In article ,
says...
Last night I read Kingspor's Woodworking Shop catalog
(old copy) page52 ..."The advantage is a consistent quality finished
that will built up to be extremely hard and durable." Further, David
Mark's always praises Tung oil i


I'd recommend you obtain a copy of Bob Flexner's "Understanding Wood
Finishes". It's a good and easy read and will give you a great
foundation on various finishes.

Yes, tung oil is a nice finish when it provides the protection required
by a piece. That is the primary purpose for applying a finish. To
protect the wood from reasonably expected daily use. Looking good is
entirely secondary since, if the finish doesn't provide the needed
protection, the finish will not remain looking good for long.

I don't have a copy of a Klingspore catalog handy so I don't know
exactly what it may or may not say but tung oil is NOT a highly
protective finish. It is not meant to build. If you do manage to apply
enough to get a build it will be neither comparatively hard or
protective.

Use whatever you feel comfortable with but, however I don't care what
the catalog says, if you want a hard really protective finish tung oil
makes no sense and varnish, which contains chemically linking resins
that an oil doesn't, would be the way to go for both protection and
economy of labor and materials used.






--
MikeG
Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net