does is shorten the drying time.  Tung Oil provides a beautiful finish and bowls only need a wipe-down with a soapy cloth, rinse and air dry.  NO SCRUBBING.


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## Warren White (Jun 11, 2018)

denharv said:


> Nice work. Curious where you get your Deft spray bombs? Loved that stuff but Lowe's quit carrying it a couple years ago.



I bought it at Home Depot.  Interestingly, the label on the can has changed.  It used to be the can on the left; now it is the can on the right.  I called the 800 number on the can and the person told me it was just a relabeling for shipment to California.

Some years ago, I bought a number of cans at a local (small) hardware store that was going out of business.  When i got around to using it, there was an issue with the spray leaking around the spray tip.  I called Deft, and they were surprised.  They thought they had replaced all of the cans that had been identified as having the problem.  I told them where I bought it, and they didn't even blink.  The sent me a box of new product in each of the level of gloss; I think they sent me around 8 cans....free.

Great product; I just hope they haven't changed it.


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## bmachin (Jun 11, 2018)

One thing to note about the the tung oil sealer and polymerized tung oil as sold by Lee Valley is that they are two different animals.  By mixing them in different proportions it is possible to vary the final luster of the finish.

This info comes from Lee Valley's site.

FWIW,
Bill


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## Warren White (Jun 11, 2018)

*More on Deft changes*

I just called PPG Industries and they said they had 'tweaked' the VOCs to comply with California standards.  I will have to wait and see if that tweak resulted in any changes.


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