How long does tung oil take to completely dry?

[Doozer]

I made a small box out of butternut that I wanted to give to my Dad for his b-day. I put 5 coats of tung oil on it over about a weeks time. Its been sitting for 3 days now and still has an oily surface, and leaves oil on your fingers when touched.... Im hoping it will be dry before his b-day which is in about 2 weeks.. I still have to put flocking on the inside and add the hardware as well..

Thanks

Dave

[eric_wolf]

I made a small box out of butternut that I wanted to give to my Dad for his b-day. I put 5 coats of tung oil on it over about a weeks time. Its been sitting for 3 days now and still has an oily surface, and leaves oil on your fingers when touched.... Im hoping it will be dry before his b-day which is in about 2 weeks.. I still have to put flocking on the inside and add the hardware as well..

Thanks

Dave

Hey man,

I think what you are seeing is the oil leeching back out of the grain to the surface. In essence, it's telling you "No mas!". It is perfectly acceptable to wipe off the excess that is pooling. I did a tung oil finish for a desk I restored, and it was a fate worse than death waiting for that to dry. I needed it ready by Christmas, and I started finishing it the first week of December. Not good :-)

[susieq4131]

Doozer,

I have found that any 100% tung oil left on the products will dry hard if you don't wipe it off, which will require sanding to remove. Wiping off those little droplets is important.

It's hard to get a straight answer about cure time. Some say 2 weeks. Others say once you can't smell the tung oil, it's safe to use. I recommend everyone wait two weeks before putting food items in the bowls, just to be on the safe side and also tell them to give it the sniff test. If they can smell the product, let it cure a bit longer.

SQ

[Doozer]

Thanks for the replies. The oil isnt pooling up or even forming any droplets, you cant even notice any excess oil on the surface. Its just that it still smells strong of tung oil, and if you touch it, it leaves oil on your fingers and you see a smudge mark on the wood. should I be wiping it down or steel wooling it any more, or just let it cure until its no longer "oily" to the touch?

Thanks again for the advice!

[susieq4131]

Thanks for the replies. The oil isnt pooling up or even forming any droplets, you cant even notice any excess oil on the surface. Its just that it still smells strong of tung oil, and if you touch it, it leaves oil on your fingers and you see a smudge mark on the wood. should I be wiping it down or steel wooling it any more, or just let it cure until its no longer "oily" to the touch?

Thanks again for the advice!

I personally would just wipe it down with a soft cloth. Since it's a box, I would also leave the lid off so the box interior can breath.

That box should be just fine before the birthday arrives.

SQ

[DeanJackson]

Thanks for the replies. The oil isnt pooling up or even forming any droplets, you cant even notice any excess oil on the surface. Its just that it still smells strong of tung oil, and if you touch it, it leaves oil on your fingers and you see a smudge mark on the wood. should I be wiping it down or steel wooling it any more, or just let it cure until its no longer "oily" to the touch?

Thanks again for the advice!

The walnut bench I just finished took about a week, maybe ten days, until it wasn't oily to the touch. It still gathers dust more than the other pieces of furniture a month later, but was almost-mostly-dry after that first week.