# Oak table - Applied 3 coats tung oil - then sanded w/ 220 and ruined finish



## Sandpaper (Jun 19, 2015)

Yup, The 3 coats of Tung oil on a nice old oak table. It looked great. I thought I would protect table with a light coat of poly. For some unbelievable reason I sanded the top with 220 grit to prep the wood. BIG MISTAKE! The scratch marks from the sanding are bad. At that point rather than applying poly I gave it another coat of tung oil hoping to hide the scratches. It didn't. It still looks BAD. You can see the sandpaper marks.

I have not applied the poly.

Help! 

I'll try anything. I would rather not sand it down to bare wood. 

Would a coat of semi-gloss oak stain hide the sandpaper marks?


----------



## gmcsmoke (Feb 6, 2011)

you need to sand with finer sand paper applying tung oil until you remove the sanding marks. I don't think you need to go to the quoted extreme but it give you an idea on how to correct.



> *APPLYING AN OIL FINISH:
> Each finishing session will require seven to eight hours when applying a hand-rubbed oil finish; between half-an-hour to an hour to apply and sand-in the oil, followed by six hours of monitoring and surface maintenance. This isn’t a project to start at 10:00 p.m. unless you are prepared to be up all night.
> 
> Work on only one or two reasonably-sized surfaces at a time - don’t attempt to apply the finish to an entire project at once. One of the benefits of an oil finish is that there is no need to finish an entire project at once, or to maintain a wet edge. You can stop and start as you please, as long as you thoroughly remove all slurry before it dries and becomes thick and unworkable.
> ...


----------



## Sandpaper (Jun 19, 2015)

I forgot to mention I applied the last coat of tung oil with 600 grit paper. 

It did not seem to help. 

Are you saying to keep applying coats with fine sand paper (600?) till the marks are gone?


----------



## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Many times sanding with 220 can be fine but if your sanding in the finish the 600 is too fine. But my guess is your sandpaper has something in it bigger than the 220 grit. I sand in with something in the 300 grit range. 

Poly over any oil finish is a sin. It's just not done.

al


----------



## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

*Oil finish.*



Al B Thayer said:


> Many times sanding with 220 can be fine but if your sanding in the finish the 600 is too fine. But my guess is your sandpaper has something in it bigger than the 220 grit. I sand in with something in the 300 grit range.
> 
> Poly over any oil finish is a sin. It's just not done.
> 
> al


I agree with Al. 
I don't think you've done anything that can't easily be fixed. 
First, your oil finish was probably not dry. 
Two, plain 220 sandpaper can quickly gum-up when the finish is not dry. Then you start to pull the finish and cause lines (similar to a scratch). 
I will get some push back from some readers here, but I suggest you thoroughly clean the top with a dry (4) 0000 steel wool pad. The steel wool will not scratch and it will remove the residue and scratches. 
Once you've got it like you want it, go back and re-apply the oil finish using 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper. 
After 20-30 minutes, wipe off all the oil (with the grain). 
Wait a full day and repeat. 
Wait a full day and repeat until you get the look you want. (3-4 coats)
No poly is needed on a good oil finish. 
Good luck to you. 
Jim


----------



## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Tung oil takes a very long time to dry. Sometimes when you sand a finish that isn't completely dry the finish will ball up on the sandpaper and make scratches. I believe this is what happened. Other than automotive finishes I've never had 220 grit paper make scratches in a finish. 

If it was pure tung oil it might take as much as a week for a coat to dry enough to sand and recoat. The best way to tell if the finish is dry is to briskly rub the finish with a clean dry cloth and see if the tung oil smell rubs off on the rag. When there is no smell it is dry. If it was a tung oil finish it might dry in 48 hours but you check it the same way.


----------



## Sandpaper (Jun 19, 2015)

Thank you all for your advice. 

I'll take this on today and let you know how I make out. 

Thank you very much.


----------



## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

Are you using real, 100% tung oil or one of the may faux tung oil finshes?


----------



## Sandpaper (Jun 19, 2015)

Update: 

The tung oil was not pure. I used The Minwax stuff...for the last time. 

Looking at the disaster I created I finally remembered what I used on this table the last time I did it 20 or 25 years ago. 

Deft Clear Wood Finish - Semi-Gloss Brushing Lacquer. 

I sanded the tung oil off and got back to bare wood, or close enough. 

Five coats of deft and it looks great. Not museum quality but good enough for a summer camp in Maine. 

I love Deft. It is very easy to work with and very forgiving. I can not speak to all their product but the clear wood finish brushing lacquer is so good I never tried anything else. I just wish I had remembered it earlier. 

Deft gives the oak a nice dark, rich look. 

Thank you all for your help.


----------



## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

Sandpaper said:


> Update:
> 
> The tung oil was not pure. I used The Minwax stuff...for the last time.
> 
> ...


I like the Deft stuff too but don't use it on furniture. I love the Minwax family a great deal and use it on all of my favorite furniture builds. But never apply it as the can directs.

Al


----------

