Woodchuck question

S

Sundsvall

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Jun 25, 2002
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Can you apply Tru-oil on top of Teak Oil?

I am refinishing a large piece of teak, and like the idea of tru-oil and the wax finish. However, the Teak Oil will actually penetrate the teak and bring it back to life.

Has anyone used these two products together?
 
Wheres the woodchuck spotlight when you need it. Anyways, my little bottle of Tru Oil says it must be applied to raw wood, and that you have to remove old finish before applying. I havent used it yet though, been too used to my homemade stuff, and afraid to change.
 
Only one experience with Tru Oil over Teak Oil, on a slab Teak table top. It had been an office fixture for years, but I was told that the only upkeep had been Teak Oil. I sanded it down, then steel-wooled and used two bottles of Tru Oil to get it covered. The sanding wasn't excessive, but there were dents that I raised with a damp cloth and steam iron. These spots should have shown a difference, boiling out old oil, but it didn't happen.
Can't really say how much Teak Oil remained in the surface, but there was no indication that the Tru Oil did anything but penetrate and blend with whatever was there before - and no clouding, as the new surface was translucent - showed off a great deal more grain than before, even though I kept it to an eggshell rather than a shiny finish.
 
What is teak oil? does it polymerize/oxidize to a insoluble varnish-like state? If no, I would suspect no problem, since in my experience, tung oil based products seem to have no problems blending with orange oils or waxes. Perhaps diluting the intial coats with quality turpentine would help to blend the finish and insure even penteration. No gar-en-tee implied, since I know nooothing!!!:D
 
Originally posted by Federico
been too used to my homemade stuff, and afraid to change.
Click to expand...

Forehead grease? :confused: :D


I didn't know you could get rid of dents with a steam iron and a damp towel. Thanks for good help. :)
 
Teak oil works better for exterior applications - read: better water and weather resistance. It will take "moisture changing beatings" better than tru-oil.

Tru-oil is really a varnish type finish.

My only concern would be the drying time for the Tru-oil. It would probably be tough to get a good finish if you've already saturated the wood with teak oil.


Is this a new project or a refinish?

Have you already put the teak oil on it?

Have you considered staining the teak first?

Again, depends on its intended use.

I'm going to forward this question to a friend, Roger who should be able to help out - or perhaps correct any shortsighted comments I may have made. :rolleyes:

Dan


[edited to add]

Tru-oil is linseed oil, does not have any tung oil in it.
 
Hey Guys,

Thanks for the input.

I am maintaining a 25 yr old piece of teak. The teak itself is 8" in diameter and 55 inches tall. The teak is drying out terribly and is starting to crack. It is currently covered with a thick coat of paint. I would like to strip the paint off and restore the wood finish.

I bought a bottle of Watco Teak Oil Finish. In the description, it says that the Teak Oil is a deep penetrating oil instead of a surface treatment.

If that is the case, I was thinking about sealing the surface with Birchwood Casey Tru-oil and Gun Stock Wax.

So any more specific information is appreciated.
 
The Watco oil should be sufficient to restore the wood to whatever extent is still possible, especially if you use a stripper to remove the paint - puts a new perspective on surface finish. Tru Oil is actually a blend of oils (main base is linseed, and has in the past been Tung Oil) along with petroleum penetrants and brighteners. It is intended as a grain enhancing finish for rifle stocks. I've carried a couple of fancy stocks through heavy downpours, and a couple of surprise snow squalls, with no "final wax" protection,and wiped them off afterward with no ill effects. For the piece you describe, a couple or three even applications of the Watco, with a good paste wax (hand applied and rubbed, not the spray stuff) should put it in the best condition obtainable. Bro once sent me a container of Ballistol, touted as a good lube for sporting equipment. I've found that it is also excellent as an "overcoat" for oil finishes, both before and after the final wax. It is all vegetable, and seems to blend and enhance extremly well with linseed and tung finishes.
 
Tru-oil is linseed oil, does not have any tung oil in it.
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that linseed oil and tung oil behave similarly--air oxidation slowly converts them to a reactive derivative that polymerizes to a hard durable finish when the layer is very thin. Many other vegetable oils just thicken or become gummy. Formulation or boiling in the case of linseed oil makes this happen faster. Varnish-like or penetrating oil like? Depends on the formulation really. (Spar varnish can contain tung oil.) What does soak into the wood (and a lot does--otherwise the wood couldn't get that translucent appearance) may not fully polymerize. There will be some slight differences, but as long as the wood surface isn't so saturated with it's own, or applied, non-hardening oils that the linseed oil or tung oil can't crosslink to itself and fully harden, I think it will probably be OK. Oils weeping out under the final finish wouldn't be good either. I'm sure that there are combinations that work better than others so it should be interesting to see what Pen finds out.

