When it comes to finishing, I generally aim for some degree of a satin/luster finish. I don't often go for full on gloss. Occasionally, though, I do think that a particular piece would look good with a very glossy finish. I use Tung oil (lately mostly Watco Tung Oil, so its not 100% pure, it has some solvents in it to help penetrate and dry...I find 100% pure tung oil has a honey-like consistency, making it harder to apply, and it takes AGES to prolymerize).
I'm curious how you go about finishing a piece with tung oil, such that it ends up nice and glossy in the end. I've been working on an egg here, for a few days, and after several coats, which I leave on for 15-20m then wipe off, it is still quite dull. Its picking up a very slight satin sheen, but it does not seem to be getting glossy. I sanded this to 2000 grit, even wet-sanded it over a couple of coats, and the surface is quite smooth, although the grain is a little bit open so there are some grain lines and pores, which is actually fine with me. I think those add a bit of character. I'm just curious here how to actually get a glossy finish. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just wiping off ALL the oil, on these Nth coats? Is none of it bonding anymore at all? I'm afraid if I coat and leave it on without wiping any off for too long, that the finish is going to get uneven, bumpy and unsightly...but perhaps wiping off in just 15-20 minutes is too soon?
Anyway, just curious how people achieve a nice glossy finish with Tung oil. I know it is possible, as I've seen it done...but I clearly am missing some aspect of technique here.
EDIT:
I should probably add a bit more context here. My current full process, for clarity:
1. First coat, apply and let soak in. Keep applying more tung oil wherever dry spots appear, until dry spots stop appearing. When no dry spots appear after ~15 minutes, then wipe off excess.
2. Let this coat dry for at least a full 24 hours.
3. Second coat, apply over full surface, let soak 15-20m, then wipe off excess.
4. Let this coat dry for a full day.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 until desired sheen achieved.
So I am waiting a day (sometimes more, if i feel the piece needs it) before applying the next coat, to ensure that the prior coat is able to start polymerizing. Only on the first coat to I keep adding more oil before that first 24 hour period, just to make sure the entire piece saturates to the point where I no longer get dry spots.
I've generally only finished until a mild satin sheen occurs. However I have seen some very glossy pieces finished in tung oil, and some of these eggs I've turned here I think would be better with a glossy finish than a satin one. Thus far, however, I have been unable to actually achieve anything beyond a soft satin sheen.
I'm using a variety of woods. Most of these are segmented in one way or another...simple flat segments, vertical segments (creates kind of a checkerboard look if you look at the egg top down), celtic knots with layers of 1/8" thick wood (so we have opposing grains, main blank is long grain like a standard turning blank, the knot layers are more like a bowl blank, alternating long and end grain). I also have some eggs similar to the celtic knots that have bands of 1/8" thick wood board, but not as knots, just loops/bands/rings (sometimes flat, sometimes angled). Most of these I want a satin sheen, although, I actually want more sheeny than they are, and these also seem to be troublesom in getting more of that semi-shiny sheen.
Wood varieties include:
Walnut
Tatajuba
Purpleheart
Padauk
Maple
Sycamore
Cherry
Redheart
Mahogany
I think there are a few others as well. Lot of different woods, in some cases as many as 5 in a single piece. Some of the eggs, including this one particular egg that I'm trying to get very glossy, are a single type of wood. The egg I am trying to get glossy, I actually don't know what kind of wood it is...it is a very hard wood, though, with a somewhat open grain.
I'm curious how you go about finishing a piece with tung oil, such that it ends up nice and glossy in the end. I've been working on an egg here, for a few days, and after several coats, which I leave on for 15-20m then wipe off, it is still quite dull. Its picking up a very slight satin sheen, but it does not seem to be getting glossy. I sanded this to 2000 grit, even wet-sanded it over a couple of coats, and the surface is quite smooth, although the grain is a little bit open so there are some grain lines and pores, which is actually fine with me. I think those add a bit of character. I'm just curious here how to actually get a glossy finish. I'm starting to wonder if I'm just wiping off ALL the oil, on these Nth coats? Is none of it bonding anymore at all? I'm afraid if I coat and leave it on without wiping any off for too long, that the finish is going to get uneven, bumpy and unsightly...but perhaps wiping off in just 15-20 minutes is too soon?
Anyway, just curious how people achieve a nice glossy finish with Tung oil. I know it is possible, as I've seen it done...but I clearly am missing some aspect of technique here.
EDIT:
I should probably add a bit more context here. My current full process, for clarity:
1. First coat, apply and let soak in. Keep applying more tung oil wherever dry spots appear, until dry spots stop appearing. When no dry spots appear after ~15 minutes, then wipe off excess.
2. Let this coat dry for at least a full 24 hours.
3. Second coat, apply over full surface, let soak 15-20m, then wipe off excess.
4. Let this coat dry for a full day.
5. Repeat steps 3-4 until desired sheen achieved.
So I am waiting a day (sometimes more, if i feel the piece needs it) before applying the next coat, to ensure that the prior coat is able to start polymerizing. Only on the first coat to I keep adding more oil before that first 24 hour period, just to make sure the entire piece saturates to the point where I no longer get dry spots.
I've generally only finished until a mild satin sheen occurs. However I have seen some very glossy pieces finished in tung oil, and some of these eggs I've turned here I think would be better with a glossy finish than a satin one. Thus far, however, I have been unable to actually achieve anything beyond a soft satin sheen.
I'm using a variety of woods. Most of these are segmented in one way or another...simple flat segments, vertical segments (creates kind of a checkerboard look if you look at the egg top down), celtic knots with layers of 1/8" thick wood (so we have opposing grains, main blank is long grain like a standard turning blank, the knot layers are more like a bowl blank, alternating long and end grain). I also have some eggs similar to the celtic knots that have bands of 1/8" thick wood board, but not as knots, just loops/bands/rings (sometimes flat, sometimes angled). Most of these I want a satin sheen, although, I actually want more sheeny than they are, and these also seem to be troublesom in getting more of that semi-shiny sheen.
Wood varieties include:
Walnut
Tatajuba
Purpleheart
Padauk
Maple
Sycamore
Cherry
Redheart
Mahogany
I think there are a few others as well. Lot of different woods, in some cases as many as 5 in a single piece. Some of the eggs, including this one particular egg that I'm trying to get very glossy, are a single type of wood. The egg I am trying to get glossy, I actually don't know what kind of wood it is...it is a very hard wood, though, with a somewhat open grain.
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