Tung oil for a Bathroom Shelf


Tony Wilkins

Recommended Posts

I have a couple of simple shelves I made out of Mahogany.  I recently got some Pure Tung Oil (regular) from the Real Milkpaint Company. The shelves are going into our bathroom above our tub.  Is that finish a good choice?

 

I'm not very experienced in finishing just for the record. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the problem you will have with the bathroom is the moisture as long as you can prevent it from effecting the wood you will be ok.  mahogany is a strait grained wood that wont warp too much with moisture.  i think that the oil will be fine alot of finishes in a moist area will fog or turn white.  the worst that happens is you rebuild/sand back and refinish.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

==>Pure Tung Oil..... bathroom above our tub

Kind of depends... What's going on the shelves? Anything wet? How often is the bath used?... If it's a guest bath that get's little-to-no use, than you can get by with far less protection than one shared by four teen daughters... The more use, the more water, etc will drive you to a finish offering more protection...

 

==>not very experienced in finishing

The idea of aligning finishes with usage is really quite important and suspect doesn't get as much consideration as it should... For example: a largely-decorative sofa table might look great with a French polish... Take that same table and put it in the kitchen and we're talking conversion varnish... I think it's in Flexner --- there's a table showing intended usage on one axis and appropriate finish on the other... Very helpful... Probably copywrited, so really can't post it...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it is a tub/ shower then tung oil is probably not a good choice. I made a shelf for my bathroom out of mahogany and the toilet paper roll is under it. It has a Danish oil finish on it and it has held up just fine . I think I have re-oiled it twice in 20 years.

Waterlox tung oil is sold as a marine finish.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

==>Waterlox tung oil is sold as a marine finish.....

I've always known of it's existence, but never actually used it... Always just reached for the high-solids varnish... Just spent an hour on their site. It look like a solid product and easy to work with... Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.