Tung Oil

[jujigatame]

I am making new Kitchen Cabinet doors out of Maple and I was planning on finishing them with Minwax Tung oil finish (which is a mixture of Tung oil and Varnish).

I absolutely love the finish it gives, but I am concerned that it is too delicate for kitchen cabinets.

I have heard about Waterlox, but it seems to be about the same thing as the Minwax.

Any ideas?

 

[Sparktrician]

Well, I've used tung oil on the stocks of my shotguns and use them in all kinds of nasty weather, and the finish hasn't degraded.  I also use tung oil on a cherry knife block that is constantly getting splashed in the kitchen.  A quick go-over with 0000 steel wool and an overnight soaking wipe with tung oil, followed by a light go-over with the 0000 steel wool perks it right back up again.  The finish looks about an inch deep on the gunstocks and has for nearly 20 years with perhaps an annual touch-up.  I'd be concerned about the long-term implications for a customer that isn't good at keeping things up as pertains to cabinet finishes.  Tung oil requires occasional maintenance; polyurethane doesn't.  

 

[mouppe]

Hi,

I have to say that I would not use tung oil in this situation. I used it on the hull of a model ship, which is obviously a very delicate area. I cannot speak for the minwax product, as the tung oil I used was a pure oil with no varnish in it. Tung oil needs recoating from time to time, which would be a pain for such a large surface area as a kitchen.

But, beware the Minwax! I believe the minwax product actually contains linseed oil and varnish, and no tung oil! Bizarre! By calling it Minwax Tung Oil FINISH, they can get away without putting any tung oil in it, because it gives a tung oil-like finish.

If you like the oil finish, I would suggest danish oil. This is also an oil/varnish mix and believe it or not, the oil is either tung or linseed! So it is actually closer to tung oil than the Minwax tung oil! I used it on my workbench which tells you a lot about its durability. It is easy to apply, looks good, and can be easily recoated.

Finally, I would add that almost nothing in the oil category is as hard a polyurethane, so you may be forced to decide between a look and a practical finish.

Richard.

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I second everything Richard just said.  Also, I remember using tung oil on some of the customer's stuff when working at a custom cabinet shop.  Hated the constant recoating.

 

[mouppe]

Cheers, Ken, I finally did something right! Now if you could just have a word with the missus...

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Bring me back a CMS, CS70, Planex, what the heck, a Mercedes, from your trip and we'll talk!  [big grin] [big grin]

 

[Neill]

My concern in using tung oil on kitchen cabinets is the greasy film that builds up on the cabinets from cooking.  This requires constant attention and in some cases some rather strong cleaning agents.  I don't believe that tung oil could hold up to this without reapplication on a regular basis.

Neill

 

[Ken Nagrod]

While working for the cabinet shop, we never oiled the cabinetry we made.  Just the wooden countertops or certain custom furniture we also produced.

 

[jujigatame]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Richard, the Minwax product is a combination of Tung oil, Linseed  oil and Varnish.  It's basically the Maloof recipe and as far as I can tell, the same as Waterlox.

I used it on a wall unit I did in my bedroom and love the finish.  I am concerned about durability in the kitchen though.

Can I use a Poly topcoat with Tung oil as a base?

 

[mouppe]

It may have a tiny tiny tiny bit of tung oil in it, but it is very far removed from pure tung oil. It is basically a wiping varnish with mostly mineral spirits and linseed oil.

You could topcoat it with poly, but what  would be the point?

 

[Sparktrician]

I concur with Richard.  What's the point of putting in the time and effort to get a real tung oil finish, only to cover it up with polyurethane?  You might do better to just use a wipe-on polyurethane finish from the get-go and be done with it.  A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time.  Now if you're looking for long-term employment, you could add in a maintenance-for-fee clause in your contract that has the customer paying you annually for a visit to re-apply the tung oil finish and give it a good buffing...  [wink] 

 

[jonny round boy]

I concur with Richard.  What's the point of putting in the time and effort to get a real tung oil finish, only to cover it up with polyurethane?  You might do better to just use a wipe-on polyurethane finish from the get-go and be done with it.  A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time.  Now if you're looking for long-term employment, you could add in a maintenance-for-fee clause in your contract that has the customer paying you annually for a visit to re-apply the tung oil finish and give it a good buffing...   [wink] 

Tung oil may well need maintenance for the OP's intended use for kitchen cabinets, but that's not always the case.

