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Tung Oil VS Danish Oil

CAGIV | Posted in General Discussion on December 6, 2005 06:49am

Can anyone tell me what the differene is going to be in finishing?

I have a project that has, walnut, maple, and lyptus, plus small amounts of purple heart and paduk.  I was going to finish all of it with Danish oil, however the paint store I go to did not have danish and said tung would be the same thing…

A few other local stores were also out of Danish oil as well, Must be that made x-mass rush?

anyway, can someone tell me if in fact using Tung oil instead of Danish oil would produce any different of a finish?

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  1. Scott | Dec 06, 2005 07:13am | #1

    Try the Knots forum.

    Scott.

    1. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2005 07:26am | #4

      Scott,

      I did post there as well as here, thanks

  2. RW | Dec 06, 2005 07:15am | #2

    similar but not the same thing. Tung oil is just that, straight oil. Granted, it's probably been heat treated so it cures, but it's just the oil. Danish oil is really a catch all phrase which covers a variety of products which, more or less, are a combination of an oil (tung, linseed, but more commonly tung) which has been thinned down and has some resins added to it. Like if you added varnish and mineral spirits to a can of oil. Difference being a straight oil finish won't form a film. A Danish oil will form a film. It is slight, but you could tell the difference if you held two pieces next to each other.

    Now a Danish oil isn't going to film like a lacquer. Its pretty thin unless you do repeat coats. It is still a wiping style finish. And there are exceptions to oils, if you get a polymerized tung, that's gone to 700+ degrees so that it changes chemically, and that will form a beautifully sheened film. If you've ever seen a gorgeous gun stock, 99% of the time that's a polymerized tung oil or oil blend.

    Short version, it's going to do about the same thing, you might get a little film build, but the oil finish look is still there. Some Danish Oils come tinted as well, so you can impart some desired tone to the piece while you finish it.

    "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

    1. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2005 07:25am | #3

      I was hoping you would be by...

      What would you do?

      From the sounds of it, Danish Oil would provide a slightly better finish?

      I saw some of the tinted Danish Oils at the store, light walnut, dark walnut, cherry, etc etc... If the project was all walnut I would probably at least try the dark walnut.

      I have a jewelry box, the main body is walnut, the bottom and top pieces are Lyptus and Maple, the maple seperating the other two.   The little drawers I made out of purple heart boxes with paduk bottoms because I had some small craps left over from other projects.

      Where would I find polymerized tung oil, and is it any harder to work with?

      Finishing isn't really my strong suit, but I wanted something a little more then just sprayed lacquer....

      1. Danno | Dec 06, 2005 03:15pm | #5

        Woodworking catalogs would have Danish oil and just about anything else (or look on line at Rocklers or Woodcraft). Brownells (gun parts) proabably has Birchwood Caseys polymerized linseed oil (it's expensive). Have not yet seen polymerized tung oil, but it probably exists.

        1. User avater
          maddog3 | Dec 07, 2005 05:10am | #19

          Danno mentioned this stuff>>>>>>>polymerized Tung Oilhttp://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20050&cat=1,190,42942........but I am too lateand the sealerhttp://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20051&cat=1,190,42942

      2. RW | Dec 07, 2005 02:58am | #12

        Better, worse, subjective. But you already knew that. I agree with the previous, if you have a Woodcraft, that's best bet. Polymerized. Very easy to work with. Rub on, rub in, leave alone. Repeat. On gun stocks, I rub it in with my finger, maybe 2. Keep going until it starts being a little tacky and not so slick. Then stop, hang it up to dry. Do that every day for a month or so. First few coats, rub it in with 400 grit paper. Then you get a slurry, which you can trowel around with a scrap of cardboard, which fills all the pores with tiny dust from that stock. Let dry. Sand just til smooth, oil.

        ANYWAY. Now that I've gone off topic. Oil is going to make the grain jump out at you and add depth, but not sheen, and not a protective film, which on a jewelry box, probably not a big deal. If you want both, you could get there with a danish oil, or with just a wiping varnish. Again, make your own, take a good quality varnish and cut it in half or even 2:1 with naptha and wipe it on. I think FHB had an article from Jewitt a few years ago where he talked about paper towels, VIVA, with no texture to them. He's right. Perfect for wiping that way.

        Or oil it once or twice, leave it alone for a month, then lacquer it. That's a neat look. Love that one on cherry."If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

        1. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2005 03:16am | #13

          I have the first coat on with this Tung oil finish the paint store sold me, the thought of driving 45 minutes to woodcraft (again) wasn't all that appealing so I went with it.

