Help! Tung Oil Finish hasn't taken

[ghowe]

I've just finished oiling a kitchen bench with Tung Oil and let it sit for a few days before using it. A damp (not wet) sponge was left on it for a few minutes. It appears that the oil colour has leached out and the grain of the wood has risen in that spot. What have I done wrong? and does anyone know how I can fix it. The timber is Cypress Pine and it was properly stripped and well-sanded before the many coats of oil were applied.

[LGS]

So the damp sponge was put on the oil after it was left to dry? You can rectify the patch by sanding it back, probably to about 800g then add oil, one coat will be enough and wet sand up to where you finished before.

First thing I can think of is to try applying another coat of oil after sanding the damaged piece of bench. Is the rest of the bench still OK? i.e. no signs of patchiness or raised grain?
I suspect that the oil has not fully dried.
It is unusual for the Tung oil not to have dried after some days but If you have put many coats on, it will take a little longer to dry. I usually leave it for a week. If you have some 1500 or 2000 grit left, give the whole bench a rub over and reapply the Tung Oil and then use the 2000 grit vigorously to sand the wet oil in. Then try leaving it for a week and see how it looks. It should be smooth and clear.
Regards,

Rob

[Master Splinter]

Tung oil can take a long time to dry properly (weeks). When sanding/applying, were you giving it 2-4 days between each coat?

[ghowe]

Tung oil can take a long time to dry properly (weeks). When sanding/applying, were you giving it 2-4 days between each coat?

Thanks! I left it 24 hours between each coat but the weather was really good so I thought that would be okay. I only gave it 4 days so I'll try to fix it up and then give it longer.

[ian]

did you use a pure tung oil or one which was polymerised or had dryers added to it?
of course I can never find the reference when I need it, but somewhere I've read that the time between coats should be at least 24 hours and the final coat should be left for around 7 days before use.

Because of the way true oils dry, I don't think the weather has much influence -- provided we'e not talking days on where the max tempurature is less than 15° C

[ghowe]

did you use a pure tung oil or one which was polymerised or had dryers added to it?
of course I can never find the reference when I need it, but soesmewhere I've read that the time between coats should be at least 24 hours and the final coat should be left for around 7 days before use.

Because of the way true oils dry, I don't think the weather has much influence -- provided we'e not talking days on where the max tempurature is less than 15° C

The product I've used only has limonene added which as I understand it is a citrus thinner. As it was the only thing I could find around here that was what I went with.

To follow up your response, Rob, only the patch where the sponge was left was affected and I sanded that lightly and applied more oil. You can still see a ghost of a mark so I think I'm going to apply more oilto the whole bench and rub in as you suggested. Hopefully, this will all work because the finish looks fabulous apart from the mark and I would dearly love to have a working kitchen again.

[LGS]

That's great. Hope it works out well for you. It will be worth the agony though, I think.

Regards
Rob

[ian]

Hi Ghowe

how did re-oiling your bench come up?

[ghowe]

Hi Ghowe

how did re-oiling your bench come up?

Unfortunately, if you know where to look you can still see the ghost of the sponge mark but I can live with that. I've done a small test to see if it's likely to happen again and it seems alright. It's now been about 10 days since the repair job so over the weekend my husband will be putting the sink and stove back and the real test under fire of the water resistance will begin. If there still appears to be problems I think the only thing to do will be the varnish over the top which will be very disappointing so fingers crossed...

[Christos]

Waiting as well.

[ian]

thanks for the update

let us know how it turns out

[ghowe]

thanks for the update

let us know how it turns out

Sink and stovetop went back in yesterday. First meal prepared and dishes washed. All seems to have gone well. I can't see any marks caused by splashes or wiping down. So far, so good. And, of course, looks great.

[LGS]

Hi Ghowe,

Never doubted you'd get it right!
Excellent!

Regards,

Rob

[ghowe]

Hi Ghowe,

Never doubted you'd get it right!
Excellent!

Regards,

Rob

Thanks for all your help, Rob.