What's your opinion on tung oil on stained yellow pine? The whole - stain, coat with polyurethane has me a bit concerned with the finish failing after a few years....
Ron - - Dusty53 1954 Chevy 3604 In the Gallery Forum "You can't dance with the Devil and then wonder why you're still in Hell." "They will forget what you've said, and they will forget what you have done but they will never forget the way you made them feel."
Hi NorCal Dave and Dusty -I am coming at this from the perspective of a guy who spent a couple years working in a refinishing shop, as well as building furniture, studying and talking with craftsmen and women, and building a few truck beds. Finishing wood can be a lifetime learning process and a lifetime career for some - so here are some basics for oil and oil vs urethanes (polyurethanes, spar varnishes, wipe on urethanes etc) finishes that have worked for me...
Dusty: Seems like you are concerned that the poly will not penetrate and more likely lift or scratch. You are correct that oil finishes will penetrate into the wood and repairing damage to the finish is less burdensome. Poly is a surface coat with light penetration and it tends to lift or flake if the wood becomes damp or the UV rays start to break it down. Scratches and damage that go deep into the wood will be noticeable and difficult to deal with.
Staining pine can be challenging - because the pitch or resin in the pine is uneven throughout the wood. Some areas will absorb the stain and some areas not so well - so there is a risk of it appearing to be blotchy and uneven. I tend not to use stains, but find a wood that is the color I want or go all natural or, topcoat with a solid type of paint rather than staining.
NorCal Dave: To help make the expensive tung oil stretch futher, I mix it with turpentine to thin the oil and allow for better penetration. You can also use a higher grade solvent like mineral spirits and lacquer thinner for faster flash-off when it evaporates leaving the oil. And this isn’t an exact science - throw in some lacquer thinner, turpentine, tung oil. small amount of boiled linseed oil (maybe a 75:25 mix), and for the last coats add some thinned amount of spar varnish or types of urethanes that you can purchase from a boatbuilding catalog and create a brew. Add some oil based stain to this brew/mix if you want to add color - but it’s not needed (for the reasons above). The wood darkens with age and as it absorbs the oil.
Both the boiled linseed oil and tung oil have what is called Japan driers in it - and that’s what allows it to set up and chemically cure. Slather your mix on, let it sit, and then keep slathering it on so the wood will super absorb and keep it wet with your brew. Do this for a couple hours - both sides or faces, then take a wad of rags without lint, or papers towels while it is wet, and wipe it off just as it barely starts to get less than tacky. If it starts to set up no worries… just wet it down again until you can get to the next board and wipe it off. Just keep lopping it on until your final wipe down and overnight sitting.
Give it a day or two to ensure it sets up and dries. Because it is super soaked, the pores may spit out the oil as it dries and you may notice the finish may be rough (if you notice this while its drying just wipe down at it dries) - hand sand with 220 up to 320 or 400 use wet dry paper dipped n your brew, wet the board down and sand the wood with this wet dry paper and oil mix. Wipe off again abd let the surface dry.
For the best of both worlds, after the oil dries off - you can apply the spar varnish over the surface as a thin coat or several thin coats.
You will be amazed at how deep and well protected the bedwood is by giving it the best of both worlds - a penetrating oil and surface protection. To repair - sand with the brew, feather the scratched areas with the brew and wet/dry paper. Wipe off - and blend the spar varnish of the repair area to the other area.
This finish preserves and protects the wood but for how long finishes last depend, as you know on storage, protection from the elements, UV rays, use etc. For a natural, well oiled and very nice looking bedwood this finish will yield very good results. If you plan to keep the truck out in the elements year-round - then you may need to maintain it and reapply to protect it over time or consider a heavy duty topcoat paint.
Just a word of caution - put the used oil soaked rags in a bucket of water. OIl soaked rags will catalyze and the heat from the chemical reaction can combust the ragss if they are piled or wadded or thrown into garbage can with other combustibles. I lay them out flat and allow to harden - but, not stacked up.
Thanks for the detailed explanation Tom. That is quite a brew! I had never considered mixing varnish in with the oil, as I don’t want a varnish finish…..but I assume that adding a little varnish will work to seal the cells up in the wood to help it retain the oil? It is an interesting idea for sure. Obviously, you have some experience doing this and it works, so I will seriously consider this process over what I had planned to do.
I do want my boards to be stained light (not opaque) black- I had not considered adding the stain to the oil… I watched Chip Foose doing a wood bed and he mixed automotive paint and acetone to make a black stain. I don’t remember what he applied over it, though. Mixing it all together would seem to be simplest when it comes time to apply it% thanks for sharing your process!
