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!
 

 
So how do I use Orange Tung on my project?
 
For flooring or decking the best approach is as follows:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. At the risk of repeating ourselves, after each coat you must remove excess oil as described in points 2 & 3.

7. 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.
 

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.