Finishing Grips With Tung Oil Help

[rwb1500]

I got a cheap set of walnut 1911 grips off Ebay and want to shine them up a little. They are completely unfinished, just raw, checkered wood. I put a light coat of tung oil on them today, working it into all the nooks and crannies with a soft cotton cloth. If I understand correctly I should give it at least 24-48 hours until I do another coat, right? And then, how many coats do I really need? I see some folks out there saying 15 or 20, some saying 3. I'm just trying to brighten these grips up a little, nothing too crazy. Is it one of those things where I just keep doing it until I like the result?


Here's a pic of the product in it's raw form. I'll update as the oil dries and I apply more.




Also, how do I get this crap off my hands? Paint thinner? Soap and water doesn't seem to be doing it. Should have worn gloves, I know...



Thanks,

Not a wood worker.

[Brian Ahearn]

If you have real tung oil , i use the hardware store variety which you buff off after 15 to 20 minutes of dry time. I usually put 4 to 5 coats on smooth grips. buffing that type of checker grip will be difficult.

[knight0334]

15 coats is about a good starting point... lol I have close to 40 on these pieces below.

Usually you use the finest steel wool to shave off the outer layer. It takes several coats to fill the grains of the wood. Some also is absorbed into the wood. ...so it takes many coats with tung oil. But with checking you might mess up things with steel wool. ...the process is coat, dry, rub with steel wool, makes sure it's clean, coat, dry, repeat, repeat, repeat....

About two months of work below..

Before:


During:




After:





I used either gasoline or lighter fluid to get it off my hands.

[rwb1500]

I am using the real deal 100% oil. I figured I'd try buffing at slow speeds with a felt buffing wheel on a Dremel.

Honesty though they look pretty damn good after one coat and a few hours.


That stock looks great Knight.

[knight0334]

I am using the real deal 100% oil. I figured I'd try buffing at slow speeds with a felt buffing wheel on a Dremel.

Honesty though they look pretty damn good after one coat and a few hours.


That stock looks great Knight.

I wouldn't use machinery to buff.

That fresh one coat is definitely not enough with tung oil. You will want several coats. It may look good now, but it is just a thin layer and will not last with handling. Dont forget to coat the backside too. The wood will drink up a lot of oil.

During and after rubbing off the first coat you'll wonder why you're doing so... ...but you just have to have faith in things.

The coarser the wood grains are, the more coats you will need. Finer grain woods will need lessor numbers of coats. You want to oil to dry in the grains of the wood, filling them layer by layer.



That walnut piece I have pictured above shows you what it looks like around 10 coats(pieces are hanging on a door). If you look closely you will see small holes in the shiny finish. Those are grains of the wood that haven't quite filled yet. But subsequent layers thereafter eventually fill them.

However with a checkered piece of wood, the process may be different. You will want to take care that you don't rub too hard or with a very abrasive tool(steel wool, coarse cloth, etc). You also don't want to fill in the grooves of the checkering with multiple layers.

[LumpyBrass]

You screwed up. Tung oil is a marketing hoax started years ago a guy named Fornaby, or something like that.
Tung oil is just that; oil. It has no special properties. Fornaby was selling varnish with maybe some tung oil in it, but the tung oil was just a hook.
Some varnish makers still carry the marketing thing by calling their varnish tung, when it has a very small trace amoun of tung, just to be legal.
I'm not saying their produce is not good, just that the tung oil part is just snake oil.
Tru-oil is an excellent finish if you like hi-gloss.
Waterlox is a great semi gloss finish.
Whatever is used make sure it is cured before lightly wiping with fine grit sand paper (1200 grit). If the paper wants to gum up or clog, it's not cured enough. Use several coats.
If you used pure tung oil on your grips, they are toast. No finish will adhere to the oil impregnated wood. You now have oiled wood at best.

[CHEMICAL]

I always used Birchwood Casey Tru-oil . Usually only took about 2 coats. Never tried Tung Oil but that stock does look damn good!

[caferacer]

the C.M.P. has a great article on wood stocks that you may find helpful or at least interesting

http://www.odcmp.com/Sales/askarmore...ng_article.htm

[Interceptor]

You screwed up. Tung oil is a marketing hoax started years ago a guy named Fornaby, or something like that.
Tung oil is just that; oil. It has no special properties. Fornaby was selling varnish with maybe some tung oil in it, but the tung oil was just a hook.
Some varnish makers still carry the marketing thing by calling their varnish tung, when it has a very small trace amoun of tung, just to be legal.
I'm not saying their produce is not good, just that the tung oil part is just snake oil.
If you used pure tung oil on your grips, they are toast. No finish will adhere to the oil impregnated wood. You now have oiled wood at best.

When I started reading that I thought you were being sarcastic, but I think you're serious. It was good for a laugh either way.

[Svickstc]

any updated pictures of the grips