tung oil; how much do you wipe?

[leftystratman]

I've just started tung-oiling a stained maple top using Minwax Tung Oil.  I know I'm supposed to wipe the excess off with a lint free cloth.  so my question is, should I wipe it off as if I were to scrape the remaining oil or lightly wipe the oil off leaving a thin film of oil on it? after 5 mins or so, it can get gummy quickly, any tricks to avoid this?  your help is much appreciated. ccasion14:

 

[tfarny]

Others know more, but here's a quick answer: rub on a thin film, fingers works best as an applicator, then wait 15-20 min and wipe off thoroughly using an old tshirt or similar. don't SCRAPE it off but don't leave it visibly oily anywhere, you really need to get off as much as you can. Especially watch all holes, esp. f holes, as oil builds up in the corners and seeps out later. Check it again after an hour and wipe down and seepage out of any holes. The first coat or three, you need to thin with some type of spirits (well, not tequila).

 

[leftystratman]

thanks tfarny.  I've been wiping it off throughly, and the surface always becomes touch dry right away so far.  after 3 coat, it's finally getting  a slight flame / satin sheen (I definitely want some glossy look to a certain extent), but no way near the pics I've seen of guitars finished with tung oil.  that's why I wasn't sure if I was doing it correctly.  and there's no way I can leave it on for longer than 5 mins without the oil being tacky.  has this got more to do with the climate than with the amount of oil used?  I'm in Toronto, Canada BTW.

 

[tfarny]

dunno, maybe your brand is a bit different than mine? 5 min sounds pretty fast. You're looking at maybe 10 coats to get the gloss you're talking about, maybe more if you wipe of after only 5 min. Good luck. Tung oil takes patience.

 

[ibob74]

Ten coats seems like a lot, I've never noticed any added benefit passed 3 or 4 coats.

 

[leftystratman]

dunno, maybe your brand is a bit different than mine? 5 min sounds pretty fast. You're looking at maybe 10 coats to get the gloss you're talking about, maybe more if you wipe of after only 5 min. Good luck. Tung oil takes patience.

I lightly wet sanded the surface and used a bristle brush to apply the oil and waited around 10 mins this time!!!  it went really well, it wasn't tacky as I thought it would be, probably brushing it on instead of wiping with a cloth made the oil cover the body more evenly.  anyways, I can definitely see a slight satin sheen now. 

 

[tfarny]

Don't know about the brush-on method; I can't see why that would be a good way. Just dip your clean fingers into the bottle and lightly spread / rub it all over, see how that works. Glad you're making progress though. Pics are a must.

 

[WarmothRules]

I remember when I did mine I applied it then rubbed it off with the cloth till the tackiness was gone then let dry.  Steel wooled it between every coat till the sheen was gone. I coated it till I thought it seemed done 3-4 coats I forget how many exactly. You could always read the carvin bolt do it yourself PDF page on how to tung oil a neck or body.

 

[leftystratman]

so far, I've put 5 coats, lightly wet sanded twice, and it looks like this:

still no way near glassy gloss finish like some of other guitars I've seen on this site!  but the surface is becoming more even now.  I guess I just gotta keep tung oilin'.

 

[RomanS]

If you want to get real gloss, like on a lacquered body, you could put two or three thin coats of TruOil on top of the tung oil.
I personally don't have any experience with tung oil, only with boiled linseed oil, and with pre-mixed wax/oil stuff, and let me tell you, when it comes to gloss there's a HUGE difference if you use TruOil.

 

[confederatewk]

dont mic tru oil with tung oil, the surfaces dont bond
if u are interested in tun oil, you dont need to wipe off the excess, you can just let it dry kinda tacky and then get another fresh coat over it, they both bond

i like minwax becasue it gives a hard surface

and out of beauty, dont use sand paper, only use steel whool


sand paper tends to leave the surface loopy and all
im not a fan, but i like to use denatured pure alcohol and nimber 0 steel whool and wet sand it together, this leavbes the surface  so siljy slooth for the next coat, ot just how u like it
i do this all between my coats, and the last coat, i use dry steel whool and the surface becomes buff as fudge

if interested, look into the misc guitar section for shreding machine, and youll see a 5 layer tung finish

minwax to be exact

 

[boogie2]

"dont mic tru oil with tung oil, the surfaces dont bond"

That's not accurate.  I have a buddy who's used that combo
on a pair of tele's and the both look awesome and have a
very durable finish.

Boogie2.

 

[confederatewk]

i think i meant to say something else but i typed the wrong thing

yeah ive seen some tung oil..pure surfaces...but for me, and for finishing sake ive always used a mix only becasue when the thinner evaporates it actually does make the finish harder, and it soaks into the wood much much better....and allow for quick dry, so i can steel whool the surface , and i am able to use fine steel whool, as unthinned tung oil finishes tend to clog up steel whool faster....and for a flatter harder surface thinner works,    i did a table with my dad and we used goldens antique supply tung oil and citris solvent, by far the two best choices for a finish.


we also learned that metalized stains are superior under a thinned tung oil finish

superior, oil based stains bleed into the tung oil when its aplied

 

[leftystratman]

dont mic tru oil with tung oil, the surfaces dont bond
if u are interested in tun oil, you dont need to wipe off the excess, you can just let it dry kinda tacky and then get another fresh coat over it, they both bond

i like minwax becasue it gives a hard surface

and out of beauty, dont use sand paper, only use steel whool


sand paper tends to leave the surface loopy and all
im not a fan, but i like to use denatured pure alcohol and nimber 0 steel whool and wet sand it together, this leavbes the surface  so siljy slooth for the next coat, ot just how u like it
i do this all between my coats, and the last coat, i use dry steel whool and the surface becomes buff as frick

if interested, look into the misc guitar section for shreding machine, and youll see a 5 layer tung finish

minwax to be exact

hold on hold on.  I'm a newbie, but I read that you'd have to wipe off the excess when finishing with tung oil, it's even on the minwax tung oil can.  but I can see how glossy it would look if I didn't wipe it off....  I mean, it's really glossy when it's still wet on the body.  can someone clarify?

 

[neilium]

I would believe the instructions on the bottle before I'd believe confederatewk.

 

[Orpheo]

I would believe the instructions on the bottle before I'd believe confederatewk.

+1

 

[leftystratman]

ok, one correction, the instruction on Minwax Tung Oil states:

1) Wipe or brush on a generous coat of Minwax® Tung Oil. Apply in the direction of the grain.
2) After 5-10 minutes, buff evenly with a clean, lint-free cloth.

so I'm supposed to be just buffing, but should I buff until the tackiness is gone?

 

[Rickgrxbass]

[...] when the thinner evaporates it actually does make the finish harder[...]

Why yes, that is how wood finishing works. :icon_scratch: