Tung Oil = Heaven

[DaveF]

Hi guys,

First of all let me just say that I've been doing TONS of research on different conditioning oils lately; mostly due to my new Fender Jaguar having a very dry, pale looking fretboard ... I really like having a rich, dark, "old" looking rosewood.

After trying a few fretboard conditioners and oils, here are my observations:

Lemon Oil - Fantastic, but only for about two days... then it returns to being dry(er than before)!!!

Dunlop Fretboard Conditioner - Same as lemon oil, but easier to work with. Still no long-lasting results.

Boiled Linseed Oil - Extremly sticky. Please note that I didn't use this on my bass, but my friend and I oiled his Seagull acoustic guitar and it obliterated his tone. The entire instrument was extremely dead, even after a year and a string change. And it never dried and felt weird and sticky... Your results may vary, however.

Tung Oil - Alright, now THIS stuff rocks! Here's what I did: Carefully applied Minwax tung oil (from Canadian Tire) with a Q-Tip to each fret, being very careful not to get any under the frets (to avoid fret lift), and applying in the direction of the grain. I let it sit for about 15 - 20 mins and buffed the heck out of each fret with an inside-out sock.

The results are great! The wood looks really aged and dark and the grain and inlays are really emphasized. Tone wasn't affected at all, and the instrument feels much more expensive, for lack of a better word.

So that's my experience! Feel free to share your opinions, thoughts, etc....

[MEKer]

+10 on the Tung oil and you used it correctly with the buffing.
Now Linseed oil is pretty interesting. Years ago as a house painter I learned a trick to really screw up painters: put linseed oil in house paint and it will never truly dry for weeks. Whoooeee!
Tung oil, for most purposes, may be the coolest oil out there. I started using it back in the 1970's because of a guy that started marketing it named Homer Formsby. He had a TV show about it back then--a wood refinishing, Saturday morning type show. Its properties are pretty unique. It also may be the only oil for wood that enhances the rigidity of the cell walls in wood so it will never soften and eventually "cave in" or wear heavily. Tung is used on really expensive furniture and on museum pieces for that reason. With all that said, even tho I use it myself on my fretboards, our other typical "guitar oils" (other than linseed of any type) will be just fine to use IMO.

[62bass]

I've never had any problem getting boiled linseed oil to dry unless it was too cold. You can add a bit of japan dryer to speed it up too. I've used it on rosewood fingerboards with excellent results. I wouldn't soak an acoustic guitar body in it though and it won't dry properly or stay in place over an existing finish. It must be applied to bare wood and the excess wiped off.

The Minwax tung oil works well but it's not pure tung oil. It's a mixture of some tung oil, alkyd resin and solvent. More like a thinned out varnish.

[morebass!]

I don't know much on this topic but I do know that oils don't "dry". At least not in the sense that aqueous liquids do. Does the term refer to the oil soaking in?

[62bass]

Originally Posted by morebass!

I don't know much on this topic but I do know that oils don't "dry". At least not in the sense that aqueous liquids do. Does the term refer to the oil soaking in?

You're right. They don't dry. They harden through oxidation. A process called polymerization. The solvents evaporate, the oil (and resin if there is any) react with oxygen and cure. Oil based paints and varnishes work this way as do pure drying oils like tung. Many varnishes use vegetable oils now as their oil component. As an experiment, you can take a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of oil in it, such as olive or soya or corn, then let it sit for a day or so. You'll notice the oil will form a varnish like coating. These oils require some heat to get them to harden in any reasonable length of time. In the old days of varnish making the oils were heated over an open fire to a very high temperature and various natural resins were dissolved in them to give the varnish some hardness. It was a dangerous business and fires and explosions were common. Now metallic salts are added to start the curing. and replace the heat, although the oils in some are still heated before the other ingredients are added.

Raw linseed oil will take forever to harden. Heating it to about 500 degrees and holding it there a while starts the curing process and it begins to oxidize If it's bottled and no oxygen gets to it it can be stored for a long time. So that's where the term boiled linseed oil comes from. These days however, metallic salts are added as drying agents (although the linseed oil might also be heated). That's basically what Japan dryer is.

[Pilgrim]

I've used tung oil on furniture - much nicer finish than danish oil.

I've also used it lightly on a fretless bass fretboard, and it worked very well.

[DaveF]

Thanks for the info, guys!

So I'm planning on doing this about every six months to a year... Will the wood get really dark over time?

Also I've heard about "wet sanding" rosewood fretboards with tung oil and extremely fine sandpaper to get an almost "ebony" feel to the board... has anyone here tried this?

[lug]

FYI, Minwax Tung oil isn't real Tung oil, but it works well anyway.

[jefkebass]

I'm gonna try the tung oil trick on my Jaguar too. Perhaps a dry fingerboard is common for the Jaguars... Altough it doesn't affect playability as of yet.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Thanks for the info, guys!

So I'm planning on doing this about every six months to a year... Will the wood get really dark over time?

Also I've heard about "wet sanding" rosewood fretboards with tung oil and extremely fine sandpaper to get an almost "ebony" feel to the board... has anyone here tried this?

