Originally Posted by
50 BMG
You going to use tung oil Steve?
Quite a few years back, when I was doing some moisturizing of my M1 Garand & M-1A stocks and also some stripping/refurbishing of a really old '03-A3 stock, I had a hard time finding pure/100% Tung oil locally. Most of the "Tung Oil Finishes" which were much easier to find have varying degrees of mineral spirits added into them (anywhere from 25%-50%).
The spirits are fine to add for the first couple coats on virgin wood, when better penetration into the wood is desired. But for the subsequent "film building" coats where you are adding protective layers to the surface, the 100% Tung is a much better choice to add a thicker film quicker. Also, having 100% Tung, one can always add the desired amounts of spirits if one wants to, but you can't take it out once it's in there.
I looked all over without much luck; paint stores, fine wood working shops, etc...
One night, while I was in the store for a completely different reason, I checked the paint department at the local Meijers store. I'll be darned if they didn't have quart sized bottles of 100% Tung Oil on the shelves there!
If you're having a hard time finding pure Tung, check out Meijer's paint department... It's been a while, but they may still have it.