# Friction sealing Tung Oil..step by step



## Ozrob (Apr 21, 2008)

Hi all,
Some people would like me to post this method, so here I go.

*Beginning*
First thing to do is to make sure that the Tung Oil you have purchased has no Polyurethane or other plastics in it's makeup. Once you start sealing the timber, the plastic will degrade due to the heat and become a sticky mess. It may also cause the drying process to take longer, even up to weeks! Sort of like *** that' been around too long or oxidized in the tin. Most Pure Tung oils seem to be just that and if you stick to these, you should be OK. *(Pic.1)*

Next is to decide what size Random Orbital Sander (ROS) you will be using and buy pads that will fit. For the higher grits, I know Festool make 1000,1200,1500,2000 and 4000 grit pads, which have no holes in them and therefore will fit any 6" ROS. I would expect that they will work on a 5" ROS as well. Go as high as you can with the grits as the result just gets better. at least up to 4000 it does. At minimum, try to get to 1500g. _Don't use vacuum with the wet sanding component of this method._ *(Pic.2)*

Once you have the Oil, pads and ROS ( and work piece) it's time to start sanding. I use 80, 100, 120 ,150, 180, 240, 400 grit for the dry sanding. Some woods mark badly with swirlies and I find that gently increasing the grit helps to alleviate or even stop them from showing.
You can use what you think is appropriate starting say, at 100 or 120 but ending at 400g. (Pic.3) 

When you hit 400 grit, the wood should feel very smooth and reflect light when held up on an angle. Best to check for any scarring or swirlies at this point then go back and redo the area affected. Now you can saturate the wood with oil. Make sure that the oil is rubbed in, then swabbed again, until you have oil sitting on the wood that doesn't look like it's going to soak in. *Now leave the oil to soak in for an hour.* (*Pic.4*)

I have used other oils which have additives and which soak in quicker, thus taking less time to soak in and less time to finish. _You will have to try your own oils on scrap to determine a reasonable time.

_ For this tute, I'm using Liberon Pure Tung Oil diluted 50/50 with White Spirits.

More to follow.

Rob


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## Sbrooks (Jan 15, 2012)

Thanks for sharing 
Here's table I did. It for my shop I don't know if ting oil was best for it but I love the finish.
But it does seem to have a sticky top in one place did Ido something. 
V
Can't wait to see the rest of your post.


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## ftk (May 9, 2012)

Looking forward to the rest of the write up.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

Thanks Rob, I'll follow what you do

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

Thanks for taking the time to write up your methods. I'm always interested in learning new processes. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your methodology.


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## Ozrob (Apr 21, 2008)

Before we move on. There are a couple of things I forgot to mention which may help! 
*First: Sanding.* I sand each segment of the wood for 10 passes. Each pass constitutes once to the left, then once to the right to cover the area you are working on. Try not to do very large areas all at once. Divide into smaller areas and do each one in turn. If the wood starts to dry out, you can always add some more oil!.

*Second: Soaking the wood with the oil.* Keep an eye on the work piece as the first hour goes by and add oil to keep the board wet and glossy. At the end of the first hour, saturate the wood again and leave it for another half hour. Finally, after that half hour, add some more oil until the work is wet and glossy and start wet sanding immediately.

*Wet Sanding.*

Start wet sanding your work with the same 400g pad you have been using for dry sanding. Use the same 10 pass method of sanding. (Pic.1)
A slurry will form and the sander may meet some resistance, making the pad rotate erratically. Just continue on. This slurry may be quite thick and in large amounts or it may be thinner and visible as "smear" marks behind the sander as you move it to and fro. Both are fine.*(Pic.2)*(You can see the slurry developing in pic. s as arcs across the wet surface and as darker smudges at both ends. 
Leave this slurry on as it is useful for grain filling and can be used to fill imperfections in joints and the timber as well.

Once you have done the whole work piece with 400g move on to the next grit and repeat the actions described above, using the same 10 pass method. Resistance will lessen as you go up through the grits. By the time you reach 1200g you're work will start to show mirror like reflection when you look along the top of it.

Use the 2000 and 4000g just as you would the other grits. You will notice that the slurry disappears, so that by the time you've done the last pass of the 4000, you have a clean, clear oiled finish.
Give the work piece a thorough rub down with a clean, dry cotton cloth, then stand back to admire!!(Pic.3)

What you've now got.

I have done some studies on the properties of friction dried Tung Oils. You will find that the finish is smooth, durable and resistant to Hot water spills and rings, cold water spills and rings and radiant heat from steam and direct heat. But the clincher for me at least, is the ability to use standard kitchen spray cleaners*(Pic.3) *with no affect on the finish at all.

And, of course, because it's oil, should you find a superficial scratch, you can cover it with some of the oil and it will not be visible. With plastic finishes, you'd be looking to refinish the whole piece!

Next post I'll go over the results from some different Tung Oils and Tung Oil proprietary mixes

Rob


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## Ozrob (Apr 21, 2008)

I've run the tests on various Oils (all straight from the can) using the following regimes.
1. Cold water dripped onto the oiled timber and left for 10 minutes.(Pic 1 is China Wood Oil)
(Pic 2) shows the Cold water test after wiping off the water from the Chinawood Oil Sample
2. Newly boiled water poured onto the oiled timber and left for 5 minutes. (Pic 3 shows the five different oils I used)
3. A pot of boiling water laid flat on the oiled timber. (Pic 4)
As I have said earlier, you can happily use kitchen cleaners to wipe down the surfaces with no ill affect

The Oils used were burnished on a Monday afternoon and were tested 24 hours later.
While I have recorded all tests and results as images, I can sum up as follows.

None of the oils showed any damage or scarring as a result of any of the irritants used. Some of the oils were easier to remove evidence of the cold or hot water than others, but generally, all came up as they were before the tests with a little rubbing with a cotton cloth. All were fine after using the Kitchen cleaners on them.
So hard burnishing all of the Tung Oil/Tung Oil mixes I used was successful.

Choose your weapon! _Just make sure that there is no Poly in the mix._

Regards,

Rob


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## slevapaul (Aug 25, 2012)

Thanks for sharing the nice information. Tung oil is widely used by most of the people. It is used for the perfect finishing of the furniture. Oil based finishing always gives the proper finishing to the furniture.


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## DaveTTC (May 25, 2012)

I have this marked for future reference. 


Thanks

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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