The wood will darken a bit more over time, but not as much as if you used a product containing a lot of linseed oil.

I wet sanded the ebony fingerboard of a Carvin BK4 kit I built with a homebrew version of a varnish oil. You have to work carefully and as you get up to the high registers there's not much room to sand with the grain between frets. Still, I got it to work. I used 600 grit wet and dry silicone carbide paper. If it's fretless it's much easier. Also, with frets, you need to wipe it completely off the top of the frets before it starts to set up. Some of the so called tung oils harden very quickly. You have to work fast.

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by lug

FYI, Minwax Tung oil isn't real Tung oil, but it works well anyway.

Hmm... I definitely like the Minwax, but would real Tung oil be better / more long lasting / make the wood darker?

I suppose it wouldn't dry as quickly...

[62bass]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Hmm... I definitely like the Minwax, but would real Tung oil be better / more long lasting / make the wood darker?

I suppose it wouldn't dry as quickly...

The Minwax will dry harder than all tung oil. Don't know about darkening-probably about the same. Real tung oil does take longer to dry.

If I want a darker look to the wood and don't want to use a stain or dye, I've used Minwax Antique Oil for a first coat, soaking it in for about 15 minutes while keeping it wet, then wiping it off thoroughly. Let dry overnight. Then apply the tung oil or Minwax as usual. The Antique Oil does darken more than the other products. And it continues to darken with age for a year or so. Looks great on some woods, particularly red cedar.

The current issue of Fine Woodworking magazine has an article from a wood finisher who uses a home brew concoction of tung oil, alkyd varnish, Japan dryer and turpentine. It dries very quickly and gives a very tough surface that can be polished out. I've made my own home brews that are similar and got very good results. I've never used as much Japan dryer as this guy though. It's worth checking out.

Another very good product is Waterlox Original Sealer Finish, a tung oil and varnish blend that works very well. Expensive and harder to find in stores but well worth it. Check it out at the Waterlox site.

[bocasfx]

I once used boiled linseed oil on two of my basses: a stingray and a fretless jazz, both with rosewood fingerboard. The results were quite different. The stingray looked better but nothing spectacular. The problem was with the fretless jazz. The poor thing stunk for several weeks! I just couldn't play it! It smelled like rotten fish!

I'm never using boiled linseed oil again! I've been using lemon oil with good results but now I'm tempted to use tung oil.

[Relayer59]

I used Formby's Tung oil finish (high gloss version) on my Jaguar board and it's gorgeous. Much darker and richer looking than the somewhat light and "dry" look they come with stock.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by bocasfx

I once used boiled linseed oil on two of my basses: a stingray and a fretless jazz, both with rosewood fingerboard. The results were quite different. The stingray looked better but nothing spectacular. The problem was with the fretless jazz. The poor thing stunk for several weeks! I just couldn't play it! It smelled like rotten fish!

I'm never using boiled linseed oil again! I've been using lemon oil with good results but now I'm tempted to use tung oil.

The linseed oil was rancid. I've had a couple bottles like that. Usually the cheap Home Depot stuff.

[DaveF]

Thanks for all the info guys (especially 62bass)!

I'll take a picture of the Jag when I get home...
Anyone else have any before / after shots?

[Zooberwerx]

Casey's Tru-Birch gunstock oil is a mixture of tung, linseed, ahd lord-knows-what-else. Still my first choice when treating oil-finished instruments and fretboards. You really need to use #0000 steel wool to work it out but its worth the effort.

Riis

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by Zooberwerx

Casey's Tru-Birch gunstock oil is a mixture of tung, linseed, ahd lord-knows-what-else. Still my first choice when treating oil-finished instruments and fretboards. You really need to use #0000 steel wool to work it out but its worth the effort.

Riis

Interesting...

I bought a bunch of 0000 steel wool and use it to clean the fretboard (with Alcohol solution) but not to polish! Might be easier than sandpaper, from the sounds of it?

[Bofee]

I've been using the Birchwood-Casey Tru Oil gunstock finish for a while. It's easy to use, looks great and cures fast. I can apply 2 or 3 coats a day duing the summer. I have used pure Tung oil on some projects, but it takes days or weeks to fully cure.

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by DaveF

Interesting...

I bought a bunch of 0000 steel wool and use it to clean the fretboard (with Alcohol solution) but not to polish! Might be easier than sandpaper, from the sounds of it?

If you're referring to polishing the body, yes. Steel wool has just enough "bite" to rub out the gunstock oil without scratching if used cautiously (light pressure following the wood grain). I don't use alcohol on anything. For light cleaning of the fingerboard, use Zippo-type lighter fluid (naptha?) and steel wool. I also use Briwax to finish the whole thing off, even the back of the neck. Using a polishing cloth to remove the excess product is useless as it leaves too much behind (can you say gummy?). If you don't like dealing with the steel wool residue, you can use a slightly worn green ScotchBrite pad. They're too stiff when new so I wait until my wife breaks them in doing the pots / pots then swipe 'em when she's not looking. That's the closest I come to washing the dishes in my house.

Riis