# Millie's Tung Oil



## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

I broke down and ordered a quart of Millie's All Purpose Penetrating Tung Oil from Southerland Wells and have finished a few bowls with it over the past month so I thought I'd give it a quick review. For my salad bowls, I've been using pure tung oil with the citrus solvent from Real Milk Paint or Mahoney's Utility Finish topped with his oil/wax blend and have been leaning more and more toward the tung oil. I like that the tung oil cures faster and harder and leaves a smoother feeling surface when cured. The bowls treated with Mahoney's got kind of tacky feeling over time on those bowls that have been in inventory awhile. I kept hearing the term "polymerized tung oil" being thrown around but every one I found was simply an oil/varnish type finish with metal dryers and various solvents. I wanted a pure heat treated (polymerized) oil without anything added to it. Millie's is the closest thing I found having beeswax and a citrus based solvent added, which I can live with. Anyway, I can say that I am very happy with it so far. It really does cure in only a few days and the wax gives it an amazingly smooth and soft feel. It still takes several applications and a solid week to get a good finish but I love that it is actually dry after a week where the other pure (no dryers added) oils take weeks or months to feel really dry. It leaves a matte finish with just a little glow but not quite what I'd call satin. I think it will stay nice over time. Since it's cured, nothing should really change, but we'll see this time next year. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps somebody. Here are a couple of salad bowls finished with Millie's.


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## bond3737 (Nov 13, 2009)

ohhhhh now thats nice! love the glow of oil... hate fingerprints very pretty though wish there were more reviews on finishes like this... not only what the process is like but how it compares to other finishes... beautiful bowls brotha


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

+1 ... appreciate you taking the time to write up this review, and as Bond said -- beautiful bowls!


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## cuerodoc (Jan 27, 2012)

+ me 3.
Like that finish. Guess I'll have to try some too-- reckon it'll look good on Mesquite?


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

cuerodoc said:


> + me 3. Like that finish. Guess I'll have to try some too-- reckon it'll look good on Mesquite?


Everything looks good on mesquite! To my eye there's not much difference in appearance from one oil to the next. The difference here is the protection you get from a hardening oil that is cured in the wood, but without the long wait or harsh chemicals. I would imagine the beeswax (which stays mostly on the surface) will wash off pretty quickly but the oil should stay put for a good long while. I don't mean to bill it as a miracle finish, just another option with its own pros and cons, but it seems to fit my needs nicely. It's main con, and I probably should have lead with this, it's expensive! $43 per quart! http://www.sutherlandwelles.com/millies.html
A quart of 50/50 tung oil/citrus solvent from Real Milk Paint is $20 http://www.realmilkpaint.com/HalfAndHalf.html
According to SW's documentation the heat treating process is very touchy and therefore expensive do do properly.


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

You guys should check into these finishes
http://doctorswoodshop.com
I've tried most of these and I use the high build friction polish for most of my bowls these days. Several coats on the lathe and then crank the speed up for a final buffing. Done. Food safe too as they are just walnut oil, shellac and carnauba wax.


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## Lilty (Dec 20, 2006)

Nice bowls and the finish is great.


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## Syd Sellers (Feb 2, 2013)

Has anyone done up a review or seen one on a Tung oil with the label Circa 1850? I have been using this oil for the last 6 years or so but have nothing to compare it to. I like the job it does on any wood except Cocobolo...
Thanks so much to Bonanza35 for his great review.
I Also Like the job you did on those bowls....


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

Syd Sellers said:


> Has anyone done up a review or seen one on a Tung oil with the label Circa 1850? I have been using this oil for the last 6 years or so but have nothing to compare it to. I like the job it does on any wood except Cocobolo... Thanks so much to Bonanza35 for his great review. I Also Like the job you did on those bowls....


I hadn't run across that one. I just pulled it up and it says it's raw tung oil but I found a forum post saying it is polymerized. The manufacturer site also says it contains no varnish or other oils. My guess is that it is raw oil with a solvent and a dryer. Sounds like they market it for marine use. You must like your results if you've used it that long. Maybe someone else here has used it.


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

sawdustfactory said:


> You guys should check into these finishes http://doctorswoodshop.com I've tried most of these and I use the high build friction polish for most of my bowls these days. Several coats on the lathe and then crank the speed up for a final buffing. Done. Food safe too as they are just walnut oil, shellac and carnauba wax.


