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I'm making a batch of hand mirrors as gifts. In the past, I used a brand of tung oil that has been discontinued. I read about making a wipe on finish on this forum and decided to try it. I mixed Varnish, BLO and mineral spirits in equal quantities. After two coats, I can tell that the build up is not as quick as it was with my old finish. I like the convenience of a wipe on, but should I consider a mix with more varnish and less BLO and mineral spirits or even a final coat of just varnish?
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What you mixed up is commonly called "danish oil", and what you bought as "tung oil" was probably just a wiping varnish. The difference between the two is the addition of BLO to your home mix. Tr it again, but just do a 50/50 (or whatever ratio you want) mix of varnish and MS. It should wipe on well, and actually tack up more quickly than the danish oil, and build faster since there's more varnish in the mix. That said, it is puzzling to me that your home brew didn't build as quickly, some of the purchased products are as much as 75% MS. Here's a short article by Flexner you may find of interest.
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Just to elaborate a bit on what Fred said, you can vary the amounts of the 3 ingredients to change the way it wipes, dries, or builds. In your case, increase the ratio of varnish (maybe try a 2:1:1 mix rather than 1:1:1) and it will build more quickly. You can also add some japan drier (according to directions) if you want it to dry faster.
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(07-24-2021, 03:51 PM)humanrace Wrote: I'm making a batch of hand mirrors as gifts. In the past, I used a brand of tung oil that has been discontinued. I read about making a wipe on finish on this forum and decided to try it. I mixed Varnish, BLO and mineral spirits in equal quantities. After two coats, I can tell that the build up is not as quick as it was with my old finish. I like the convenience of a wipe on, but should I consider a mix with more varnish and less BLO and mineral spirits or even a final coat of just varnish?
Tru-Oil builds fast, dries fast and looks great. 3-4 coats should do it.
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Liberon still offers pure tung oil. Don't buy it through Amazon.com though. The reseller on Amazon is too greedy.
https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/LB-0400.XX
Liberon, a British company, has been around for a long time and has a good reputation.
https://www.liberon.co.uk/product/pure-tung-oil/
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(07-24-2021, 03:51 PM)humanrace Wrote: I'm making a batch of hand mirrors as gifts. In the past, I used a brand of tung oil that has been discontinued. I read about making a wipe on finish on this forum and decided to try it. I mixed Varnish, BLO and mineral spirits in equal quantities. After two coats, I can tell that the build up is not as quick as it was with my old finish. I like the convenience of a wipe on, but should I consider a mix with more varnish and less BLO and mineral spirits or even a final coat of just varnish?
I recently read an article on Greene and Greene furniture and it included a description of their finishing technique, one which I'd never heard of before. Apply a coat of polyurethane, then wipe it off with clean rags until no more comes off onto the rag (I found that the second rag was all I needed, and I never detected any poly on the third rag). I tried this on a project I've just completed, and I was quite favorably impressed. A big advantage is that the surface is dust-free in very short order, so no sanding between coats is required, and I could apply two or possibly three coats in an evening. Don't know that this really qualifies as a "wipe on" finish, maybe it should be called a "wipe off" finish but I got good buildup and a very satisfactory finish in little time, and no dust nibs to contend with.
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(09-12-2021, 04:16 PM)thewalnutguy Wrote: I recently read an article on Greene and Greene furniture and it included a description of their finishing technique, one which I'd never heard of before. Apply a coat of polyurethane, then wipe it off with clean rags until no more comes off onto the rag (I found that the second rag was all I needed, and I never detected any poly on the third rag). I tried this on a project I've just completed, and I was quite favorably impressed. A big advantage is that the surface is dust-free in very short order, so no sanding between coats is required, and I could apply two or possibly three coats in an evening. Don't know that this really qualifies as a "wipe on" finish, maybe it should be called a "wipe off" finish but I got good buildup and a very satisfactory finish in little time, and no dust nibs to contend with.
I used a wipe on poly finish by accident once on a tabletop... full strength brush on Minwax that I wasnt happy with. Wiped it off before it had tacked up too much and it was beautiful. Still is, after 20 plus years. Never tried that again. Haven't been impressed with the stuff actually labled 'wipe on'.
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