Leaderboard

Anybody use thinned pure Tung oil?

vetteman

Senior Member
Messages
297
Been working on my latest Warmoth project, taking the last body shape I did and enlarging it a bit as well as using Mahogany.  Initial plans were for a black finish (love a nice black guitar!) but the body wood is too nice to dye or paint.  I obtained some pure Tung oil which will be thinned and applied to the body for a 'natural' finish.  Question is should I try the same finish on the neck?  Neck is a Canary wood strat piece with the 59 roundback profile.  I have heard MusicMan and Godin use some oil finish on some necks, and it would help pop the grain/color of this wood.  Any experiences/thoughts on this - I hate a glossy neck and thought of just using it with no finish, but the fretboard could use some finish.
 
Musicman use Tru-Oil / Gunstock Wax.

Is what you have actually pure Tung oil as that is used for Salad bowls. A lot of what is sold as a finish has various additives in it.
 
I have what was sold as 100% Pure Tung Oil, and hopefully that is what it is.  Supposed to soak into the wood and then harden, creating a waterproof finish.  Mostly just wondering if anyone has done anything similar with Canary wood?
 
OK, sorry I cannot help with that. Tung oil is a very old finish of course so there is that.

If you want to do something similar to Musicman there are the products I mentioned and they do indeed pop the grain.
 
I've used Tung Oil, but it was pre-thinned. 

https://www.realmilkpaint.com/shop/oils/half-and-half/

Real Milk Paint Co. only recommends using un-thinned Tung oil for project like rough timber and concrete.  Most other projects, they suggest a 1:1 oil/thinner blend, and denser woods they recommend a 1:2 oil/thinner blend.

It worked well for what I used it on - a poplar body.  It was an easy finish to apply that made for a nice matte finish which I finished off with a little carnuba wax. 

As for the neck, I'm not sure if Canary is considered to be a "dense hardwood" or not.  The Warmoth website likens it to Maple, but I'm not sure how that corresponds to Janka rating, or if Janka rating necessarily relates to how well a wood will absorb oil.  Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in.  Since this is the Unofficial Warmoth board, I expect a bunch of people to suggest that you burnish it, or just leave it raw. 

Here's the post where I highlight the process.  It's really wordy (why did I write so much?), so I pasted the "What I Learned" highlights below the link.

http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=29635.msg418571#msg418571

Tung oil cures very slowly, so when it's important to make a distinction between 'applications' and 'coats.'  When applying a coat, apply until it stops soaking into the wood, and starts to puddle on the surface.  Leave it for 30-40 minutes, and see if it's still puddled.  If not, add another coat, and repeat.  I probably would stop after 3 coats in a day (wiping off any excess 30-40 minutes after the last application), and just let it absorb, start to polymerize, and let the Pine Oil evaporate.  That whole process is what I would call an application, and I'd give at least a few days, more likely a week between them.  I'd probably do this minimum 3, maximum 6 times, depending on how thirsty the wood is.  If the first coat of a new application isn't absorbing most (maybe 80% or so) of the oil, you're done, and you just have to wait for it to fully cure - at least 10 days, but no longer than 30. 

It's going to have a weird smell for a while - not terrible strong or offensive, just weird.  Eventually, it will go away.  Incidentally, it makes a good cat repellant.  I used it to finish a shelf I built for my cats so they could look out the window - they refused to touch it for months because they hated the smell so much!
 
I looked the Janca ratings up online.

Maple: 1,450 lbf (6,450 N)

Canary: 1,520 lbf (6,750 N)

I don't know much about this but, assuming a higher number means harder, it seems that hard maple is softer.

Here's the site.
 
Thanks for the insight.  I ordered the Tung oil from the Real Milk Paint Co. after watching their videos.  I have several raw necks and really like them, but am going to try this on this particular neck because the color needs help.  Unfortunately it looks like it might be a while as we have snow on the ground and I'll be working in an unheated garage.  Will post progress as it happens.
 
Back
Top