Stain over pure tung oil?

11 years ago

We bought the Milk Paint Company pure tung oil (regular, not dark) and their citrus solvent, and I have applied the first coat to our maple butcher block countertops as well as to the white pine top of a rustic farm table we bought. Both were sanded down completely. The farm table is all new lumber. I believe the person who made it bought the lumber at Home Depot. The top is very thick and nice and knotty.

The butcher block, which looked white and pretty colorless after sanding, turned a beautiful golden toasty color with richness and depth. I love it! The white pine didn't do so well. It is only slightly different from before I applied it, and looks like boards sitting in Home Depot, -- which is probably where the lumber came from in the first place.

So my question is about the pine table top. It is clear to me that the tung oil on its own is not going to do anything to enhance it, but I am now committed, having put on the first application. I just put it on yesterday (9/19/15). I don't want to use the darkened tung oil, as I prefer more of a light golden/orangy brown color, and it is black-brown from what I've read.

Question: can we just apply some normal stain over the tung oil to get some color? If so, should I use water based or oil based? and should we then just finish it off with more tung oil as normal, or should we put a different finish on it, like polyurethane (water or oil?) shellac, varnish, etc etc? Or can we put some colorant INTO the tung oil, but if so, what kind and where would we get it?

This table looks great in all other ways, so am hoping to be able to salvage the job without having it sanded down again. Thank you for your help on this. I have finished pieces with stain and poly before, but this is my first time using tung oil.

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Comments (4)

bobismyuncle
11 years ago
You can't just grab a can of stain at the home (like the ubiquitous yellow can) and have it work. Normal stains need raw wood to soak in and either penetrate the cell walls (dyes) or settle in the crevices (pigments). You can use a product called a glaze to add color between coats of finish. Glazes are high in pigment and low in binder and are made with longer open times so you can manipulate around. Then you let them dry, usually overnight, and apply a coat of finish over them. Some people use gel stains, which are designed to sit on the surface, not penetrate, as make-shirt glazes.

It's generally not a good idea to start mixing oil- and water-based stains and finishes. Too much can go wrong.

But I would highly recommend doing what pros do -- since this is a new product or technique for you: run trials on scraps before jumping into your project. Even if you have to go buy some pine and put on a coat of tung oil, then try one or more products you are considering using and follow all the way through to final finish.
laragazza thanked bobismyuncle
laragazza
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you, bobismyuncle. I will try this on the underside of the table.
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bobismyuncle
10 years ago
Here's an intro article on glazes http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/glazes_and_glazing_techniques
rikanaka
6 years ago
The dark Real Milk tung oil on pine results in more of a golden brown with darker brown knots. It's actually very beautiful. This was made using off the shelf pine 2x6s from Home Depot and finished with several coats of the dark Real Milk tung oil.