Tung vs. linseed

[Swingman]

Tsk, tsk ... that was the point ... constant cleaning of an oil/varnish finish over the years _was_ the problem.

[Trent©]

And good thoughts, Mike...thanks.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[Trent©]

Do you think it might have been because of the mixture?

I'm using straight linseed...and I'm not having the same problems a lot of folks have mentioned...drying, etc.

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[Trent©]

But how long do you think a coat of ANYTHING should last? Forever?

I plan on maintaining them...just like I hafta do with most things in life. lol

Have a nice week...

Trent

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity!

[Mzone719]

this might help everyone out a little on this debate....this is taken from the Sutherland welles web site.

"When turned into a finishing product, Tung Oil is the finest natural wood finish in existence and has yet to be duplicated synthetically!

Man's ingenuity has created many synthetic finishes, including lacquer, shellac, and varnish all of which protect wood with a hard impervious layer. But these surface finishes prevent the development of patina, the lovely depth and tone that only natural aging can produce. Eventually synthetic finishes will break down and discolor, when that happens the entire surface must be removed by labor intensive stripping and sanding before another coat is applied.

Penetrating finishes formulated with linseed, soy or paraffin oils actually go into the wood and enhance its natural beauty, but these oils often dry incompletely and fail to form a hard and durable surface. Furthermore, they develop a gummy build-up when additional coats are applied. Linseed oil, the most commonly used penetrating finish, darkens and changes color with time and finally disintegrates.

A Polymerized Tung Oil finish is hard yet flexible, waterproof and impervious to alcohol and many food acids. Polymerized Tung oil as a penetrating oil allows wood to continue its aging process and to develop its patina. The wood's rich color and grain are enhanced by the natural ambering (coloring) of Polymerized Tung oil over time. Any sign of wear disappears when a thin "maintenance" coat of oil is rubbed in. The maintenance coats, rather than cause a build-up, actually improve the patina as they protect and preserve the wood"

There is a lot more info there for anyone that would like to read up, this is the best website I have found for info on tung oil. This might help weed out a lot of misinformation being posted here. Also, keep one important thing in mind, a lot depends on what brand of finish you are going to use. For example, I would rather use a high end spar varnish then a cheap tung oil. Also, keep in mind, for those who mentioned using varnish. We could go on forever with this debate... Another factor, what kind of cabinets are these? How into wood finishing are you?? Are you looking for quick, cheap, and easy?? (might be good for a date but not for high end cabinets)

to each his own!

good luck!!

[Andy Dingley]

This has frequently been empirically true, but it's because of different driers, not because of different oils

Linseed oil has fallen from favour and now tung is more popular (broadly speaking). This has roughly coincided with fears over heavy metals, and a shift from lead-based driers to manganese ones.

Now there may be some difference between the oils themselves, but there's a _huge_ difference between the effects of these driers. Lead becomes more effective in rising humidity and manganese becomes less so. Above 70% RH, manganese barely works (one of the reasons not to apply oil finishes in a damp atmosphere). If you study old gunsmithing references (The Modern Gunsmith from the 1930s is a good book and still quite common) you'll see much discussion of the effects of either drier, or of mixing them, on gunstocking oil finishes. Bill Knight (The Mad Monk) has also done useful research in this area.

Even after the finishes are fully cured, there are differences in their resultant surface. A lead-dried oil finish _feels_ different - it's often described as having a "leather-like" texture. It's also a matter of historical record that the favoured recipe for waterproofing oilcloth to make travelling chests etc. was a lead based drier. This was seen as more resistant to water, and also as lasting longer when exposed to water.

So there may be differences in the oils, and their relative tolerance for water. But the type of chemical drier used is even more significant.

-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods