Tung Oil and Satisal Wood

M

MrMike

Joined
Jan 22, 2006
Messages
147
Well, I received a stunning British Army Service forged by Rajkumar this past week from a very patient Aunt Yangdu who took the time to answer all of my questions these past few months. Out of the three I now own it is without question the finest for overall fit and finish. I had been waiting since the end of September for it. The satisal wood is very defined and well polished. I don't even see a trace of buffing rouge.

I cleaned it with mineral spirits, dried the wood and applied two very light coats of Formby's Tung Oil with a cotton swab. The wood really sucked up the first coat and the second set evenly. It's now been 24 hours and the finish is slightly tacky... first time this has ever happened when using tung oil on wood. I thought it would have been reasonably dry in 12 hours, per the directions on the bottle.

Since this is my first experience with satisal (which I would equate to a very hard, tight-grained walnut), does anyone have experience on roughly how long this takes to set up before I can steel wool, then buff it?

It may need yet another coat, but the grain color sure is purdy.
 
MrMike,
How old is your Tung oil? Gloss or Satin? I've had some that starts to get old and waxy the setup like you described. Just a guess you might need to rub or buff the excess off and lightly coat again.
Where is Warty when you need him?
 
oldschool45 said:
MrMike,
How old is your Tung oil? Gloss or Satin? I've had some that starts to get old and waxy the setup like you described. Just a guess you might need to rub or buff the excess off and lightly coat again.
Where is Warty when you need him?
Click to expand...

Brand new bottle- satin finish, not gloss. One very light coat was applied, rubbed in sparingly with the swab, and then another very light coat was applied immediately after. There is no run marks, so I know it's not too thick.

It may take days to cure.
 
Turns out the satisal seems to absorb the oil less quickly than other tight-grained hardwoods.
I ended up wiping the excess stickiness off with some mineral spirits, and then applying lighter coats with a rag - allowing to dry 24 hours and then using a very fine 4-zero steel wool to buff the finish.

I applied a total of eleven coats followed by a protective coat of Renaissance Wax.
The finish is amazing. If you don't rub the excess off with a rag the finish becomes too glossy (for my tastes) even with the satin version. Time and patience are key to achieving a great finish.

I'll try to post some pics this week. The BAS is an overlooked khuk that deserves more attention than it gets.
 
MrMike, I have no patience sometimes and I love Tung Oil but next time I'm going to try the old boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits bath.
Beeswax gives a pretty good satin finish on well treated handles to.
 
"gloss or satin?"

I guess you're using a treatment? I used pure tung oil.

John
 
Spectre said:
"gloss or satin?"

I guess you're using a treatment? I used pure tung oil.

John
Click to expand...

I guess I never made the distinction. I can't find pure tung oil around here. It says on the bottle "tung oil finish., a high quality varnish." The viscosity is very thin.
 
MrMike, what you got probably doesn't contain any actual tung oil. Tung oil finishes do look pretty good. There usually isn't any tung oil in 'em.

From Wikipedia:

"Tung oil has become popular as an environmentally friendly wood finish, but it should be noted that many products labelled as "tung oil finishes" are deceptively labelled: polymerized oils, wiping varnishes, and oil/varnish blends have all been known to be sold as tung oil finishes (sometimes containing no tung oil at all), and all the above contain solvents and/or chemical driers.[5] Product packaging will usually clearly state if it is pure tung oil, so there is a good chance you will be buying something else if the sales literature is vague."
 
Tung oil isn't cheap, but it's not super expensive, either. Look for "100% Tung Oil". An online search found it for as little as $7/pint. A little goes a long way, too.

J
 
I am pretty sure I bought mine from Lee Valley Tools, and it wasn't too expensive.
They have plenty of items for woodworking and more.
 
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