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The finish is very important so lots of research went into the finishing process. I wanted to accomplish several things. First, I wanted the best possible protection from the elements, second, it had to be easy to maintain and last but not least I wanted a warm rich patina.

I found the qualities I was looking for in Sutherland Welles Ltd Tung oil. Below you can read all the important stuff about tung oil and if you want more visit http://www.sutherlandwelles.com/

The word Tung is an ancient Chinese term for heart. Today, the term also refers to the large, dark green, heart shaped leaves of the Tung tree. This is a fast growing, deciduous tree that reaches a height of about forty feet when mature. The life span of a Tung tree is about thirty years. Fruit bearing begins in the third year of tree growth.

The Tung fruit occurs in clusters, each of which bear four or five nuts. When the nuts are dried and pressed they yield about twenty percent oil. Under favorable conditions an acre of  Tung trees will produce about two tons of nuts and eight hundred pounds (one hundred gallons) of raw Tung Oil annually. Successful cultivation of Tung trees requires exact climatic conditions, including the proper ratio of warm and cool days. The major growing areas include China, Argentina, Paraguay, and parts of Africa.

The first record of Tung Oil appears in the writings of Confucius dated about 400 B.C. . Even then, the Chinese recognized the amazing qualities of Tung Oil. Throughout their history, the Chinese have used Tung Oil to waterproof the masts and sails of junks (boats), to finish furniture of royal families and according to legend, to seal the Great Wall! When Marco Polo returned from China, he brought tales of the wonderful "China Wood Oil". But Tung oil was unable to capture the attention of the West until this century.

In 1912, the American Ambassador to China shipped Tung trees to California, but they died due to lack of proper growing conditions. Successful Tung plantations were established in the Gulf Coast states during the 1930's because of the perfect growing conditions. The U. S. automobile industry began using Tung Oil to prevent rust and reduce friction on engine parts. Soon Tung Oil was used to coat the insides of cans, to insulate electric circuits, and to make high-quality paints. In 1969, hurricane Camille destroyed the Tung plantations of the Gulf states and stopped the domestic production of Tung Oil. Even though Tung Oil is now an imported commodity, it remains a vital part of American industry.

As a penetrating oil finish, Polymerized Tung Oil allows the development of patina, which is the lovely depth and tone of the wood color as it ages naturally. Sutherland Welles Ltd.® Polymerized Tung Oil is a pure Polymerized Tung Oil that creates a finish that is hard yet flexible, and impervious to alcohol and food acids. Maintaining the finish is easy. Applied according to directions, the surface never has to be sanded again! Recoating with a thin layer of Polymerized Tung Oil on a periodic basis preserves the wood and restores the lustre to its original sheen. The finish becomes more beautiful with time! Other manufacturers claim to make a "polymerized" Tung oil but their process is shortened to avoid "over cooking ' the batch, solidifying it and ultimately ruining it. They compensate for an "under cooked" polymerization process by adding varnishes to improve the durability and additional chemical driers to promote faster curing. We achieve all this with heat!

Polymerization is a "cooking" process that changes the molecular structure of pure, raw Tung Oil. Sutherland Welles Ltd's process takes the cook to its "maximum thermal threshold" creating a three-dimensional molecular locking that maximizes the  bonding of the oil to the wood, increases durability and enhances Tung Oil's natural sheen and allows the oil to cure in a "reasonable" length of time (for most lustres the average curing time is twenty-four hours to re-coat).

Polymerized Tung Oil is thick like molasses, with a slow drying and curing time. After polymerization, the oil is combined with solvents to allow the oil to penetrate the wood and improve its workability. The addition of chemical driers shortens the drying and curing time which completes the process of making Polymerized Tung Oil a wood finishing product. Sutherland Welles Ltd.® formulates the entire line with the "cleanest" solvents and the lowest toxic driers available. We are committed to "clean and green" and finisher-friendly product

EXTERIOR TUNG OIL

There is probably no greater challenge in formulating a wood finish than those posed by an exterior application. Many variables work in concert to destroy an exterior finish; heat, water and especially light.

The degree of protection of an exterior wood surface is a function of the type and amount of coating applied to the surface initially, a regular maintenance schedule, as well as the wood species itself. Some wood species weather better than others, but in time all wood suffers degradation due to outdoor weathering as do the coatings applied to protect them.

