Tung oil finish problem

[Koss]

Ok, so I stained a body with tung oil the other day and now there is sticky residue on the body. Oil that was not absorbed by the wood and such. I looked around on project guitar forums and found something saying tha ou need to mix the oil with something else to stop this from happening. So how do I fix this, or did I ruin the body?

Thanks, Scott.

[ryanb]

If it really is tung oil, it will dry fine without anything added. If it is a mixture of tung oil with other varnishes, etc., it may take more time.

It sounds like you put it on too heavy. Wipe off the extra and let it dry completely. It may take at least a couple days ... significantly longer if it is really think. The first coat can be rough. When it is dry, smooth it out with steel wool if necessary and put more coats on. You will need about 5-6 coats for a good finish.

Basically, you just have to wait. It will eventually dry -- unless it has raw (as opposed to boiled) linseed oil in it, in which case it will never dry.

[goofy913]

Im not a carpenter but my dad is but i remember one time my dad made a beautiful dresser table and put on a 3 coats of tung oil and it was a very humid day and the dresser stayed a couple of hours in the shop and the tung oil dropped down to the news paper, so my best guess is, is the climate or just too many coats as ryan said, or it was too finely sanded. Good Luck with your guitar though.

[Chroma]

I've used tung oil on several necks and always got a super slick finish by letting it dry for a couple of days and then using steel wool.

[GetMaverick]

The trick to tung oig is to ust multiple light coats with a rag, rubbing it in.
You probably spread it out with a brush or something?
The oil will only soak in so much, then you have beading.
Taking a LIGHTLY soaked rag with minneral spirits will clean that up.
Follow up the next day with a light buffing.

[Steve_Vai_777]

No idea about it, but i am thinking of doing a guitar in tung oil but am having second thoughts if i get dodgy stuff that never dries, probably from ****....!

[marianozz]

lil on a rag, apply and buff at the same time, let it dry for a couple days... sand it light, or steel wool it, do another coat... repeat 5 or 6 times.... works great


i got my tung oil at www.realmilkpaint.com and its awesome...

[rgr]

You didn't wipe it off, Tung oil doesn't go on like paint, like Ryan and GetMaverick said, use a rag, put some oil on the rag, and really rub it into the wood. Then, wipe off any excess and let dry overnight. Then you can use very fine steel wool to buff it and put another coat on the same way. You will get to a point where the wood won't take any more. For the last coat, after it dries, a couple of days won't hurt, buff it out and it's good to go. For the last coat, a rag made from some old jeans works great to buff with.

Roger