If you want to protect your wood items from the elements, coat the wood with tung oil. It penetrates deep into the woods pores, sealing the wood to keep out water. Tung oil also helps the wood last longer. Tung oil has been around for centuries, and because it is 100 percent natural, it is a green way to preserving your wood. It comes from the seed of the Aleurites fordii or tung tree.
The process of applying tung oil to your wood is very easy. Tung oil helps to keep your wood looking new and beautiful. You will need to apply several applications. This will be the longest part of the process as you wait for each coat to dry. The number of times you need to reapply tung oil depends on how much sun, water and wear the wood receives.
Cleaning
Clean the wood piece by sweeping, vacuuming or wiping the wood with a cloth to remove dust, dirt or other debris. The wood has to be clean so it does not scratch when you sand it.
Lightly sand the wood piece with 150-grit sandpaper. Remove the dust. You can use an air compressor to blow the dust away, vacuum it off, or a soft bristle brush.
Wood Repairs
Examine the wood. Now is the time to repair any holes or cracks you find in the wood. Fill them with wood filler using a putty knife. You may want to make sure that the wood filler you choose matches the color of the wood for a flawless repair. Allow the filler to dry according to label directions. Sometimes, if the hole or crack is deep, you may need to add a second application of wood filler after the first one has dried.
Sanding
Sand the wood piece again using 200-grit sandpaper. Be sure to sand over any repairs you made so the wood is smooth and even. Remove the sawdust in the same way that you did previously.
Wipe down the wood piece with a tact cloth. You’ll want to make sure that all the sawdust is gone before applying the tung oil.
If you want to stain your wood, this is the time to do it, before you apply the tung oil.Apply the stain according to label directions.
Apply Tung Oil
Pour some tung oil into a small plastic container. You can use a paintbrush, soft lint free cloth or your hands to work natural tung oil into the wood. To make sure that your cloth does not leave any lint particles on your wood, place the cloth in a pair of old nylon stockings. Put a liberal amount of tung oil onto the wood. You’ll want to coat the wood thoroughly. As the wood absorbs the oil, the wood will begin to look dull. This can take five to ten minutes. At this point, you can apply more tung oil. Keep applying and working the tung oil into the wood until the wood no longer absorbing it. If you find that the wood did not absorb all the oil, wipe off the excess. Don’t let it stay on the wood, thinking that it will be absorbed through the night, because it usually doesn’t. It will dry on the surface and turn gooey. If this should to you, you need to add more Tung oil and try to soften the gooey oil to remove it.
Drying Time
Allow the first coat to dry 24 hours. Apply the second coat of tung oil. The previous coating has sealed the wood, so it will absorb less oil. You are now building on the surface coating, which not only protects your wood better, but the wood will look beautiful.
Additional Coats
Continue adding more coats of tung oil, allowing each coat to dry for 24 hours. The number of coats depends on how much the wood piece is used. For little used wood things, three to four coats are usually enough. If you are doing a tabletop or something that gets a lot of use, apply six to ten coats of tung oil.
When the last coat has finished drying, run your hand over the surface, feeling for rough areas. Rub any areas that do not feel smooth with 0000 steel wool. Rub in the direction of the wood grain. Wipe the area down with a tact cloth.
Sources:
House-Painting: How to Use Tung Oil
Waterlox: Applying Tung Oil
Minwax: Tung Oil Finish