Ultraviolet radiation sets into motion a process known as photo degradation. Photo degradation begins when ultraviolet (UV) light causes damage to the polymers in either the coating or the wood fibers. The initial insult is fairly minimal, but with continued UV exposure and compounded by the second contributor to coating failure, moisture, the process soon escalates with rapid and extensive damage occurring to the coating and then to the wood substrate itself.

Formulating the best exterior wood finish begins with the essence of the coating. Sutherland Welles Ltd.® Pure Polymerized Tung Oil is the perfect wood preservative. It has been used for centuries to waterproof all types of exterior woods. The ancient Chinese recognized the amazing qualities of Tung Oil. Throughout history, the Chinese have used Tung Oil to waterproof the masts and sails of junks and according to legend, to seal the Great Wall! During World War II, Tung Oil was used by the military in the Pacific to coat engine parts to prevent rusting . Tung Oil is resistant to many alkalis and acids as well. After its resistance to water, Tung Oil’s ability to remain flexible yet durable makes it perfect for exterior applications where the continual expansion and contraction of wood surfaces as they are exposed to moisture and drying heat stress the integrity of the coating. Moreover, unlike linseed oil, which darkens with age and exposure to UV light, Tung Oil’s light amber color is consistent throughout the life of the coating.

POLYMERIZATION AND FORMULATION

As Tung Oil dries and cures, the molecules join together in a tight complex formation. This process is the secret to Tung Oil’s effectiveness as a finish. The cross linking of the oil’s molecules makes the surface waterproof and impervious to many chemicals. The bonding also gives flexibility to the surface, making it capable of withstanding wear and tear.

Sutherland Welles Ltd.â uses a process called polymerization to intensify Tung Oil’s natural cross- bonding tendency. Polymerization is a cooking process that changes the molecular structure of the oil and further improves the natural cross-bonding reaction of raw Tung Oil.

Many other manufacturers of Polymerized Tung Oil will claim they polymerize their oil, but their "cook" is not as extensive as ours and requires formulation which includes additives such as varnishes and urethanes to improve the hardness, durability, and lustre of the finish. This adds to the toxicity of the finish and inhibits the penetration of the oil into the wood fibers.

The polymerization process used by Sutherland Welles Ltd.â is very sophisticated and "cooks" the pure, raw Tung Oil to its "maximum thermal threshold". Controlling the "cooking" and the "cooling" is an expensive process that at its perfect point produces an oil that has maximum durability and a gorgeous sheen. If the process isn’t well controlled the oil solidifies to the consistency of an erasure and the entire batch is lost. The intricacy and therefore expense of the process is what leads most companies to formulate with modifiers. They believe they can achieve the same results with a cheaper process and formulation. In time, the varnishes and urethanes discolor and deteriorate and with it the wood.

Sutherland Welles Ltd.â has researched and implemented driers with the lowest toxicity available. We are now using solvents that are "cleaner" reducing the environmental impact and minimizing a finisher’s exposure to toxic chemicals.

FORMULATING FOR THE EXTERIOR APPLICATION

The next step in producing a superior exterior finish is adding the best UV guards and mildewcides available that help preserve the finish. Sutherland Welles works closely with our chemical supplier to keep abreast of the latest research developments in coating additives to maintain the highest coating performance possible. At this point in time, we combine two UV additives. The first absorbs UV radiation converting the absorbed UV radiation into harmless heat energy that is then released across the coating. The second is a light stabilizer, which neutralizes the effects of the by products of photo degradation known as "free radicals" from continuing the chemical process of coating breakdown. The third additive, a mildewcide or algaecide, prevents the colonization of fungal growth on and into the coating surface. Fungal growth produces discoloration, marring and eventually failure of the coating.

MAINTENANCE
After the initial finishing schedule, the most important component to coating longevity is a regular maintenance schedule. No coating lasts forever. The maintenance schedule will be dictated by the degree of exposure the coating is subjected to. Consistent exposure to bright sunshine, high moisture, or high temperatures will require more frequent (annual maintenance). For other more moderate exposures, the average coating life is about three years. The flexibility of our Polymerized Tung Oil serves to reduce surface failure by allowing the finish to move with the wood. The fractures in the finish tend to be fine, microscopic lines, which minimize moisture invasion and are easily filled when another coat of Exterior Polymerized Tung Oil is applied. Coat after coat can be applied because of our Loc-Lamin® Finishing System that insures adhesion from coat to coat all firmly bonded into the wood pores, regardless of when it has been applied.

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