That sounds like something I need to add to my arsenal, although I suck at friction polish. I tend to like soft oil finishes without any build on my salad bowls but I use higher sheen "hard" finishes on other turnings and that sounds like a great non-toxic option. Thanks.


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## Al B Thayer (Dec 10, 2011)

bond3737 said:


> ohhhhh now thats nice! love the glow of oil... hate fingerprints very pretty though wish there were more reviews on finishes like this... not only what the process is like but how it compares to other finishes... beautiful bowls brotha


I post about wipe on oil finishes and the poly guys run me over.

Al


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

Bonanza35 said:


> ... I kept hearing the term "polymerized tung oil" being thrown around but every one I found was simply an oil/varnish type finish with metal dryers and various solvents. I wanted a pure heat treated (polymerized) oil without anything added to it. Millie's is the closest thing I found having beeswax and a citrus based solvent added, which I can live with....


Polymerized tung oil cross-links faster than pure tung oil, If you had problems with pure tung oil taking a long time to dry, it might be that it wasn't being applied correctly. It should be wiped onto the wood with a rag or paper towel and then after it sits for ten or fifteen minutes, thoroughly wipe off all of the oil on the surface with a clean cloth. Check it about fifteen minutes later and wipe off any oil that seeps out of the pores. Repeat until no more oil seeps out of the pores.

I have used Old Masters 100% Pure Tung Oil for about twenty years. It is much thicker than other oils, but it does produce a beautiful sheen. I don't recommend more than one application because oil shouldn't be used as a film finish. It is too soft. A finish like varnish can be applied over tung oil, but wait several weeks for it to thoroughly cure.

The metallic salts that act as a catalyst to cross-linking aren't a problem, but some people say that they think that the salts reduce clarity slightly. The best thing for thinning tung oil is plain old mineral spirits which evaporates completely. I would be concerned about any possible residue left behind by the citrus solvent.

To me, Millie's sounds like it might be a furniture polish or something to "rejuvenate" a finish. It is just my personal preference -- I don't care for products that are a mixture of different ingredients. I wonder if the wax might hinder cross-linking in the oil. I think that it is just marketing talk to make a big deal out of heat treating.


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

Bill Boehme said:


> Polymerized tung oil cross-links faster than pure tung oil, If you had problems with pure tung oil taking a long time to dry, it might be that it wasn't being applied correctly. It should be wiped onto the wood with a rag or paper towel and then after it sits for ten or fifteen minutes, thoroughly wipe off all of the oil on the surface with a clean cloth. Check it about fifteen minutes later and wipe off any oil that seeps out of the pores. Repeat until no more oil seeps out of the pores. I have used Old Masters 100% Pure Tung Oil for about twenty years. It is much thicker than other oils, but it does produce a beautiful sheen. I don't recommend more than one application because oil shouldn't be used as a film finish. It is too soft. A finish like varnish can be applied over tung oil, but wait several weeks for it to thoroughly cure. The metallic salts that act as a catalyst to cross-linking aren't a problem, but some people say that they think that the salts reduce clarity slightly. The best thing for thinning tung oil is plain old mineral spirits which evaporates completely. I would be concerned about any possible residue left behind by the citrus solvent. To me, Millie's sounds like it might be a furniture polish or something to "rejuvenate" a finish. It is just my personal preference -- I don't care for products that are a mixture of different ingredients. I wonder if the wax might hinder cross-linking in the oil. I think that it is just marketing talk to make a big deal out of heat treating.


Thanks for the reply, Bill. There may be some confusion about the difference between dry and cured. Yes, if you wipe raw tung (or any oil) on the surface, let it soak in then wipe it all off, the bowl will be basically dry. For tung oil to be cured, however, it takes weeks just as you said. Most bowl turners are perfectly fine with uncured oil soaked bowls and there is certainly nothing at all wrong with that, I'm just exploring another possible route to see if I like it better. 

As for the heavy metal driers and petroleum solvents, again they are commonly used with no problems but there are those of us who prefer to minimize exposure to those things when an alternative exists. My customers like it too. 

My understanding is that the wax is too thick to penetrate so is left on the surface and in large pores. I can tell you from observing my applicators that the oil does harden in days rather than weeks as is the case with raw tung oil so I guess the cross-linking isn't hampered too much.


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