          First coat is on, and I did sand it in with 400 grit paper and was planning on at least one more coat using the paper, and put a few more coats on until it looks "right" to me.

          Would there be a point at which another coat would become problamatic, as in too many?   And last question, how long will this need to dry before I can box it up and put it under the tree after the last coat?  

          Like I said I'm not much for finishing, I can spray lacquer, or wipe on poly, much more advanced then that I am not

          Edited 12/6/2005 7:17 pm ET by CAGIV

          1. jimblodgett | Dec 07, 2005 03:51am | #14

            I don't think it should go under the tree before we see some photos. 

          2. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2005 04:04am | #15

            I'll post some once it's finished

            I must warn you though, I have a history of not finishing things :)   I started this project before I finished the bed I started as a wedding gift, wedding was Nov 5th....

            I hope to have both finished by x mass though...

            As a side note, Brass hardware for this Jewelry box is crazy expensive...  27 bucks for a little necklace carrousel, 5 bucks for necklace "posts"  8 bucks for 2 tiny brass door pulls...

            Edited 12/6/2005 8:06 pm ET by CAGIV

          3. jimblodgett | Dec 07, 2005 04:23am | #16

            Do you realize how far 40 bucks will go with a hooker? 

          4. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2005 04:36am | #17

            Then I could had a grand old night....

            I got 80 bucks wrapped in hardware, probably around 150 in wood that I over paid for because I bought it at woodcraft, because there is no hardwood lumber yard in town, and I couldn't get to one out of town by closing, not to mention I "had" to buy a router table, which prompted a new router, plus finishing supplies, etc etc.

            all told, DAMN, just did the math, that's about 700 bucks for a Jewelry box!

            I could have got her those earings she wanted!

          5. RW | Dec 07, 2005 04:40am | #18

            Youll get too tired of finishing long before you put too much on it"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

  3. User avater
    BillHartmann | Dec 06, 2005 04:15pm | #6

    I doubt seriously if the paint store had Tung OIL.

    More likely that they had tung oil FINISH.

    And Tung Oil Finish can be anything that manufacture decides to make it. It can be either a wiping varnish or a varnish oil blend.

    The wiping varnish will build and is high gloss unless it has flating agents added (stain finish).

    I think that most danish oil or of the oil varnish blend.

    Bob Flexnor has written about this and he has an article in one of the current WW mags that I saw at the grocery store. Possilbe Popular WW, but I am not sure.

    Two main place in the KC area to look for finsihes are Woodcraft in OP and Paxton's in KC, MO. They might have the polymerized Tung Oil (which has nothing to do with tung oil finishes), if anyone would.

    There is also Merit Industries in KC, KS.

    http://www.meritindustries.com

    It has a lot of interesting stuff in their catalog.

    They do have plain tung oil, but I did not see the polymerized.

    But they do have QUALASOLE and French Lac.

    Those are generator very, very high polished finishes. Don't know how hard they are to work with.

    http://www.meritindustries.com/lvf2.htm

    1. CAGIV | Dec 06, 2005 04:40pm | #7

      Thanks Bill

      I know woodcraft would more then likely be able to help me, but I don't feel like making another trip this week out there :)

      I think I'm going to give what I have a try on a sample piece and see how I like it, if I don't I'll worry about it then.

       

      1. Snort | Dec 06, 2005 09:12pm | #8

        I think you're looking for Watco, oughta be able to find it anywhere. Behr makes a tung oil that looks great on pine and it's relatives. Hey, pocket doors can't come off the track if they're nailed open

        1. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2005 02:22am | #10

          Apperantly the town had a rush on Watco

          I checked 2 paint stores, HD, and 2 ace hardwares...

          No luck

          I started using the tung oil finish, so hopefully it works out well ;)

           

      2. User avater
        dmt | Dec 07, 2005 01:36am | #9

        On the other hand, you can make your own at a much lower cost. Combine 1/3 high gloss spar varnish, 1/3 tung oil, and 1/3 mineral spirits (preferably orderless) to thin the oil and varnish  and you will create a penetrating, low luster, highly resistant finish that can be used on most furniture and is easily repaired if it is scratched or damaged. The only caveat is to be sure all the excess finish is wiped off before the next coat is applied. It usually requires three coats, with 24 hours drying time between coats, to achieve the low luster finish. If you want a high gloss finish, you should probably try a wipe on poly.

        As an aside, if you are the maple and walnut are touching, you should be prepared to see some bleed-over from the walnut into the maple.  

        1. CAGIV | Dec 07, 2005 02:23am | #11

          I'll keep that recipe for future use.

          The maple and walnut are touching, but I'm finishing them seperatly prior to assembly to avoid the bleeding.

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