Most
so-called Tung oils readily available in hardware chains
have artificial dryers added to them for ‘do-it-yourselfers’.
Some contain quite toxic chemicals such as mineral spirits,
terebenes, and urethanes.
The
best and most natural way to treat raw timber is 100% pure,
non-toxic Chinese Tung Oil blended
with 100% pure, non-toxic Orange Oil. This way you
will benefit from all the good features pure Tung Oil has to
offer, while avoiding the problems associated with toxic
additives. It dries within hours!
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So how do I use Orange Tung on my project?
For flooring or decking the best approach is as follows:
-
Before any coating is
applied the timber must be well seasoned ie. matured for
up to six weeks. Make sure the wood is clean and free
from all other coatings. Your timber may need to be
washed down using a timber cleaner, an oxalic acid based
product finishing off with a good wash down with clean
water. The timber should then be allowed to dry for a
couple of days before the oiling process begins. If a
smooth finish is required you must sand the floor and
remove all residual dust. To apply Orange Tung Wood Oil
to decks we recommend using Uni-Pro applicators, we can
supply these or alternatively they are usually available
from major hardware stores. Please do not use lambs wool
applicators, as they apply too much oil to the timber.
To clean your applicator, use a small amount of mineral
turpentine.
-
Apply your first coat
thinly and evenly over the entire surface: Work the
mixture well into the wood. Excess oil must be removed
as soon as it starts to go tacky – anywhere between 10
to 30 minutes after application. The ideal way to
proceed is to wipe the oiled surface dry just as it
starts to go sticky: any sooner and you are removing too
much, and any later it has too much grab and won’t come
off easily.
-
Continue to keep an
eye on your finish - It is most important throughout the
drying time that you wipe up any excess oil to allow for
even drying. Failure to do this may result in what is
known as varnishing. This is a blotchy finish which will
scratch and mark easily.
-
After the surface is
completely dry – approx. 24 hours (however this can vary
depending on timber porosity and weather conditions) you
can apply the second coat ensuring that you repeat the
removal of the excess oil step.
-
A third coat is
recommended. Three coats is the minimum for flooring or
decking in our opinion. Some “experts” recommend many
more coats than this.
-
At the risk of
repeating ourselves, after each coat you must remove
excess oil as described in points 2 & 3.
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After the final coat
is completely dry, allow 2 days to ensure the surface is
completely cured before applying the recommended coat of
Feed-N-Wax. The life of the finish depends greatly on
how much direct sunlight or shade it receives and your
level of maintenance. To increase the life of your deck
or floor it is important to wax it fairly regularly,
especially after periods of harsh weather conditions. We
recommend Howard Sunwax for outdoors and Feed-N-Wax for
interiors.
This technique can be
easily adapted for sealing raw wooden furniture, both
indoors and in the garden, or to any other timber items to
which you want to give a long-wearing layer of protection.
With wooden furniture you can hand-rub the Orange/Tung mix
into the grain and burnish it dry using friction. Excess oil
will not be so evident when using this method. We recommend
a light coating of our Sun-Wax product to maintain a long
lasting finish in outdoors areas or Feed-N-Wax indoors. For
occasional scuff repair, use a dab of Howard Feed-N-Wax
applied carefully with an abrasive sponge pad or similar.
Avoid cleaning with warm, soapy water. Use a little orange
oil on a sponge mop. If you do need to clean using soap,
when dry rub some orange oil or Feed-N-Wax over the area to
remove soap scum.
Please Note: Preparation and application is the key
to a successful finish.
Orange Tung Wood Oil is a unique blend of natural
products requiring a degree of tender loving care and
patience to achieve optimum results. The final result
achieved may vary according to: timber type, preparation
techniques, weather conditions and the application process
used. Please ensure that all provided instructions are
followed closely.
Points to remember
-
Drying time will be affected
by the density and porosity of the wood you are working on.
Harder timbers may take longer to dry
-
Drying time will be affected
by natural conditions such as cold and wet weather or
extreme humidity. Aim to use our mix on a warm, dry day.
-
Do not panic if your Tung Oil
and Orange Oil mix is taking a little longer (or even a
little less) time to dry. It is a natural product, and
responds naturally to the conditions that surround it during
application.
For
occasional scuff repair, use a dab of Howard Feed-N-Wax
applied with Howard #0000 steel wool. Avoid cleaning with
warm, soapy water. Use a little orange oil on a sponge mop.
If you do need to clean using soap, when dry rub some orange
oil or Feed-N-Wax over the area to remove soap scum.
For long-term maintenance a coat of Feed-N-wax every few months is
a good idea and will extend the life of your deck, floor or
furniture for many years.
A few known problems that have been experienced and can be
rectified:
Indonesian timbers such as Merbau, which contain very visible
streaks of dark oil in the grain, can tend to darken when
coated with a penetrating oil such as Orange Tung. To many
people this isn’t a problem, especially as dark flooring is
currently very popular in the industry. For those who wish
to keep decking or flooring light there is a product that we
can supply which is called Spa-N-Deck. This product brings
excessive oil in wood to the surface where it can easily be
hosed away thus creates a surface which will only darken
back to a natural degree when penetrating oil is added.
An orange peel effect is sometimes created either by not properly
removing excess oil or because of some reaction to other
oils or chemicals in the wood you’re working on. We do add a
special vegetable oil product to the mix which combats this
problem however it can be rectified in small areas by
rubbing it way with #0000 grade steel wool saturated with
Howard Orange Oil.
Sometimes we hear that although the floor looks beautiful and the
customer is very happy with it, there is a slight oiliness
still evident that while not sticky, tends to come off on
socks and so forth. This effect can occur with extremely
hard wood, especially if the humidity is very high and the
temperature very hot. This problem will eventually solve
itself as the oil and the wood overcome the elements
surrounding them and settle down. To minimise this problem
make sure that you wipe away any excess oil after each coat,
as per our instructions, to the point where you are almost
drying the area by hand. Also make sure that each coat is
thoroughly dry before applying any following coat.
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At this time not many of our numerous stockists carry this special blend:
Speak to them and see if they will get it for you.
Alternatively it
can be ordered
via our 1 800 672 646 mail order number:
We hand blend the product
at our facility
Our Tung/Orange Mix is priced as follows:
5 litres: no UV inhibitor added: $ 145.00 with UV inhibitor
added by volume $170.00
20 litres: no UV inhibitor added $525.00 with UV inhibitor
added by volume $625.00
Freight is charged at $15.00 for up to $150 worth of product
and increases by $5 for each $100 worth thereafter.
We don’t count the addition of UV ray absorber into the
freight component. 5 litres remains at a $15.00 freight
charge. Our freight charge for the 20 litre drum is $25.00
Don’t hesitate to
email us for further advice or help with
problems.
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