Why we use Tung oil finishes and Bombora

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.