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[c6quad]

my question is...

can you use linseed oil on top of tung oil?

i'm wondering if that will cause any trouble. i've got my Madrifle stock that i've put 3 coats of Formby's(sp?) high gloss tung oil on it already and it's looking great. i'm wanting a little bit more gloss to match the polished ano on the barrel and quick changer. i was looking on Brownell's site and they sell different grades of rubbing compound and it says to use it with linseed oil.
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so far i've just steel wooled w/0000 steel wool in between coats of tung oil. maybe just buffing will help make it shine?

[A.C. Basbas]

Nope that'll be fine. I do it on guitar necks all the time. After a while (do it once a night for a few months, or a year) the linseed oil will build up a whole new layer of protection and shine, and resist scratches even better.

[MaD]

hrm... well... I assume you're talking about the Formby's Tung Oil finish. If you were doing it the other way I would say it's not a big deal. A true oil finish like a pure tung oil, danish oil or linseed oil penetrates into the wood quite a bit. The main issue is that Formby's Tung Oil finish is not actually tung oil. It's a wiping varnish. Because a varnish would seal the wood making it non-porous, I don't think using a penetrating oil like Linseed oil would be a good idea.

Here's some reference
Popular Woodworking Magazine

For that specific finish (Formby's), it should result in a very high gloss. You need about 5-6 coats to get a good gloss on softer woods. Just keep doing the 600-1000 grit sand in between until it's almost there, but only sand what really needs to be done. If you use a good tack cloth and have a low dust work environment, sanding should be minimal once the wood is sealed. Once you're close (have a very high gloss / almost there) I usually finish it off with a light final coat (sometimes even thinned down a tad).

[c6quad]

MaD, yep, Formby's Tung Oil Finish is what i've been using.

i've thinned the oil w/mineral spirits each time. i applied it with a foam brush then wiped it down with a cloth rag and let it dry. then i steel wooled it. i haven't used any sandpaper, only 0000 steel wool.

should i apply it different than what i have been doing?

[MaD]

Well it's already like 70% mineral spirits so I don't think you really need to thin it. If it's not glossing up after 3-4 coats that might be part of it. I usually use a rag and saturate the wood as much as possible for the first 2-3 coats then apply lighter / thinner coats nearer to the end. You do want to leave a standing wet coat every time.

[Railgun]

Actually there's many oils that will air dry like a varnish and tung oil is one of those. Walnut oil is another. I've got a can of raw tung oil I use for wood projects that will be used in contact with food since natural tung oil is non toxic. The cap has hardened grunge all over it and I have to use vise grips to break it loose these days. Trust me natural tung oil dries just fine. It just takes a few days.

The Formby's likely added a japan drier to make the tung oil dry faster than naturally. Linseed oil dries only after weeks months unless it's "boiled" and then it dries in a day or two to fairly hard and achieves full hardness in a week or so.

If you've got a good base thanks to the mineral spirits making it soak in more than use 4 to 6 coats of unthinned Formby's rubbed on in THIN coats to build up the thickness. Do a coat every couple of days and let it dry between. Just wipe it on with a paper towel or some other applicator than a brush so the coasts are THIN. It'll dry faster that way.

Or you could let it dry until it doesn't smell much and then get a gloss by topping it with a marine varnish. One or two coats tops will do the trick.

Tung oil won't give a truly glossy finish in any event. It's too soft and gummy for that even with the driers. But more to the point by thinning all your coats so far with mineral spirits you haven't yet built up enough skin thickness to even consider rubbing it out. You need to work on building up a film thickness so you have something to work with. And really once you've built up some film by doing this you may find that it has a nice slightly less than gloss finish that looks fine already.

[c6quad]

cool. i just put a thin coat on using just a cloth and straight oil and left it to dry. now it's looking like i want. i may add one more coat but we'll see.

thanks for the info.

Railgun, thanks for the info as well. i guess i'll end up doing more coats then to build up a good layer. thanks again for the info guys. this thing is already looking great.

[MaD]

I've used true tung oil as well. It has a very distinct color, smell and feel. The formby's tung oil "finish" has no tung oil in it. It's a wiping varnish and if applied per instructions it will definently leave a high gloss / hard finish.

[c6quad]

it says it has tung oil in it on the back of the bottle.

[MaD]

ohh.. they're refining it then or actually adding a bit of tung oil... lol... Either way, it's not a pure tung oil, its a wiping varnish. I suspect your can says something like "high-quality varnish made from a balanced blend of tung oil and other fine penetrating oils" ?

Anyway... it does give a nice finish so no worries.