Tung Oil

[mat]

Just looking at the Intergarin Tung Oil and found this material safety data sheet

msds.orica.com/pdf/shess-en-cds-010-000000001659.pdf

looked at the list of ingredients - tung oil not mentioned

I shouldn't be surprised

[gabacus]

now that is interesting...

the "synthetic plolymer" portion should represent the tung oil component of the product. of course, the fact that it states that it is a synthetic polymer does not really mean that it is not derived from tung oil.

if a product is sufficiently purified, it can be classified as a synthetic material. it should be noted that the purification process does not alter the chemical structure of the polymers, just gets rid of the stuff you dont want.

from a regulatory perspective, this is actually a big deal. if it is derived from a natural source it makes sense to say that it is synthetic (via purification). this makes it a lot easier to get the stuff into the country. if you declare it as a natural product then you have to complete all the declarations and get permits and all that kind of stuff

i cant really comment on whether this is the case with this product but its worth considering.

it might be worth tracking down the MSDS for other brands of tung oil and see what they have to say...

[Big Shed]

Sorry, but "purifying" tung oil does not make it "synthetic".

Tung Oil or China Wood Oil is a natural product, always has been, always will be.

There are plenty of unscrupulous manufacturers out there selling "Tung Oil", which in fact most of the time isn't, sometimes it is tung oil modified with polyurethane, or in some cases even all polyurethane.

If the MSDS states it is 100% synthetic polymer it contains no tung oil.

See this link in Wikipedia.

[rsser]

Yes, recall a motor oil manufacturer in the UK being taken to task for advertising a 'synthetic' oil which was made from natural ingredients - like coconut fat IIRC.

Still, I used the stuff on my Trumpy for 37,000 km and it worked fine

[gabacus]

now that is interesting indeed.

i work in the regulatory area and deal with import permit and things of that nature and we have used the "sufficiently purified to be considered synthetic" argument many times. of course, my area of work has nothing to do with tung or motor oil so it could just be a difference in industries.

[ubeaut]

As Big Shed rightly said: Tung oil is Tung oil even when purified it's still Tung oil.

Any manufacturer who says it's synthetic polymers is basically saying "it's polyurethane" in a roundabout way so that the punters don't know it's poly u unless they are an analytic scientist.

What they have done is to turned the name of a natural oil, into the name of a finish:
eg: Purchaser talking to salesperson on sodium pentathol.

Purchaser, "Excuse me but does this Tung oil you're selling have any actual Tung oil in it?"

Salespeson, "No sir, it does not."

Purchaser, "Isn't that false advertising?"

Salesperson, "No sir Tung Oil is the name of the product not what's in the product."

Purchaser, "Then what's in it?"

Salesperson, "Why it's our own special blend of Synthetic Polymers and hydrocarbons, sir."

Purchaser, "Oh. So it's watered down polyurethane?"

Salesperson, "No sir. Certainly not. It's what we in the trade, call Tung oil."

Purchaser, "But why call it Tung Oil when clearly it isn't?"

Salesperson, "Well sir.... Idiots like you buy Tung Oil because you think it's better and less toxic, than polyurethane and we can't afford to lose the squillion dollar polyurethane market. Besides it costs half the price of poly u to make and we sell it for a lot more."

Monty Python eat your heart out.

Cheers - Neil

[Rattrap]

Rofl

[gabacus]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

that reminds me of an urban myth where people were saying that McDonalds did not contain any Australian Beef, but the beef was supplied by a company called "Australian Beef" so they could label the "food" 100% Australian Beef.

point taken though. if there is no tung oil in it then its not tung oil.

i think im going to take a closer look at the stuff i have at home...

[Salted Nuts]

Maybe the "Tung Oil" is pressed from the "Cows Tung" and the remainder of the "Tung" is sent to the "Australian Beef" company to make the McDonalds 100% beef burger patties. That would explain the dry burger pattie

[artme]

Well, The plot thickens! The questions we ask and the answers we get. May be politicians learn their trade as salespeople!
Just got back from Visiting the son, partner, two grandsons and the new kitchen.
The benchtop is Ironbark, natural edge and gorgeous. Son finished top with Intergrain "Tung Oil". Said itwas thin and dried quickly, 3 coats didn't take long.
Doesn't sound like "real Tung oil" to me but the result is a beautiful finish.

Anyone contemplating a benchtop finish should consider this product.