In college, I made a small, shaker style oak side table. At the time, I was rushing to finish it in time for assessment, so it only got 2 coats of pure tung oil. I intended to put some more on it later, but never did.

I still have that table 8 years later, and it never got that third coat. It still looks as good now as it did when I finished it... [big grin]

 

[Sparktrician]

I concur with Richard.  What's the point of putting in the time and effort to get a real tung oil finish, only to cover it up with polyurethane?  You might do better to just use a wipe-on polyurethane finish from the get-go and be done with it.  A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time.  Now if you're looking for long-term employment, you could add in a maintenance-for-fee clause in your contract that has the customer paying you annually for a visit to re-apply the tung oil finish and give it a good buffing...   [wink] 

Tung oil may well need maintenance for the OP's intended use for kitchen cabinets, but that's not always the case.

In college, I made a small, shaker style oak side table. At the time, I was rushing to finish it in time for assessment, so it only got 2 coats of pure tung oil. I intended to put some more on it later, but never did.

I still have that table 8 years later, and it never got that third coat. It still looks as good now as it did when I finished it... [big grin]

I'd have to ask if your table gets the same kind of all-weather abuse that my shotgun stocks get, or if it gets the detergent and water sprays that my knife block gets? 

[wink] 

 

[jonny round boy]

I concur with Richard.  What's the point of putting in the time and effort to get a real tung oil finish, only to cover it up with polyurethane?  You might do better to just use a wipe-on polyurethane finish from the get-go and be done with it.  A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time.  Now if you're looking for long-term employment, you could add in a maintenance-for-fee clause in your contract that has the customer paying you annually for a visit to re-apply the tung oil finish and give it a good buffing...   [wink] 

Tung oil may well need maintenance for the OP's intended use for kitchen cabinets, but that's not always the case.

In college, I made a small, shaker style oak side table. At the time, I was rushing to finish it in time for assessment, so it only got 2 coats of pure tung oil. I intended to put some more on it later, but never did.

I still have that table 8 years later, and it never got that third coat. It still looks as good now as it did when I finished it... [big grin]

I'd have to ask if your table gets the same kind of all-weather abuse that my shotgun stocks get, or if it gets the detergent and water sprays that my knife block gets? 

[wink] 

No it doesn't, but that's my point. You said "A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time" without condition. I was just stating that it doesn't always need a lot of maintenance, it depends on the situation, that's all.

 

[Sparktrician]

I concur with Richard.  What's the point of putting in the time and effort to get a real tung oil finish, only to cover it up with polyurethane?  You might do better to just use a wipe-on polyurethane finish from the get-go and be done with it.  A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time.  Now if you're looking for long-term employment, you could add in a maintenance-for-fee clause in your contract that has the customer paying you annually for a visit to re-apply the tung oil finish and give it a good buffing...   [wink] 

Tung oil may well need maintenance for the OP's intended use for kitchen cabinets, but that's not always the case.

In college, I made a small, shaker style oak side table. At the time, I was rushing to finish it in time for assessment, so it only got 2 coats of pure tung oil. I intended to put some more on it later, but never did.

I still have that table 8 years later, and it never got that third coat. It still looks as good now as it did when I finished it... [big grin]

I'd have to ask if your table gets the same kind of all-weather abuse that my shotgun stocks get, or if it gets the detergent and water sprays that my knife block gets? 

[wink] 

No it doesn't, but that's my point. You said "A good tung oil finish looks wonderful, but does take a bunch of regular maintenance over time" without condition. I was just stating that it doesn't always need a lot of maintenance, it depends on the situation, that's all.

I would respectfully submit that kitchen cabinet doors (as originally posted) in the presence of a bunch of rambunctious jam-faces would be considered to be receiving cruel and unusual punishment equivalent to the abuse my shotgun stocks get. 

[big grin] 

 

[jonny round boy]

...a bunch of rambunctious jam-faces...

Just nearly wet myself at that one!

[big grin] [big grin] [big grin]

[thumbs up]

 

[mouppe]

The problem with this thread is that it is titled "Tung Oil" and then the OP discusses using Minwax Tung Oil, which isn't tung oil at all.

 

[jujigatame]

Have you ever used the minwax product?

It leaves a beautiful finish, looks just like any other Tung oil I've used and is WAY easier to apply.

I've also used BLO, and the Minwax product leaves a finish much more golden and deeper than BLO.

FWIW, I will probably go with Waterlox instead of the Minwax as it seems to be more durable.