Trying tung oil first time

[gear jammer]

I finished an red oak, walnut, bloodwood accent ring bowl with 5 coats of tung oil and denatured alcohol 50/50 blend. It took me over two weeks to get the oil on but I ended up with a nice glossy shine. It has been in the house where it is heated rather in the shop for  the past 10 days. It is still tacky. I have always read about the slow dry time for tung oil. Am I getting in to much of a hurry. Any suggestions on speeding up the cure.

[Arlin Eastman]

I know for me I do the mix of Tung, Shellac, DNA mix.  Since I am not an expert on finishes I will leave that to others.

I apply mine on the object while the lathe is stopped and then turn it on to 1200 and apply pressure to get it toped off faster.

Maybe it is how many coats you applied before the first was totally dried??

Looking forward to seeing what you made buddy. 

[Wildwood]

I have never heard of mixing pure Tung oil with alcohol! Normally you thin with either mineral spirits or citrus solvent. Thining mixtures can and do vary with the finisher starting with 50/50 mix is normal but later coats may contain less thinner. People wanting natural look & feel of wood with satin or matt finish and don’t mind waiting between applications pure Tung oil with enough coat is great.

There are commercial products with Tung oil in name only and could be a wiping varnish mix 50/50 mix or oil varnish blend with 1/3 oil, 1/3 thinner or 1/3 of ? thanks to life with chemistry.

Flexner article on oil finishes explains all three type of oil finishes, pure, wiping varnish, and oil varnish blends. He goes on to provide a list of commercial products and whether a wiping or oil varnish.

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/finis...y-and-use/

Hope this helps don’t know how long need to wait or if getting some mineral spirits and remove what you have there is best. Good luck with it.

[MichaelMouse]

I finished an red oak, walnut, bloodwood accent ring bowl with 5 coats of tung oil and denatured alcohol 50/50 blend. It took me over two weeks to get the oil on but I ended up with a nice glossy shine. It has been in the house where it is heated rather in the shop for  the past 10 days. It is still tacky. I have always read about the slow dry time for tung oil. Am I getting in to much of a hurry. Any suggestions on speeding up the cure.

Oil and alcohol must have been a pretty slimy mix, since alcohol wouldn't dissolve/thin the oil.  As said, use a non-polar solvent with oils, like mineral spirits.  Then warm the thinned first coat so that it penetrates better.  Second coat will start to surface finish, but the piece should be kept warm to help the curing process as well.  Never lay it on thick.  If it's small, put in a box with a small 15-watt bulb for warm to cure.  

I don't use tung, rather BLO, because I can't abide the smell of tung.  After the first pint was used up, I went back to either BLO or thin varnish.  Shellac on show but no go pieces is thinned with alcohol.

[AHill]

Even with the alcohol (which was an odd choice), it'll take up to 30 days to cure.