Finishing

Which brand of tung oil are you using?

-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."

I am using minwax tung oil

i would go with shellac if you have that many boxes. but if not the a good drying poly. you need to get some buildup to protect the wood. wax offers no protection at all

I believe that Minwax tung oil is a polymerized product. On several occasions, I was able to build a finish with it, although it was near the end of cans when it gets thicker from exposure. You shouldn’t need anything further in terms of protection. If the wood is figured however, you may get more depth from a built finish, but on 13 boxes, I’d tung oil (tung oil PRODUCT = polymerized) it 3-4 times and wax…..

If you are doing this post assembly, then trying to apply poly to the inside of a box and get it perfect will be challenging at best. No matter what the schedule, I now prefinish all interior parts. This has the side benefit of preventing any squeeze out from sticking.

-- Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan

Whatever you do, don’t use a water based finish with that tung oil. It will make a mess.

I agree with teenager, use shellac 1st if you are going to put poly it.

I’m not big on wax, having not used it a lot, but I’d think that might look good over the tung oil…

-- Beer, Beer, Thank God for Beer. It's my way of keeping my mind fresh and clear...

Carver is right: MinWax tung oil is a varnish based finish, not pure tung oil. Those boxes would probably do better with just a wax finish over the Minwax.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

thx for all of your help…i’ve decided to poly half and wax half….since i don’t have any shellac…..again thax
i’ll post a picture of the finished boxes early next week

shellac is a good choice or 4 or 5 more coats of tung oil

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

i would use the tung, and finishing wax.. not a high gloss but a soft gloss.. tung oil tends to last. the great wall of China has sections that are sealed in tung oil.. (the real stuff).. i use tung when i have a piece that i want a little darker. it used to be my only finish but now it’s almost impossible to find natural tung

-- It's not a sickness, i can stop buying tools anytime.

The Real Milk Paint Company http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html sells pure tung oil. Good stuff, I’ve been using it for years.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Don’t need much beyond tung oil for something as simple as a jewelry box. Your contact surfaces with jewelry are traditionally lined with a felt or a spray-in anyway, so there’s little danger of damaging that surface. If not, then perhaps a poly to keep the metal from damaging the wood.

There is no, one, perfect finish for every project. The final “look” you want to achieve is a combination of the wood you use the coloring process and the type of finish used and if you “rub out” the finish or leave it be. All play a part in the final appearance.

Knowing the properties and characteristic of a particular type of finish helps one make a better choice based on how the object will be used. You can achieve the same “look” with different types of finish. But selecting a finish based on the type of exposure it will receive (light, chemicals, water, etc.) and ware it will receive during normal use is a more prudent way of selecting the “proper” finish for an object. It translates into how long the finish will stay looking good and how long it will protect the wood it is covering.

Here is a link that will help in making your choice.
What kind of finish should I use to protect my wood furniture?

-- Steve Nearman, FurnitureRepair.net, Fredericksburg, VA