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Tung oil or Danish oil?

I recently acquired some 150 year old salvaged oak and walnut, the oak is from the beams of my great grandfathers tobacco barn. I have read here that people use tung oil and I really liked the idea of an oil verses a polyurethane. I bought some high gloss tung oil from a local hardware store and they also carried Danish oil. Will these two products function the same on scales? I know that tung oil is a waterproofer and sealer, but what is Danish oil? It said on the bottle that it is a sealer and protector for interior surfaces. I like that fact that you can get the Danish oil in different shades. Can someone enlighten me on the difference between these two products.
 
The terms tung oil and Danish oil are very misleading. "Pure tung oil" is, as it says, 100% tung oil. This is generally a poor choice for something that will be subjected to water in the manner of razor scales, due to the fact that it indeed takes a VERY long to dry completely, if ever. "Danish oil" and "tung oil finish" are actually mixtures of a varnish and a diluent such as mineral spirits, turpentine, or the like, with some tung oil or boiled linseed oil thrown into the mix. These are actually wiping varnish finishes, which can, if applied correctly, give you a fairly water resistant finish for wood. I use Formby's Tung Oil Finish for brush handles, and several applications can give a very good, but natural-looking finish.
 
I use Formby's Tung Oil Finish for brush handles, and several applications can give a very good, but natural-looking finish.

Ok good. This is the brand I bought earlier. Is yours high gloss? If so could you post a pic and how many coats.
 

strop

Now half as wise
They can pretty much be used interchangeably, though stick with one or the other for one project. Apply as many coats as you can. Apply it liberally, let it sit until it's mostly absorbed, then wipe off the excess. Let it dry (I like 24 hours depending on temp and humidity) and repeat until you get tired of it! For this application it's hard to do too many, but I think 4 is a bare minimum.
Those are both open pored woods so some may leak out after wiping off your first coat. Check on it periodically and wipe it dry again.

Be sure to post pics of the finished product!
 
Ok good. This is the brand I bought earlier. Is yours high gloss? If so could you post a pic and how many coats.

The gloss is a matter of how many coats. I'll usually to do 10-15 coats, applying one a day. The amount of gloss will depend on how many coats you apply. Since you wipe most of it back off, the finish is a slow build, but super-easy and hard to mess up. A side benefit is that you can renew it easily with more applications.

The brush below is one that I did in African blackwood. I'm afraid it doesn't show the gloss very well, but the overall finish is a glossy satin.
 

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Another point to be made is that there a lot of Danish oils that have a slight tint to them. There are products out there that are a mixture of tung oil and polyurethane which are excellent and come in different sheen levels. The more coats that you put on the deeper the look. Very good product that gives the advantages of tung oil with the durability of poly.

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Take Care,
Richard
 
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