Is gunstock wax different from carnuba-based waxes intended for floors and furniature?
 
Looks like Wal settled it:)

I see that:

"Teak oil is the only oil that penetrates and forms a hard finish on oily woods like teak, zebrawood and rosewood. It does not require a catalyst."

http://www.woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=849-209

OK, I answered my earlier question....but,

Sounds to me like teak oil could be applied in many coats with sanding and polishing like the Walosi method. Does this work? Could one use teak oil to fill the grain and build up a high polish on those woods that tung or linseed oil products don't work very well on?
 
There is more in the technique than in the oil used, given that you use a good, commercial preparation which contains the proper ingredients to control oxidation/polymerization etc., etc. Boiled linseed oil is a step, but not a final product for the desired results on a piece of highly figured or fancy-grained wood. The technique should begin with the smoothest surface, and open grain to the extent that it will allow oil to penetrate. The "many thin layers" is descriptive of the application, and not the final product. The final product is really one coat. Each application, no matter how thinly you applied, is just a bit too much. When dry, and steel wooled down again, it allows the next coat to penetrate and blend. Without the drying and re-wooling, you only build up a coat which is thicker (and can become gummy) than is needed to allow light to penetrate into the grain. The desired final result is a coat that penetrates, but is above the surface only enough to seal - the wax coat(s) are the final seal. If the shiney "varnish like" surface is what is desired, it will appear with hand rubbing and the final wax. If you want an egg shell, or English shotgun finish, rub the piece down lightly with rottenstone (fine pumice) on a felt pad. I think it was Ferguson who described this as "The misty film over photos of old movie stars, who don't want clear pictures made of their faces :D It shows both the figure and the grain well, but isn't as blatant. The final wax coats won't disturb the effect.
 
Wal I did a couple of pieces in Ebony recently, and was able to achieve an amazing finish with just oil and a hi-speed buffer. When I first saw the effect, it almost made me cry. The silky glass like smoothness of it was amazing. Tried to take some pictures of it, but for some reason the camera only makes it look black. Gotta see it in person to really appreciate it. Anyways, its been the first time a hi-speed buffer worked for me on wood.
 
Hey, Fed -
Like I said, surface :D There may or may not have been a great deal of oil left in the ebony (unless appled again after buffing) but the material can have a great deal to do with it. I've oil-finished laminated wood pistol grips that took the oil even though the impregnated plastic holding the wod layers together shouldn't (logically) have take oil. Cocobolo and other rosewoods aren't supposed to take an oil finish.They do, but it takes the patience of Job to get it done. The surface of these woods can be so slick that you would think nothing would penetrate something that dense, but in the end it works. With the ebony, it works so well that the only thing you can photograph is a reflection - everything else is just soaked into the black.
 
Good stuff. Restoring a 25 year old dried out piece of teak is nerve racking. I keep thinking that I am going to screw it up.
 
I cant believe I missed your post Wal. Anyways, I was surprised how much oil was left in after buffing. At first I thought I was just taking off a layer of oil, but after a few layers, I found out differently. Though, youre right, that alot of it has to do with the material. I found polishing the ebony, to be almost like working with porous rock. Things Id do with wood like sanding or steel wooling, just didnt work as right as buffing with various compounds. Anyways, I think alot of the photo problems is because my crappy photography skills. It seems that everything looks dingy when I take a pic of it.:( Oh well, Im hoping the owner is a better photographer than I, and will be willing to take some pics.
 
Sundsvall Ive been using a homemade blend of tung and linseed oil, thinned out with gum turpentine. About a 40 20 40 blend mixture give or take. Ive grown used to it, and have been happy with the results. The tung gives it reasonable hardness, the linseed really helps nourish the wood, and the turp helps it actually move and penetrate. I keep meaning to try Tru Oil one day, even bought a bottle, but its the whole if it aint broken dont fix it routine. My best friend still thinks Im sacriligous for using oil, instead of leaving the wood raw.
 
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