Organic solvent for thinning Tung Oil

[Clinton1]

I want to thin tung oil with an (organic) solvent to try to muck about with the tung oil penetration and trying to deepen the finish layer. I can source concentrated, pure (94%), Limonene, from orange oil. Anyone gone down this route before?

[PaintMan]

I have used for some time a mixture of 60% Tung Oil and 40% Limonene. For some applications I also incorporate 15% beeswax.
Cheers,
Paintman

[Clinton1]

Thanks mate. I was going to start with 10% and work up, I might start heavier. You anticipated my other question, which about mixing with lanolin oil or wax. When do you use it with beeswax, and how is it work wise/application?

[PaintMan]

Hi Clinton1, I melt the beeswax in a hot water bath and slowly stir it into the Tung Oil mixture. The incorporation of the beeswax into the formulation helps with buffing applications on turned articles on the wood lathe. You will get a little settling of the beeswax over time but it is easily remixed. I have not had any application issues and usually apply liberally with a soft rag. I mostly use this on cutting boards and Tapis server boards. For my other wooden furniture or boxes I use a totally different cross-linking system that is spray applied and gives a very fast drying and hard surface.

[Lappa]

Organoil Garden Furniture Oil is almost the same recipe - Tung oil, limonene and beeswax.
I have thinned it with limonene bought from an arts supply store.
Just gave the outdoor table its 6 monthly coating.

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[Clinton1]

Lovely isn't it Lappa? I react easily to hydrocarbons now, which
I don't subject with limonene, hence my investigation. Almost every modern timber treatment had hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons make my skin peel.

[Clinton1]

Paintman, do you think you get better penetration of oil and wax via limonene thinning, or do you think the wax pools on top of the polymerised tung oil coat?

[BobL]

Lovely isn't it Lappa? I react easily to hydrocarbons now, which
I don't subject with limonene, hence my investigation. Almost every modern timber treatment had hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbons make my skin peel.

Limonene is a hydrocarbon C₁₀H₁₆

From Wikipedia

Limonene is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the oil of citrus fruit peels. The D-isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, is a flavoring agent in food manufacturing

[Clinton1]

Thanks Bob. All I know is that it doesn't cause some nasty effects in my body. I'm sick of 2 day headaches and dermatitis. I'm pretty sure it's the thinner

[Mobyturns]

Thanks Bob. All I know is that it doesn't cause some nasty effects in my body. I'm sick of 2 day headaches and dermatitis. I'm pretty sure it's the thinner

The problem with SDS's is that many commercial finish products contain a number of thinners and specify a range of the proportions of ingredients, and unspecified "non-hazardous" ingredients. What is in the potential 10% of other ingredients of Limolene (90-100%)? Has the product been adulterated? Not all suppliers are squeaky clean.

Limolene also has its hazards, one in particular has very high significance for me - "and cardiovascular effects (tachycardia)". It is known to cause sensitization in some people and though regarded as having "low toxicity by dermal route" the skin patch testing procedures use very low concentrations of limolene, not the 90-100% found in limolene thinner. Certainly fewer people who are allergic to turpentine are also allergic to Limolene.

"The allergic response is caused by oxidation products of d-limonene, which are formed upon exposure to air. d-Limonene of very high purity is not expected to produce an allergic response."

[Clinton1]

That's why am I want to source my own thinner. It's the unknowns that are not fully stated, There for your not fully informed. Some limonene suppliers provide a full chemical analysis, for a decent price. A known thinner and much better environmental and oh&s on fume protection. With the majority of products, as you say, the SDS is not detailed properly.

[LGS]

Hi Clinton,
Hope you are well (apart from the Dermatitis). For what it's worth, you could try contacting Organoil and ask them what might be the cause. Their oils are made (mixed) in Australia, so you might get some joy there. It might also be worth calling the Pharmacy College and asking what could be used instead of Limolene. Finally, you could try using Pure Tung Oil. If that causes problems, then you know what you have to do. I've found Organoil to be reasonable people to deal with.

Regards,

Rob

[Old Hilly]

A few years ago now I built a dining table from some reclaimed timber slabs, probably Flooded Gum, from an old slab hut. While the mechanics of getting the slabs joined together and smoothed out were interesting......I used a combination of Tung Oil, Bees Wax and Gum Turpentine as the finish. This was rubbed in and buffed with a lamb's wool buffer on a slow speed power sander over a period of weeks. The Gum Turpentine (a totally different animal to "mineral turps") has a lovely aroma, reminiscent of some of the old furniture polishes that I remembered from my childhood. Wether it will cause you any allergic reactions is another question that I cannot answer. Gum Turpentine is quite flammable so keep it away from naked flames. I used a little electric hotplate gadget to melt the beeswax, add the Tung oil and then add the Turpentine. The ratios I used escape me now, it was sort of like add a bit of this and that and see what happens.
Good luck with the project.