Tung Oil - Tips & Tricks?

I got some customs cocobolo 1911 grips last week, they were finished with tung oil. Formby tung oil according to the guy that made them. They are still sticky/tacky, and don't seem to be improving.

They arrived Wednesday of last week, 5 days ago now. I left them on the counter under the heater vent register for 3 days, very minor improvement if any. Then I hung them in a cardboard box, with a space heater on low, blowing into the box, that's been going on for 18+ hours, and they're still tacky.

Does this stuff just take 40 forevers to dry? Maybe it was a bad batch? Put on too thick? Any tips or tricks to get this stuff to dry by Saturday?

Weird. 

Probably tung oil with no solvents added.

The tung oil I use is dry in 48 hours at most.

Other than that, I'm no help.

Any chance he was wrong and it was unboiled linseed oil? Tung oil dries quickly, and I love it. It's my favorite wood finish. A gun grip would be silky smooth and lovely.

Formby's is not pure tung oil. It's a mix of stuff, and doesn't behave like the real thing. He probably slathered it on there like gravy. If it were me, I'd take some 0000 steel wool and mineral spirits and see if I could reduce the thickness of the finish. The beauty of oil finishes is that you can add more later as needed.

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

If it's been put on too thick, or the next coat put on before the previous has dried enough, they'll nearly never dry. I did a rifle stock with danish oil and ended up having to steel wool a coat partially off to get the underlying to dry before adding subsequent coats. 
 

once dry it should be gtg though

Tung oil is meant to be applied in multiple super-light coats.  The esters in the oil cross-link and cure with its exposure to air.  If you put it on thick, it will never really cure.  It will, but the outside will cure and prevent the stuff under it from curing.  The secret is thin coats, and let it dry for at least 8 hours between coats.

Formby's is a mixture of solvent, tung oil, and a little varnish.  That type of finish does best as a wipe-on or wipe-off application.  You either rub super-thin coats on with a rag, or you can brush on a coat and let it soak in for 10 minutes and then wipe it off with a rag.

Years ago I built a bamboo recipe box for someone.  I rubbed in 10 coats of tung and it never really built up (and it's not supposed to).  I did lay down a final coat thinned a little with a brush and it was able to cure, but it took a long time.

I would suggest not applying heat.  It's not a drying process, it's a cross-linking curing.  Heat will just lower the viscosity of the oil component.  I suppose it's possible that his product was old and the solvent partially evaporated out.

If it doesn't harden on its own, my only suggestion is to wipe it off with solvent and re-apply correctly.

So I've got solvent, either mineral spirits or maybe denatured alcohol, and some lint free wipes, can I just wipe them down with solvent and hope for the best?

I'll start off on the backs to be safe.

Mineral spirits would be best.  Hard to tell what the esters are in the varnish that Formby's uses and alcohol might not cut it.

I would wipe down the back first and see what you get.  The nice thing is, you can't really hurt the wood.  Worst case scenario is that you strip it down to bare wood and start over.

Enter Frenchy in 3,2,1....

SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:

Enter Frenchy in 3,2,1....

Haaaa!  Bug poop content is imminent 

Guy that made them agreed with the mineral spirits plan.  The back side seemed to clean up well, quite a bit of color came off on the lint free wipe.  Good results on the back gave me confidence to clean up the front, I focused my efforts on the edges, since they were the stickiest parts.

The guy that made them is suggesting I reapply tung oil after I get them cleaned up though.  I was wondering if this is necessary, if the tung oil soaks into the wood, and it seems I'm just removing the excess?  I really need the grips dry and ready to install by Saturday, since they are a gift.

It might also be because they're cocobolo. It's pretty dense and waxy wood, might not absorb all that much oil in the first place.

In reply to ShawnG :

I've got a friend that does a lot of lathe work, she makes and sells fancy ink pens, and handles for things at fairs and shows.

She asked several peers, and the general consensus was similar, it being cocobolo is the primary issue.

After going at it with mineral spirits about 5 times I'm pretty content. I'll tell the recipient to get some gun stock oil if he wants.

bigdaddylee82 said:

Guy that made them agreed with the mineral spirits plan.  The back side seemed to clean up well, quite a bit of color came off on the lint free wipe.  Good results on the back gave me confidence to clean up the front, I focused my efforts on the edges, since they were the stickiest parts.

The guy that made them is suggesting I reapply tung oil after I get them cleaned up though.  I was wondering if this is necessary, if the tung oil soaks into the wood, and it seems I'm just removing the excess?  I really need the grips dry and ready to install by Saturday, since they are a gift.

Yes, it soaks in, but you're wiping it off the surface and exposing some raw wood.

Think of it like painting a piece of cast iron and then squeegy-ing off the paint.  Some paint stays in the pores and rough casting, but all of the peaks will rust because you've uncovered them.

If you're concerned about re-applying and making it sticky again, try a little section on the back first.  Try rubbing some on the wood, or put a coat on and wipe it off 5 minutes later.  The secret is to not leave wet tung oil sitting on the surface.  Lightly burnish between coats with a gray scotch brite or some 00 steel wool.

Everything I've oiled also gets waxed. I'd recommend that here as well.

Well, they're installed, in a box, and gift wrapped now.

I didn't got ham with the mineral spirits, only went after the sticky parts, until they weren't sticky anymore.

I've got some Howard Feed-n-Wax I use on our unfinished quarter sawn oak buffet, I can maybe give them a wipe down with that after the package is opened Saturday, or just give the recipient some care instructions.

I also have some Hope's 100% pure tung oil, I forgot I had that, I got it to use on an M1 Garand stock, and it's been in the garage since then, so close to 4 years.

I used some Formby's Tung Oil on some speakers.  Definitely didn't have the issues you're describing.  They came out lovely. :)