Hello teenagewoodworker;
--what you have asked can be a confusing question?
Let me elaborate and ask some questions so I know what you are looking for? Do//did you know that what is sold by some folks as 'tung oil', has little to maybe no-tung oil in it at all? A lot of the big box store company's sell tung oil as labeled finishes when in truth, what you are buying is an oil//varnish mixture. These are more common;y sold as …. ... finishes and such, but they are tung oil mixtures with polys and varnish added. What does this mean….well, they will seal the wood after the first coat and all coats put on afterward will only build up more layers of coats….this is not pure 100% tung oil.
So if you are wanting an oil//varnish finish that is called tung oil….well go and pay for what being sold as such.
Pure 100% tung oil can be bought at
Rockers and
Woodcraft stores and it will say on the bottle….100% pure tung oil.
I buy my 100% pure tung oil from
Hopes and you will need to call them at the number on the bottom of the page for the 100% pure tung oil. To tell the truth I've never figured out why they don't advertise their product on their site but then….? The reason I buy from them is that I can get the tung oil in gallons and it's cheaper that way when buying many gallons, but even if buying one gallon, the price would be worth it over buying many quarts.
You must also understand that 100% pure tung oil is meant to be cut 50:50 with mineral spirits or gum turpentine….and to speed up the drying//curing process I will also add a couple of drops of Japan dryer which can be purchased at paint stores and hardware stores. I will usually mix a batch up, 1/2 gal. tung oil and 1/2 gal. gum turps and store in plastic white orange juice gallons which I save for this purpose.
If you are wanting a oil//varnish mixture with tung oil in it, then instead of paying for some company to make it and charge you for what is high price….why not make it yourself. I again use Hopes 100% pure tung oil, cut 50:50 with gum turps, plus the few drops of Japan dryer, (and yes, the recipe is on the bottle for cut) along with a good pure varnish such as coming from Benjamin Moore. You can by this in quarts….and again take the varnish and tung oil and mix together at a 50:50 cut. This will make a very nice wiping tung oil//varnish finish….dries fast so that you can do multiple coats in a short time. Just remember to wipe on with a lint free cloth rag….and if you've got to wipe of the excess, your putting it on too heavy. And yes, a little bit goes a long way, with other coats following.
I know I'm writing fast here, so if I've confused anyone, ask me some more and I'll try and re-fine my elaborations….
Thank you.
GODSPEED,
Frank
rusticwoodman@gmail.com