08/05/2026
Just wanted to make a quick video for a question I get asked often by customers.
Again, these projects are fine as is but can be made to last even longer with this kind of protection!
While the subject of wood finishing can be highly debated, Iām simply showing my favorite exterior wood finish. Paint and deck stains are also common options!
Why do I choose tung oil? Firstly, itās super easy to apply! Just wipe or brush it onā¦Really!
Secondly, itās all natural, as well as being UV and moisture resistant. And BONUS! This being a penetrating oil finish, it wonāt create more work for you down the road.
Paints, stains, polyurethanes, and other types of film finishes will all eventually fail outside under the sun. They peel, crack, and other wise stop protecting or even looking that great. The only way to maintain things from here is to fully strip your piece and start over. Sanding, scraping, etc.
This is where tung oil really shines! Thereās none of that. To maintain your project you can simple give it a light sanding, (but you donāt have to) or even GENTLY pressure wash it, and re-coat it (once dry of course).
When to apply? On most kiln dried woods you could treat it immediately. Pressure treated lumber however will be full of moisture from the pressure treating process itself while new. I recommend waiting at least 2-3 months, up to a year before treating to assure itās dry enough. And if your piece has been outside for that time, try to pick a good stretch of weather where it hasnāt rained in a week or longer.
What to buy? Make sure you are buying pure tung oil and not a ātung oil finishā as that is typically an interior finish that is vastly different and often contains an extremely small amount of actual tung oil.
Most hardware stores sadly donāt have pure tung oil but they do have the ātung oil finishā so be careful of that. Youāll most likely find it at a woodworking specialty store like Rockler or Woodcraft, or can simply order it online from Amazon for example.
Some of my favorite brands are:
-Walrus Oil (now headquartered here in Maine!)
-Tallahassee Tung Oil
-and Hopes (shown here)
And thereās several more
One coat as shown here is fine to get started but if you wanted to add another the following year or even after that, Iād recommend then going full strength after that initial, thinned coat.
An important note, the only real downside to this finish is the cure time. It can take up to 30 days to fully cure/polymerize, but will often feel dry to the touch before then!
Hopefully Iāve explained everything here but feel free to drop your questions below!
