Failed finish with Tung oil on oak, how to rectify ? [\w photos]

[Tarkinn]

Hello everyone,
I had to oil a table for the first time in my life, so I prepared it :sanding, then a wipe with a damp sponge, then a light hand sanding, and then it was ready to recieve the tung oil.
I had warmed the oil can in a water bath (as suggested on it) but it was kinda lukewarm since i was outside because of the sanding and the temperature was at freezing point. I started applying it and realized it was very hard to apply (like it was thick and my brush couldn't spread it equally and nicely) so I got warmer water in the bath to try to fluidify the oil more (which worked). Then i applied the oil on the rest of the surface generously. (that makes an around 10min gap beteen 1st attempt and 2nd because i had to boil water instead of using 95°f tap water as i intended firstly). I let the oil get in the wood for the time I needed to oil the edges of the table (a big 5 min) and then started to wipe of the excess with a clean cloth. Then i waited 3 days for the oil to dry (inside the house).
The result is kinda bad i feel like either i let the oil sit for too long before wiping it off, or i didn't wipe it enough. Because i can see reflects on the the table and the oiliing is uneven. Also it should have been dryy in a day or two not 3 (and still not fully dry).
Here are the pics :
IMG_20210120_161300.jpgIMG_20210120_161338.jpgIMG_20210120_161437.jpgIMG_20210120_161320.jpg
The 3rd one shows better the weird spots randomly present on the surface. The last photo is from the side and shows you can't see anything from side because it is not in the direction of the cellulosic fibers.

My questions are what did I do wrong, and hat do I need to do to rectify my errors ?


Sorry for any typo my keyboard is broken and sometims cast sevevral letters at once (or none).
Anyway thank you for reading and I hope you'll be able to help me.

[truckjohn]

Typically, your first coat with an oil finish is wiped on, then completely wiped off, as dry as you can get it. Then, you leave it in the sun (like you have done) with good air circulation for as long as it takes to dry. It can take a month if it's unhappy for whatever reason... Just leave it be, and it will polymerize and harden eventually.

Step two - get a fresh can. If it took that much heat to get it to flow, there's a problem.

If you can't wait - use a card scraper to manually scrape all the oil off, then go from there...

But if it was me, I'd just let it sit... And sit... And sit.

From where you are now:
1. Let it dry until it's all the way dry. A month or two or more....
2. Use steel wool or fine scotch brite to scuff the surface for the next wiped coat.
3. Fresh can of oil. Jettison the one you have.
4. Many wiped light coats give much better results than fewer, thicker brushed coats. Wipe it on in small sections and wipe it back off till the paper towel comes off clean.

[Tarkinn]

Ok thanks for the answer, i'll let it alone for a bit then. And if I'm unhappy with the result maybe i will add a thin layer with a new oil because the one I used was a year old, strored in the cold so it was thick. But I don't want to add to much oil because it already recieved 2 layers last year (wasn't enough so that's the reason i re-oiled it this year) and i don't want my table to turn any darker.

[tonzeyd]

if you've got pure tung oil, ie not something from Bunnings. Your first coat is thinned with mineral spirits, and as you apply more coats the proportion of spirits decreases.

[Robson Valley]

If this is genuine Quercus sp. oak, them the surface pores, the vessel elements, must be sealed as is always done for oak flooring.
Apply the paste sealer, let it dry and sand back all the excess. This leaves the large but microscopic pores plugged.

[truckjohn]

The real issue I see is the hazy and shiny spots all over it. These will be helped by scuffing with scotch brite and wiping more coats on. I think I would stop once you have a finish with more or less uniform sheen. Same caveat applies, don't do anything with it until it's fully cured. The worst possible thing you can do now is fool with it while it's still sticky.

Edit to add: You said you have a few coats of (something) on it, and now, with this new coat, you have problems. What specifically did you use for the first few coats? Was it something different? For example, a urethane or poly product?

[Tarkinn]

First, it's not sticky, it's a bit greasy (not anymore since the last time i answered). Last time i used the same pure tung oil with siccative to speed up drying. This time I didn't have siccative so i went without. I think i'll do as you suggested once i get more oil. It is too late for sealing surface pores as it already recievved 3 layers of oil, but i can sand it a bit with scotch brite or thin paper to then oil it more carefully.

[truckjohn]

The hazy spots are probably spots where the grain changed direction. They'll dissipate once you get a few
more coats on.

I wouldn't sand the finish, so much as scuff it with steel wool or scotch brite.