Tru-Oil or Tung Oil which is better

After many, many trials, I ended up using almost exclusively Tru-Oil.
Tru-Oil actually can make both, luster and "natural wood" (matte) surfaces. All depend on the way you apply it.
Raw linseed is also an oil I somtimes use. To make a good job of any oil finish other than Tru-Oil, you apply the two first layers in a 50/50 mix with turpentine (I usually take the "artist" grade of turpentine - used for dillution opf oil paint). This allows the oil to penetrate deeper into the wood. Don't forget to let it sit for about 1-2 hours, then wipe out all excess.
Triu-Oil makes fast and easy high shine lustre, the kind you see on high end Euro-styled rifles. The gloss magnifies the coloured veins of French, Italian, Claro walnut, showing the pink, purple, red etc tints.
As an advise; go to your local exotic wood dealer, buy a piece of walnut (or beech, but it's not exactly the same) and cut 1"X2" pieces you will make trials on. Also, for better results, hand-rub any oil until you feel heat (at this point you will also feel that the oil is tickering) on your hand. For a glossy finish, apply and let dry, for a "natural" finish, let sit for 1 hours, and wipe or make the finish glossy and smoothly use a 0000 steel whool on the surfaces.
Remember; patience is your friend, and for a very high quality finish (no matter if it's glossy or matte) 5 to 10 layers are the best way to go.
 
Something to concider is that for best results, both of these should be absorbed into the wood as deeply as possible, but I doubt that a laminated stock will absorb anything, these things are pretty much impervious. You might want to think of using something else.
 
I've had some nice finishes on walnut stocks with multiple layers of diluted tung oil worked into the stock with progressively finer grades of sandpaper..up to 12 or 15 coats and finishing with 600 or 800 grit. Sand with the grain, gently wipe the resulting sludge across the grain with your fingers, let dry (24 hrs.), remove the dried surface sludge with the finest steel wool you can find...put on another coat. The whole idea is that the sludge fills the wood pores, and you end up with an smooth hard finish. If you want it a bit shinier, you can top it off with several hand rubbed coats. To avoid ridges and grooves when sanding, use a small sanding block wherever possible...an eraser works well. Tru-oil is a quicker, less labor intensive way to go, and gives a good serviceable finish, but to my eyes, a properly done tung oil finish looks much better. Another quick and simple way to go for a durable finish on a laminate is to use several coats of wipe on poly, available in satin or gloss.
 
re: Tung Oil

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Tung Oil was used by the Japanese for their military stocks up to the end of WWII. Some American soldiers developed an alergic reaction to it after handling captured rifles. Just something to be aware of.

I have used Tru-Oil for a long time now. For most stocks, it does a very good job, IF YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. Allowing for drying time for it to soak in is very important. It is fairly easy to repair scratches in the finish with it also. I really have never tried it with a laminated stock, but a good point was made in that the glue used for these stocks is a waterproof glue and will not soak up the oil like a solid wood one will.

Applying the finish is the easy part. Preparing the stock is really critical if you want to get a good finish. New stocks are fairly easy, but one that has had a previous finish takes a lot of effort. You have to remove ALL of the old finish to get good results.
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buffdog said:
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Tung Oil was used by the Japanese for their military stocks up to the end of WWII. Some American soldiers developed an alergic reaction to it after handling captured rifles. Just something to be aware .
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Interesting about the allergic reactions to the TUNG oil, as it is usually considered food grade and used in oiling wooden salad bowls. But then peanuts are considered food and some people are deathly allergic to them.
 
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At the risk of a flame war--why go to the work of an oil finish on a laminate stock--wipe on poly does an excellent job on it with much less work and if you take take your time and do a good job it looks just as nice. Save the oil for a good quality walnut stock.

44Bore
 
BEARMAN said:
Interesting about the allergic reactions to the TUNG oil, as it is usually considered food grade and used in oiling wooden salad bowls. But then peanuts are considered food and some people are deathly allergic to them.
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Allergic reactions to tropical woods are well known, I'd wager the wood is more likely to be the culprit than the finishing oil.
 
I bought the very same stock for my remmy 700...

I used a mix of tung oil and stain (i forget which one) with some japan dryer. Sand/stain x 3 then waxed the stock, looks great!

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Dogleg said:
Allergic reactions to tropical woods are well known, I'd wager the wood is more likely to be the culprit than the finishing oil.
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I was thinking the same but did a search of Tung oil and one hit was the Chinese did a test on making BIO-DIESEL from the tung seeds and the fumes from the buses caused nut allergy reactions in a lot of people so they ceased the tests.
 
It took a long time but luthiers finally caught on to a way easier and nicer looking plus tougher and easy to spot repair finish for string instruments - guitars, violins and so on - as an alternative to their old "french polish" technique, also an old way to finish wood stocks. The alternative? Birchwood Casey's Tru Oil.
Because of the high pressure lamination on a modern stock, it's not needed - you don't have the micro fibers and tiny grain raisings you get from hardwood. A good wax job is all they need.
 
sbtennex said:
It took a long time but luthiers finally caught on to a way easier and nicer looking plus tougher and easy to spot repair finish for string instruments - guitars, violins and so on - as an alternative to their old "french polish" technique, also an old way to finish wood stocks. The alternative? Birchwood Casey's Tru Oil.
Because of the high pressure lamination on a modern stock, it's not needed - you don't have the micro fibers and tiny grain raisings you get from hardwood. A good wax job is all they need.
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Holy smokes....where to start....

OK: No Luthier of any quality would apply Tru-Oil to an insturment. Between the deadening effects of the oil penetrating the tonewood and the tonal dullness that comes from a varnish, it would be a waste of a fine insturment.

Secondly, Tru-Oil does contain varnish, which makes repaira FAR more diffficult than a french polish. French Polish is done with shellac...the easiest finish on the planet to repair. Unlike any other film forming finish (with the exception of pre-catalyst laquer), shellac melts into itself, rather than sitting on top....put on new shellac and it becomes one with the old shellac, just add alcohol :)

Now: While modern stocks are high-pressure laminated, they are still layers of wood (generally birch), and as such will react very much like solids on the surface. Just like slid wood they will fuzz, etc. Plain wax is never a good choice for a final finish...especially on a stock which will see far greater environmental extremes than a piece of furniture.

My suggestion for a great finish on a laminate stock can't be bought in a can, but I'll share the mix with you:

25% pure tung oil
25% Polyurethane (NOT "wipe-on)
50% Naphtha (faster drying) or Mineral spirits (slower)
5 drops of Japan Dryer per 250ml of finish (available at paint stores)

Sand to 320 grit, then wipe the stock down with a water dampened rag and allow to dry. Re-sand with 400 grit, wipe down with a micro-fiber cloth (works better than a tack cloth) and lay on the finish:

Apply a stupidly heavy coat an allow to soak in for 30 min, adding more to any spots that are thirsty, then wipe of all excess with a clean cloth (Not paper towel, use an old T shirt) and allow to dry for 24 hours.

Repeat over the next three days, rubbing the finish down with 0000 steel wool after day 2 and 4

Apply a coat of paste wax over the last coat, and buff with a 100% cotton cloth to your desired sheen. If it is too shiny, knock back the gloss by buffing with a white scotchbrite pad or more 0000 wool.

Trust me on this, it's what I do for a living ;)

WW
 
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