Why we use Tung oil finishes
and Bombora
People often ask when we are
discussing their dream piece of furniture ‘how much maintenance does my
table/cabinet need?’. After many hours of
heart ache in using the ‘plastic’ finishes on pieces such as Poly urethane,
Danish oil, Scandinavian Oil I am now convinced 100% that Tung Oil is an all
round better finish both practically and aesthetically.
Tung oil is a extracted from
the Nut of the Tung tree, Tung oil goes way back into history dating from
400BC. The anchient Chinese used the extract to water proof ships.
Apart from Tung oil being
around for plenty of years and that fact that it works, my main reason for
using Tung oil is that it just looks…bloody awesome.. It gives the timber an
amazing wet look, it still surprises me and excites me every time I freshly oil
a raw piece of timber, the smallest detail of grain can just get enhanced to
the point that it become a feature of the piece. The other winner of Tung oil
vs a plastic finish is the feel it leaves the timber, with a plastic finish all
you get a is a plastic finish, don’t expect to feel the subtle hair folical
rises and falls of individual
grain or a lovely gum vien running down a board, all you get is a slab of
timber preserved for life in a case of ‘plastic stuff’.
The other cool thing about
Tung oil is its ability to rejuvenate table tops with a simple wipe up and down
the table with a dampened rag, the Oil re penetrates and brings the grain back
to life and it also slowly builds up layer upon layer to actually create a finish as good as any plastic
coating.
Ill only use natural finishes now because I love working with timber and I want my clients to feel and smell what I love about timber as well.
Ill only use natural finishes now because I love working with timber and I want my clients to feel and smell what I love about timber as well.
