Finish to dining table - tung oil?

[Mario G]

Hello,

I was just wondering if I could get some finishing advice for a dining table. To give you a bit of background I will explain what I have done to this stage.

I have made a 1/4 scale model table (700 x 700 x 35 to be used as a coffee yable) as a dry run to iron out any problems before I attempt the bigger 1400 x 1400 x 760 dining table. (No point making all the mistakes on the major work.) It is made from plain old radiata pine from bunnings with 90 x 90 legs and side rails with an inlaid pine table top which has been rebated together. Now I had no problem getting the coffee table together I just don't want to stuff up the finish.

To date I have finished the coffee table in the following manner. 2 coats of Feast Watson fungishield, (which made the stain go in very evenly) then umpteem coats of FW stain rubbed in by hand to make a nice dark colour. Now I was keen to get a warm oiled finish which will sit in the timber rather than a varnish which would sit on top of the piece which is why a have rubbed in 2 coats of Intergrain tung oil. It is now dry and looking superb (although a little glossy) if I do say so myself.

My question is 2-fold. What I don't know is how many coats of tung oil to apply and whether I should cut it back or just leave it. Someone mentioned rubbing the oil in with 1200 wet and dry to try and achieve a burnished look and somebody else told me to buff it with a lambswool applicator after the oil is dry. How do I actually finish (or is it already finished) that piece and secondly is a tung oil finish ok (food and drink spillage a certainty which 2 kids under 2) for a dining table which I intend to stain as per the coffee table?

My apologies for the length of the post however I thought more detail would be better than not enough. Many thanks in advance.

[Justin]

Hi Mario,

I made up the table shown in the attached pic as a bit of an experiment. The top is radiata pine, the legs were a really pale and lightweight "baltic-ish" pine that I got from Moxon's when I lived in Brizzy for a while.

I put some sanding sealer on first, then some Behlen Stain followed by a couple of coats of Behlen Danish Oil (which I understand is basically tung oil with some other stuff added to make it harder when dry). The picture was, I think, taken as the second coat was drying.

After the second coat was dry I "de-glossed" it with some 0000 steelwool then buffed on some Intergrain "Patina" wax for a bit more protection. If you're after a satin finish and some extra protection I recommend you try this step as well.

Cheers,


Justin.

[vic]

Mario

I have used tongue oil to finish clock faces with a semi-matt finish!
Using wet and dry paper (1200) on the orbital sander to burnish the surface, and final buff with lambswool, I was pleased with the finish!

Have fun . . .
Vic

[Mario G]

Thanks Vic and thanks Justin. I will try both methods out on some scrap.

Cheers

[mikmaz1]

hi mario,
i use alot of tung oil for finishing but what ive found when left for a while is that it seems to become a dust magnet.
a good coat of wax then buffed seems to stop this plus you get a silky smooth finish. just wait a while for the oil to completely dry.
seeyasoon mik.