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Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent (Read 965 times)
 
Louie Powell
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Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Sep 18th, 2022 at 7:21am
 
I recently saw a Wood Whisperer YouTube video comparing various 'food safe' finishes.  Marc concluded that his favorite was pure Tung oil diluted with citrus solvent (d-Lemonene).  I had heard of d-Lemonene, but this was the first time I had seen anyone suggest using it as a solvent for thinning a finish.  So I tried it.

My first reaction was that it's totally colorless, unlike the terpentine I had been using which was a muddy-gray color.  I like the fact that because it's colorless, it won't impart any change in the color of the finish.

The other obvious point is that smells much better - I can't stand mineral spirits, and while turpentine is far more pleasant, the smell of oranges is much better.

On the other hand, it's much more expensive than turpentine or mineral spirits - about 50% more.  Unlike turps and mineral spirits, its not on the shelf at either Orange or Blue, but can be shipped with no special precautions so purchasing it at Amazon is practical.  So it's fine as a thinner, but I probably would stick with less expensive solvents for cleanup.

Anyone else have any experience with d-Lemonene as a solvent?
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Ed Weber
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #1 - Sep 18th, 2022 at 9:59am
 
I tried it once and I had pretty much the same experience as you described.
How much you add to the Tung oil will obviously determine the cost. A small amount of tung oil goes a long way, so even a 50/50 blend can get expensive.
Here is a link for others interested in this option.

I may start to use this more and more as "good" mineral spirits are getting somewhat harder to come by in CA. I only use turpentine for outdoor projects, I do not like the smell.
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Louie Powell
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #2 - Sep 18th, 2022 at 10:48am
 
Ed Weber wrote on Sep 18th, 2022 at 9:59am:
Here is a link for others interested in this option.



Did you forget to include the link?
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Louie
 
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Ed Weber
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #3 - Sep 18th, 2022 at 1:39pm
 
I thought I clicked, I guess I'm losing my mind again

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Tim Connell
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #4 - Sep 18th, 2022 at 7:48pm
 
I've been using polymerized tung oil and citrus solvent from "The Skin Boat Store" for the last three years. The tung oil is thick and I dilute it about 40:60 solvent to tung oil. A quart of the oil is $21 and a quart of solvent is $19.  Half gallon of finish for $40 (plus shipping) is a pretty good deal in my book.

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Steve nix
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #5 - Sep 19th, 2022 at 5:34am
 
Tim, do you have a couple of pictures of your finished pieces where you used the tung oil / citrus oil solvent.
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Louie Powell
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #6 - Sep 19th, 2022 at 6:09am
 
Ed Weber wrote on Sep 18th, 2022 at 1:39pm:
I thought I clicked, I guess I'm losing my mind again
/


I understand.  Age does that to us.  DAMHIKT
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Louie
 
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Tim Connell
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #7 - Sep 19th, 2022 at 12:17pm
 
Steve nix wrote on Sep 19th, 2022 at 5:34am:
Tim, do you have a couple of pictures of your finished pieces where you used the tung oil / citrus oil solvent.


Here are three hackberry forms showing slightly different sheen based on number of coats.  I use the tung oil on almost every piece I turn. The size of the pieces are, about 6" diameter. About 6" tall and about 11"tall. The last pic is honey locust.

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Steve nix
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #8 - Sep 19th, 2022 at 7:47pm
 
Thanks Tim, nice pieces.  Dry similar finish I get with Walnut oil. I was introduced to the tung oil citrus solvent mixture at a class I took it Arrowmont and was pleased with the results but the availability of the product vs walnut oil or Danish oil won out. But I’m going to give it another try.
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Tim Connell
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #9 - Sep 19th, 2022 at 8:35pm
 
The finish on those is between 4-6 or so coats of oil with no buffing.  A batch of diluted oil lasts a little over a year for me, so no biggie on mail order vs local availability.  I mix them up and put in stop loss bags for storage.
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Mike Nathal
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #10 - Oct 18th, 2022 at 7:28am
 
Corey's is another mail order company that sells pure tung oil and tung oil blended with citrus solvent.  I feel that fully cured tung oil is a harder, more durable finish than walnut oil. 

Also, Beall buffing can enhance the sheen quite a bit (of both tung and walnut oil.)
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Bill Neff
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #11 - Nov 20th, 2022 at 10:33am
 
They are bags for finish that you can squeeze the air out of to keep finishes from hardening.

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bags&term=stop%20loss%20bags
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larry packwood
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #12 - Nov 20th, 2022 at 10:37am
 
Thanks!
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Alan Weinberg
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Re: Tung Oil and Citrus Solvent
Reply #13 - Apr 17th, 2023 at 6:27pm
 
realmilkpaint.com has tung oil, dark tung oil, and the 50:50 tung oil:citrus. No affiliation . . . found them on a woodturning site.
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