~ Dave 1950 Chevrolet 3600 3/4-ton with 261 engine & T5 Transmission
The best approach is to mix the tung oil, turpentine and a urethane/spar varnish … wipe it on - let it soak. Keep it wet, then wipe off after 20-minutes. Apply several coats using this process and wet dry paper sand it as you keep the surface wet with 320-400 paper.
It will make for a very smooth and protective finish. 4 plus coats is manageable and you will then want to buy me a beer some day. Tom
Mar-k Manufacturing did a multi year test of a variety of finishes/coatings used on truck beds. They reported processes used and results on their website. It’s a worthwhile and informative read.
Tom, I’m a few weeks out from putting the bed together, so I’m going to start ordering up my supplies. The only tung oil around here is the oil with mineral spirits and other things already mixed in…this will be the one with Japan drier in it, correct? Pure tung oil won’t have that as an additive? (I’m familiar with Japan drier, as I used to paint on canvas with oil paints when I was a younger man).
Tom, do you think that one person can manage doing all the boards at once with your process, or are things gumming up too quickly?
Many thanks,
Dave
~ Dave 1950 Chevrolet 3600 3/4-ton with 261 engine & T5 Transmission
Hi NorCal Dave - Temperature dependent. In a cool shop, or shade - no problem. In the hot sun? over 80-85+ degrees you may need to move a little faster as the temp goes up - or at the least, monitor it more closely. I wouldn't sweat it (pun not intended). You will get a feel for it as you get started. - if you keep them wet as you get to them you will be fine...(I think LOL!).
You can order tung oil online and pure or higher graded tung oil should set up just fine. My preference would be to order it - and try not get the diluted mix. I used Waterlox brand on our wide pine floor and shop projects. A bulding supplier should be abe to order it too.
2 coats of semigloss POR-15 followed by 2 coats of Behr semigloss black
I visited Mar-K a few days ago. Their wood finish test is still ongoing. This is a current photo of the test boards with the POR/Behr black finish that was begun back in about 2005 or 2006. it has been outdoors in the Oklahoma sun and weather 24/7 since then and still is in good condition. I know the OP inquired about oil finish, but if long term durability is the goal, this system is worth considering.
Yes it is impressive - for 24/7/365 exposure - that is definitely worth trying..and definitely worth it for those who want the stock black bedwood these trucks came with. You can see on the right what appears to be a urethane type of finish and how it lifts and breaks down after moisture and UV exposure.
For light duty trucks, trucks put in the garage, or stored for winter, and for those who want to have a natural wood bed - the oil/urethane process is very good for that look. Mind you, not for the kind of exposure MarK is testing which is worthwhile and very helpful.
Thanks for sharing that photo. Good point of reference.
Here are the Mar-K results they published several years ago….the POR15 undercoated boards look pretty much the same as they did back then- I agree it looks like a very durable, no-hassle finish to apply.
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I'm sure the woodworkers here already know this, but leftover linseed or tung oil needs to be stored with no airspace in its container. If there's air above the surface of the oil, it will oxidize and harden on top. I use clean pebbles or glass marbles to displace the air and bring the level to the top of the bottle. Another method of minimizing the air in the container if it happens to be plastic is to squeeze the bottle before putting the cap on. Soak any oil-soaked rags in water and store them in a sealed paint can or other container to prevent spontaneous combustion from oxidation of the oil. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
I recently found a product called "Stop Loss Bags" I'm trying for oil finishes like tung oil & boiled linseed oil. You transfer the oil to the bag from the original can then dispense out what you need for a single use. Because it's in a bag you can keep all the air out.
I realize I'm late to this party but in NM most of us use a product on decks (most of which are redwood) called Australian Timber Oil. We're at 7500+ feet and between the wind, harsh sun, low temps, snow, ice, hail and low humidity in the spring and early summer, wood surfaces get a real beating. The good thing about it is it doesn't chip or flake or peel. It just loses its luster and water doesn't bead as much. But recoating is a breeze. You just clean off any dust, dirt, etc and brush it on. It contains both linseed oil and tung oil in it plus alkyds and coloring agents. Not cheap (a gallon is about $40), but it works very well. Clean up with mineral spirits and you can even use mineral spirits to thin it a bit (although they tell you not to). Up there we recoat exposed decks every 2 years, but as I already mentioned that is a very tough climate for wood finishes. This does work well on treated pine, however as somebody already mentioned the resin in that wood under that NM sun will have an effect on the stuff. Our lowest deck is treated pine...at the time we did it, redwood was just too costly. Good luck.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
