Wood finish help

I just picked up an old Kodak 8X10 that has been partialy restored. It has new bellows and new ground glass and the wood has been cleaned up nice and appears to have only a stained finish. I've been thinking about trying some Tung oil to further protect the finish and put a bit of shine on it. Any thoughts or suggestions would help, I don't want to damage the wood.

Sounds like a good plan. Tung oil is a great finish for wooden camera bodies, and easily maintained. I also like to follow up with a good coat of Butchers wax and a thorough buffing.

Rick

Don't use TRUE tung oil; use something such as Formbey's tung oil finish or I use Watco Danish oil on my cameras Dead Link Removed These are not true tung oils, they are varnishes. Make sure to wait about 5 days after your last coat before doing anything else. Stay away from Polyurethane.

Oh yea, and wax does work great as a final step.

Thanks Ty, I once ruined an antique bamboo fly rod using real tung oil on it. It did have a bit of decay inside but after adding the tung oil it had all the stiffness of overcooked macaroni. Formbey's it is, as I can get this from my local Lowes. The wood, by the way is walnut and it does'nt appear to have any finish on it now. I've gone over it with 0000 steel wool and nothing is changeing much except the smoothness of the wood. I'll take your advice and let it go for 5 days before putting on a second coat and probably finish it off with another rub with 0000. Enjoyed your site.

Tung oil is AFAIK the only oil which is truly waterproof. I have a mahogany slab coffee table I made and after 10 years, no marks. You do not need coasters for glasses. Although I used pure Tung Oil, check Lee Valley for some other formulations.