Oil finish for Douglas Fir

[Longbow]

I'd like to finish the seats of my boat with some type of oil finish for a semi-bright appearence, without the need for varnish. In the past I'd used tung oil on Teak with great results. Is Tung oil ok for fir also? I've used Danish oil on furniture also with good results, but I'm not sure how good it would be for a boat. I'd rather stay away from the turpentine, pine tar Japan dryer etc. mixture. Any thoughts?

[Thorne]

I've not had much luck with oil finishes when the boat is used in hot sunny climates. I found varnish to be the best solution on the DF seats on my dory skiff.

Why not try your Tung oil finish on a scrap of DF and see how it comes out?

Your other option would be one of the oil-based varnishes like Le Tonk -- sorta half varnish / half oil finish.

[David G]

Real tung oil, that is 100% pure tung oil, will look great on doug fir, esp. if it's clear vertical grain fir. On thwarts tung oil will serve just fine on a day-sailed boat. I wouldn't use it on a boat that lives in the open w/no cover, as the oil provides no UV protection for the wood beneath it, and failure will result from the wood itself breaking down.

[Longbow]

I haven't seen pure Tung oil around locally, but Teak oil that seems to be a mixture of Tung oil, boiled Linseed oil and solvents is available. Anybody ever use this stuff on Fir?

[Thorne]

You want pure Tung oil, order it online. If that's what you like and know the finish is good, why put up with whatever is available locally? Other options are to search out woodworking supply shops or chandleries that might carry what you want.

[Frank R]

Danish oil finishes actually have varnish in them. They are in a catergory known as "long oil varnishes" which means they have a high oil to varnish ratio. They provide slightly better protection than oil alone. But neither is a particulaly durable furniture finish. I don't think they would be suitable for something that will be exposed to the elements for any length of time.

Why the resistance to varnish? If ease of application is an issue on a day sailed boat, then a wiping varnish might be a suitable product. It provides more build and more UV protecton (if it has UV inhibitors in it) but it still is easy to apply.

Tung oils and teak oils might be fine on teak which is a naturally resistant wood to begin with, but fir is not and would be better served by a better finish.

[SchoonerRat]

Kelpie, a 65' schooner has fir decks. I had a mate to do the decks for me but if memory serves, deck upkeep was a regular treatment with a tung based teak oil. Her first deck lasted about 50 years.

[brett price]

I'm using penofin marine oil on the floor of my new skiff. The boat is still in my shop but I like the product so far. On the plus side it causes water to bead. It is supposed to have a 99% UV rating. It applies easily. On the minus side it smells strongly of xylene when applying and has a harsh lingering odor even after a few weeks. I'm curious to see what kind of maintenance it requires and how it performs longterm.

[EyeInHand]

This will probably cause some gnashing of teeth and rending of cloth, but here goes:

Back in the early 80's, fresh out of college, my first piece of furniture was a spiral legged table I bought in a junk shop for about $30. It was in at least 6 pieces. I screwed and glued it together, and wiped it down with a light stain. It looked pretty good. I got a can of Formby's Tung Oil Finish, and rubbed in about three coats. Really set off the color of the wood, and turned out to be the only piece of furniture I've kept from those days.

I later learned that the Formby's stuff is not pure Tung Oil, but more like an oil varnish. I thought if the faux Tung oil was good the pure stuff would be better. I tried pure Tung Oil on a desk about 15 years ago and it's still sticky today. It might be better in some ways, I don't know, but in a practical sense it's a real drag, as anything you leave sitting on it overnight gets stuck to it.

So I went back to the Tung Oil varnish on an antique Douglas Fir exterior front door 10 years ago that gets full afternoon sun everyday and it's doing fine, still looks great.

Meanwhile, the table's been sitting under the sunny south facing window in the kitchen for almost 30 years, getting full noon day sun all year long, and puddled up everything my daughters could spill on it for all of their 20 years. It still looks good. Could use another coat now on the top, but has held up amazingly well.

Based on that, I'd personally go with something more like the Tung Oil varnish stuff. Has the same matte oil finish it sounds like you're looking for, though maybe a little thicker build than a pure oil would give. If you're not going to go full bore traditional, might as well make it easy on yourself.

[thud]

I intend to build a small Jon from Lewisboats some time this fall and winter.
I wanted to saturate it in Tung oil
Googled it and read a bit.

By the Tung oil people:
It works on ANY kind of wood. It's squeezed from a Seed which is a wood product, so its similar to the chemical construction of any wood you'd use in a boat.

It goes on in three applications. Takes at least three days.

First app, 50/50 Tung oil and thinner. Saturate it good and let it soak in. Keep saturating till the wood wont take any more.

Second app, almost the same mix, a little less Solvent though.
Third app, all Tung oil.

After that, you can paint it with Oil based paint.
No primer or sealer necessary if you did the wood work like you should have.

I was hoping I'd run across somebody on this site that might have done it the way the Mfg recommends.
Anybody?

[Paul Girouard]

Try SeaFin Teak oil by Daly's. Easy to apply apply while underway if you like.

SeaFin Teak Oil [Specs (http://www.dalyspaint.com/PDF/specs/S-TeakOil.pdf)] [MSDS (http://www.dalyspaint.com/PDF/msds/M-TeakOil.pdf)] http://www.dalyspaint.com/images/prod_seafinteak.jpg

High quality, penetrating oil that dries to a low sheen to seal and protect interior and exterior woods from moisture and weathering. It creates a durable non-slip surface to repel water and resist wear. It reduces work and maintenance costs because it is easy to repair. It will not chip, crack, blister or peel. It is excellent for polishing and maintaining varnished finishes, or refurbishing and touching up worn surfaces.


Key Benefits

Interior/Exterior
Brightwork
Doors, rails and furniture
Wood surfaces exposed to moisture
Polishing varnished surfaces

[Michael Beckman]

I've used the SeaFin teak oil in the past. Certainly easy to apply, and produced a really nice looking matte finish.

For my own boat I just use raw linseed oil, usually without thinning. I have had no issues with stickyness, the wood soaks it up well. It does eventually turn black, but I like that look. Some don't.