Tung oil
Pure tung oil is a drying oil: it hardens as it cures rather than drying by evaporation. The federal rule for food-contact coatings, 21 CFR 175.300, lists it among the drying oils a coating may be made from, under the name "chinawood (tung)".
Gilly’s data sheet for its Pure Tung Oil gives 24 hours between coats and up to 4 weeks to cure completely, with light use fine before then, and suggests thinning it 50/50 with its citrus solvent. We have one maker’s sheet so far, so the figures are that product’s, not a class value. If a can says "tung oil finish", read its maker’s own ingredient statement: this page covers pure tung oil.
Pure tung oil, by its maker
Pure tung oil: recoat across makers
Only one maker’s sheet so far, so no class value: see its own figure below.
Pure tung oil: coverage across makers
No maker we read prints a coverage.
| Product | Touch-dry | Recoat | Use | Full cure | Coverage | Thinning and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilly's Pure Tung Oil One source: Gilly's, the maker of that product | — | 24 h | — | 28 days | — | Thinning: 50/50 with Gilly’s Citrus Thin.Up to 4 weeks to cure completely; light use is fine before then, per the maker. |
Compared with other finishes
Work it out for your project
Times are the makers' own at the temperature and humidity they name, and several of them say cooler, damper conditions slow their finishes. For how much to buy, the finish coverage calculator uses these same coverage figures. Every finish side by side: the finish dry time chart. What the federal rules say about finishes and food: food-contact finishes.
Elsewhere in finishing: shellac and the shellac cut calculator; for repairs before the finish, wood filler vs wood putty; and for the glue-up, wood glue types.