Hey All,
It’s been a while since my last post, but I need some advice. I’m going to build a couple of handplanes with some offcut scraps and I have some left over Formby’s Tung Oil Finish from a couple of furniture projects. I know that Tung Oil is “waterproof”, has anyone tried it on marine projects? Thanks for all the help!
Spencer
I’ve used tung oil on a few paulownia paipo. The durability of the coat varied from one board to the next (the wood came from different sources). One board, developed a strong varnish like finish whereas the other two boards didn’t produce this same finish, having a lighter finish which dried out more.
Either way, the basic message is oil, rub it in and then let it dry. Repeat this four to six times to start with, then re-oil as often as necessary. Don’t rinse the boards in fresh water, just let them dry after a surf naturally.
Note, different oils can have different constituents, besides tung oil. Check with the manufacturer if your oil is suitable for saltwater. They may not know this, so just experiment with some offcuts.
Bob
Hi Spencer Howzit? Been awhile. You can make a bulletproof sealer with epoxy thinned out to any viscosity you desire with iso-propyl alcohol. I have abuddy that has been working with this concoction for years. He makes hippie jewelry out of driftwood and it holds up to UV, water, weather. Easy to use as well, just paint it on and let it soak in.
Thanks all for the tips. I’ll post some picks of the end result when I get it finished up. Work just piled back on, so I’ll get to the plane when I have a chance to. I think I’m going to make a few planes and test out a few different oiled finishes with pure tung, linseed, etc. (and probably tblank’s driftwood hippy concoction). Anyway, I’ll post when I can!
There are some very good tung oil based marine varnishes available , which would perform better than straight tung oil. They have varying degrees of tung oil solids in them. Try the nearest boat marina or chandlery.....
gtigger who occasionally posts here has been making beautiful wood skinned boards with no outer glass. He sent me a PM about the oils he’s using to seal the wood. Hope he doesn’t mind me sharing-
Its also been quite alot of R&D for me over the last few years! The finish i’m still working on, but I definatly belive natural products are the way forward, and have been using a pine tar, linseed oil and turps blend old boaties call ‘boat soup’, I have also been recomended to use Le Tonkinouis, which I have yet to try, but is basically a blend of natural oils and chemical dryers.
I do. I waterproof my alaias with straight Tung, 5 coats and let dry for a few days. Also send customers 250 ml of oil with every board, so they can reaply it as needed. Usually a single coat every 4 to 5 months is enough.
