In reading through the thread concerning the use of Birchwood @#$%& Tru Oil as opposed to Cork Seal, I started wondering if Tung Oil would be a better choice. Does anyone have any experience with Tung Oil used on cork handles? I am very tempted, but I wanted to know if anyone knew why I shouldn't try it. Just curious.
Slainte,
Hunter

From ghoulies and ghosties,
and long leggedy beasties,
and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord deliver us!

Tung Oil never actually dries, so it would always have bit of an oily feel. Tru-Oil is a polymerized oil, more like a varnish, so it dries hard.

..............

Thanks. That's enough to dissuade me!

From ghoulies and ghosties,
and long leggedy beasties,
and things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord deliver us!

I just coated a couple of my fly rod handles with Tru-oil to see how they hold will up next year.
I normally use Cork-Seal but I have to re-coat every year sometimes twice.

Try it on a old cork handle before you put it on one you will sell.
Some people don't like the feel, and would prefer 'raw' sanded cork.

I don't mind it on my rods...I do like the feel of 'raw' sanded cork but I'm wearing a 'hole' in my cork grips so I'm looking at other alternatives.
I will probably end up with Carbon -fiber grips, but I am enjoying the testing with solid wood grips with Tru-oil , cork with Tru-oil.... epoxy coated. etc...

I digress...

Larry

Larry,
Polymerized oils like Tru-Oil, Pro Custom Oil and Permalyn take some time to cure thoroughly. I like to allow woods treated with PCO to cure for a month or more before using.

Jeff

If you like the feel of raw cork but want the protection you can use the Birchwood Casey sealer only. 2 coats of just sealer will give protection and that cork feel.

Dave

Dave,
Thanks I will try the Birchwood Casey sealer.

With all these different finishes I have been using...I might have to put together a test-rod using "Hot-glue" for the handle and reel seat.
Just so I can test all these handles without having to build separate rods for them...hummm another experiment?
Can't see why it would not work

Please chime in.

Probably should start a new thread...and not steal this one.

This lathe has cost me a lot of $$$ in wood, but I sure am enjoying using it.

Larry

Tung Oil is a drying oil, and will cure to a solid. It's not as fast as Boiled Linseed Oil, but way faster than raw linseed oil. Tru Oil is polymerized linseed oil. Of course with any of these oils, they cannot be allowed to built a surface film because that film, even fully cured, will be soft. By the way, much of what is sold is not tung oil but "tung oil finish" which is an entirely different product, either just a straight varnish, such as the Forby's or an oil/varnish mix, such as the Minwax. Either would be a better product than pure tung oil since they would be much more moisture resistant and more durable.

Steve,
Not sure what you mean by "...they cannot be allowed to built a surface film because that film, even fully cured, will be soft...." or are you just referring to 'tung-oil'?

I've got a number of Tru-Oil coated grips and they all have multiple coats (more than 3, some with 6 coats) and soft is not what I would call them. Granted they are probably not as hard as Perma-Gloss, but they are NOT soft.

Larry

Tru Oil is a guns stock finish and is NOT SOFT! It cures to a hard surface that can be polished to an extremely high gloss!

I have used Birchwood Tru-Oil to seal my cork handles and it suits my purpose. My customers love it. However, it does not dry clear and darkens the cork.