Finishing With Tung Oil!

We Recommend Water Lox!

          Tung Oil is a unique product that gives a lustrous finish with depth and clarity. Really brings out the grain and character of the wood. We use anywhere from 5 to 8 coats. This sounds like overkill to people who are not familiar with wood finishing, but as I go through the details you will develope a better understanding. Primarily used by furniture finishers, it can be used on any high grade lumber such as Teak, Ipe, Oak, maple, Tiger Wood, Walnut, Cedar and many others. Tung oil is flexible it moves with the wood. Not quite as hard as laquer but it is very hard and it is much easier to repair than laquer. It is very easy to use and is basically fool proof.
As with applying any type of finish we recommend to sand using graduated grits up to at least 220 to ensure a smooth flat surface. Ensure the surfaces being finished are dust free. Vacuum, wipe with a tack cloth, then wipe down with your clean hands. Vacuuming your hands after every wipe. 

Tung Oil Tree Nuts!

          Tung Oil itself comes from the nut of the Tung tree and is obtained from the pressing of the nuts. It resists water better any other finish and does not darken with age like polyurethane does. Stain can added to some, Tung oil products, and others it cannot. If you want to color stain your piece of furniture or deck, make sure and read the label. Oil based stain must be used and it should be applied first before the finishing. You also would only mix the stain in the first coat of Tung Oil if you use the mix in method. The oil comes pure and mixed. Pure Tung Oil has the texture of Honey. It is normally sold as mixed which has been thinned with solvents. Tung oil can be thinned by as much as 50% if it is in original state. Use nitrile gloves when using any product with Petroleum products in it. If you buy a pre mixed type make sure you know how much it has been thinned already, so as not to over thin it. It is non toxic in it's natural state and is the finish of choice by pro chefs for cutting boards. It is  perfectly safe. We recommend you thin or use a thinned product for the first and possibly second coat on any of the harder woods. Another trick is to apply one coat, brush out till almost dry or allow to sit for 10 minutes or so and soak in. Then the second coat can be sanded in. By this we mean apply a splatter of Tung Oil to a 220 grit piece of sand paper and sand it in to the surface of the item. Be sure to wipe clean and remove all the grit. If the wood seems to take the Tung Oil the first time, then no need to do this.

Liberon - Wood finishers Steel Wool!

Tung Oil can be applied by Rag, Sponge brush, Bristle brush, Lambs wool applicator, or spraying. For small objects we use a sponge brush. For floors we pour it out on the surface and spread with the Lambs Wool applicator, for decks and outdoor furniture we use an appropriately sized brush. After you have initially applied the product you can continue to brush it in as it is drying or just allow it to soak in for 10 minutes or so and then wipe off the excess with a dust free cloth as you would stain. Allow the proper drying time between coats. Expect to apply between 4 and 10 coats depending on the product and application.                                                        
         
          Repairing a Tung Oil finish!
          This my friends is the easiest thing in the world. If you get some scratches, or mars in your wood you repair it by rubbing the whole surface with 0000grit Steel wool and re-coating with one or two coats of Tung Oil.

          Refinishing your Tung Oil:  Floor, Deck, or Furniture!
          That's just it - there is no real refinishing. Just rub your finish with a 0000 piece of steel wool, vacuum and wipe down very thoroughly, and apply another coat or two of Tung oil. Abracadabra!