Carpentry and Woodworking - Finishing work tops with tung (and other qs)

Hi there guys and gals, this is my first posting so please forgive if I do something untoward!

We moved into a wonderful period cottage dating from 1790. The kitchen section however was an extension put on in around 1920 and the kitchen in there is around 20 years old. Such as is, we are putting a new kitchen in.

We have made an investment in the worktops which came in at around half the price of the rest of the kitchen. I feel it is worth it.

I have fitted one other kitchen, which has given me the confidence to attempt this larger kitchen. However we never used this type of surface before.

Its a lovely 40mm deep beech worktop with 40mm staves of varying lengths. Its been supplied finished but totally bare.

I have purchased 2 litres of pure tung oil.

I have applied one coat which sucked up a good half litre. However what I would like now is advice to how to complete this job. I have plenty of time before the kitchen arrives around 3 weeks, and really want to make these surfaces a talking point of natural beauty.

So my question is start to finish how do I apply tung over this next three week period.

Many thanks

I am replying hopefully to get some information to help you, Gary.

Your countertop sounds absolutely beautiful. And Tung Oil is great. My father gave me a recipe for such things many years ago, and I cannot find it at the moment, and I'm responding in the hopes that someone out there has heard of this one. It made his countertops beautiful for YEARS.

He called it the "1-2-3", "2-3-1", "3-2-1" recipe. It was some combination of those numbers, and I just cannot remember. It drives me crazy, but they were the proportional amounts of the following ingredients: Linseed Oil, Turpentine, and (I THINK) Varnish. As in 1 part A, 2 parts B, and 3 parts C. It was made very clear to me that you must NOT use the fake Turpentine that they sell at hardware stores these days, or "gum" turpentine, I think it is called, but find the real McCoy. I used this recipe when I was in my 20s on a workbench that served me for years.

Can anyone help Gary (or me) recover this recipe? It is truly wonderful and beats the heck out of anything you can buy at a retail store these days. It takes a week or so to fully cure, soak into the wood and harden, but once it does, it can be buffed to a very impressive shine, bringing the TRUE color of the wood out in full glory without stains. Polyurethanes are great, but honestly, I think this is more durable, as it is actually a part of the wood surface, rather than a coating on top of it.

Anyone?

You can use 100% pure tung oil as it comes. Wipe it on, let it soak in for a few minutes, then wipe off the excess. Let it harden, before the next coat. High humidity may delay the cure. Allow 24 hours or so. Several coats will be needed to build a durable film. You can make repairs to the finish whenever it gets damaged. If you mix it with mineral spirits or naptha, it will enable it to dry somewhat faster. This is more useful in the initial coat.
This is a rather easy to use product, just don't leave the excess on the project and expect it to cure. If if too thick it will produce a gummy mess that will require removal to correct.

Hope this helps.