tung oil vs. danish oil

bpmorton777

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i was recently told by a friend that Watco danish oil was a great finnish for wood and that it would be good on my guitar. He's a great guitarist and has used this stuff himself on furnature so im taking his words seriously. I had been thinking about using 100% tung. Anybody out here use both and have a preference? sounds like aplication is about the same. I couldnt find much info doing a search in diy finnishing.

Brian
 
Two different kettles of fish entirely; Tung oil can be built up in coats on top of the wood that harden/dry to a gloss finish. Danish oil is really more like a polishing oil (recommended/required for your fine teak furniture) that soaks INTO the wood.
 
I used Danish oil on a Flamed Koa top to bring out the figure and then went over it with a wipe on poly urethane to keep the oil in the wood and off my clothes. Danish oil doesn't harden up. It did a nice job of making the flames pop though.
 
Maybe I'm doin it wrong but I'm not liking the pure tung oil finish on my maple neck, I'm getting a yucky build up near the frets and it just doesn't seem to be "taking" to the wood like I thought it would. Been applying plenty of coats and it still seems like I've done nothing to it. Any advice welcome.
 
Liberon. Its been excellent on the body but not good on the neck. I think you might be right Jack. I'll use some 0000 wire wool on it tonight to get rid of the gunk tonight and start again with dead thin coats.
 
Gregg Stewart said:
I used Danish oil on a Flamed Koa top to bring out the figure and then went over it with a wipe on poly urethane to keep the oil in the wood and off my clothes. Danish oil doesn't harden up. It did a nice job of making the flames pop though.

Danish oil can be many things.  It can be a thinned polymerizing oil (such as Pure Tung or Linseed) or it can be faux product that is nothing but thinned polyurethane and or mineral spirits with waxes dissolved in them.

Notably on the last item, its common for the "popular" (famous, but low price) brands to be not much more than dissolved waxes.  The spirits and or thinners carry the wax into the wood where they penetrate a bit, then the thinner evaporates and the wax is left behind.  Coat after coat will give some gloss as the wax builds up.  And of course, its easy to repair.

Polymerized oils WILL harden, but they harden slowly, and take a considerable amount of time to do so.  For instance, Linseed oil may take months or years to fully cure, if thick.  The idea with all oil finishes is to try and NOT build up any, wipe it thin as you can after the initial grain filling coat (wipe that too),  Let all previous coats dry fully before adding more, because more will radically alter drying times, making them MUCH longer.  It will cure eventually.  Eventually being the word.

Thinned poly finishes have been passed off as "danish oils" and these are no different than poly finishes, except they have slow drying properties and are very thin, made to go on thin, and remain thin, and not build up.

By far the best - remains - pure tung oil, found at wood specialty shops (not Home Depot or Lowes)
 
good!~  WATCO is good.  Behlen maybe a little expensive, but... no issues.  The dark tung from the milkpaint place has a good following in the cabinet trade.
 
Behlen's also available online from StewMac.com, pint's about US $15/pint which should do one guitar. Why anyone would want to try and save 5 bucks when finishing a $200-350 body is beyond me...

Actually, there is a converse to that statement, I finally exhausted the case of aerosol nitro gloss from StewMac and started using the WalMart Deft nitro you recommended CB - the cans DO spray better at a cheaper price, although I can't tell if I prefer the smell of the StewMac noxious fumes better, or were just more "used" to them....
 
My ash body/quilt maple top Gecko with maple/maple neck is due for delivery tomorrow. I plan on applying an oil finish. Which on of these is the most clear? I would like it to enhance the grain a little but keep the pure clear maple color.
 
By their nature, all oils seem to yellow a bit....  Pure light tung oil is probably as clear as any
 
ok so advice would y'all give me about oiling a bubinga/rosewood body?  might be a wenge top depending on supply but i'm hoping for rosewood.  all i want to do is bring out the grain and color of the wood a bit.....as low gloss as possible though since i originally planned to leave it completely raw.  i've heard that rosewood is a bit of a pain to finish because it's so oily naturally so yeah......
 
I personally woundn't finish that body; a little WATCO Danish Oil on a regular basis would be all it needs... I have a hollow Rosewood on Mahogany body I treat that way w/o issues
 
Soloshchenko said:
Maybe I'm doin it wrong but I'm not liking the pure tung oil finish on my maple neck, I'm getting a yucky build up near the frets and it just doesn't seem to be "taking" to the wood like I thought it would. Been applying plenty of coats and it still seems like I've done nothing to it. Any advice welcome.

Just so I'm not giving Tung a bad name....

I wirewooled the neck (00000) grade to get rid of the build up and started again, this time really thinning every coat, applying very, very thin coats each time and wiping off all excess after 20 mins, then 40 mins then an hour after first applying and the results are great, its finally "taking" to the wood. I'm not sure which thing I've done which has changed this. Personally I have a hunch that its the thinning with White Spirit or Napatha, whatever you guys across the pond call it.
 
Soloshchenko said:
Maybe I'm doin it wrong but I'm not liking the pure tung oil finish on my maple neck, I'm getting a yucky build up near the frets and it just doesn't seem to be "taking" to the wood like I thought it would. Been applying plenty of coats and it still seems like I've done nothing to it. Any advice welcome.

The common problem for beginners with any oil finish, but especially linseed or tung oils (common oils I guess) is that they try to get a nice smooth finish, one that is filling pores and laying down evenly.  This is not the way it goes.  Oil finishes can be nice, but they must go on super thin.  Rub all remains off and let them dry.  Do it again.  Let it dry.  Over and over.  Its a terribly slow finish actually.

The first coat of pure tung oil should always be thinned with turpentine - to all the best possible penetration.  After that, and after thorough drying, the remaining applications (I dare not call them coats) should be a thin as possible.  Any build up at the frets is indication of improper removal of the excess.
 
I know this was stated somewhere before but will an oil finish suffice to keep the warranty for necks. I've got a maple neck with maple board.I'm leaning toward Danish oil followed by a wipe-on poly for the neck and body. Or would tung oil work better?
 
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