Tung Oil

[RG2]

At an estate sale I recently bought a quart of Tung oil.  The man made funiture and used Tung oil as a finish.  I have never heard of

Tung oil, but the finish on the funiture was very deep and attractive.  Can Tung oil be used on Gun Stocks?  How does it hold up to

wear. Any imformation would be helpful

Thanks,

RG2

[gunnut69]

Yes indeed tung oil can be used for gunstocks.. Some makers love the material. It dries harder than linseed oil and is a bit more brittle, that is it can some times develope cracks or checks in the finish. It dries quicker than most linseed oil products and will set up in the can if the seal is broken. The depth of finish is more a product of the maker than the finish. By that I mean that most finishes can be used to create beautiful finished pieces if the maker knows how.. Try the tung oil on a few projects and see how it works for you.. Use it about as you would TruOil or Linspeed but allow for a quicker drying time..although that will be somewhat dependant on the precise product you have.

[EdK]

Most commerially produced tung oils are actually a blend of pure tung oil and some type of shellac, varnish, etc. Pure tung oild still can be found and it will not crack with age as it is those other ingredients which do so in the blends.

They both have their place - they're just different and one is not necessarily better than the other depending upon the application.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tung_oil

[RG2]

Thanks for the info and suggestions.  I am going to try it out on a stock this weekend.  I will let you know the results.  The info on it drying faster than other finishes really helped me in my planning for working with the stock;

RG2

[victorcharlie]

Drying faster is a relative term when compared to linseed oil.........Tung oil doesn't really dry fast, just faster than linseed oil.

[gunnut69]

Well as I've said before, linseed oil doesn't really dry!!  It does oxidize, slowly, over time. It will however become sticky to the touch, again, for many years. Tung oil dries to a hard surface than linseed. In any of the normal forms and while tung is more resistant to water, neither is water proof. That's why they have to be waxed. There are several methods for application of either. I prefer TruOil but each to his own.. It's what makes life interesting.

[Longknife]

Here is something you might try IF your gun will see a lot of outdoor (wet) weather. Mix the tung oil, (I useFormbys< low gloss) 50/50 with Thompsons Waterseal and paint the entire stock inside and out, a couple of times. Then rub on same mix a couple more times, hand rubbing in until dry, then switch to pure tung oil and rub as many coats as needed to finish.  Makes a prettry good waterproof seal to the entire stock! The more coats youi give it the shinnier it will get, if you want a very low gloss finish stay with the mix and maybe one or two coats of pure oil.

[Rogue Ram]

.......most Tung Oil finishes, aren't. Formbys is more of a varnish, its far from pure Tung Oil.  Not sure who even carries pure any more.

RR