• Give your wooden antiques new life with tung oil.Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
  
  Tung oil comes from the tung oil tree (Aleurites fordii), a small tree native to central and western China. Tung oil can give an ideal, long-lasting finish to wood, making it a good material for restoring antique furniture. If you have any wooden pieces that have suffered severe weathering, tung oil can bring new life, highlighting their grain. Before breaking out the can of tung oil and getting to work on your favorite antiques, take a few precautions.
  
  

Avoid Fires

• Tung oil is a natural product, making it relatively safe and easy to apply. However, most tung oils are not 100 percent pure, containing some solvents to help thin the oil out, making it more manageable. As these solvents can be highly flammable and combustible, take care when storing any unused tung oil as well as storing any rags or gloves used during application. After applying the tung oil, allow the rags or gloves to dry out thoroughly, and wash them thoroughly if possible. Keep all of the materials far from sparks or fire. Take the additional precautions even if you plan to throw the oil-soaked materials away immediately as the solvents have a tendency to heat up even when sitting in a garbage can, potentially starting fires.
  
  

Prepare a Clean, Even Surface

• Many woodworkers and restorers appreciate tung oil for its ability to "highlight" a wood's natural grain and texture. Because tung oil's finish is so delicately translucent, you should fix any imperfections, such as stains or scratches, before applying the oil. If there are any sealants or varnishes on your antique furniture already, you'll have to remove them completely before applying tung oil. When sanding off a finish, begin with your coarsest sandpaper and gradually change to a finer grit. When using your finest grit sandpaper, you can lightly moisten the paper to give an even more subtle final polish.
  
  

Ventilate Thoroughly

• One advantage of tung oil over other varnishes and finishes is that it's natural, derived from the tung oil tree, used for centuries in China. However, when applying tung oil that contains thinning solvents, you should work in a well-ventilated area just as you would when applying any type of paint thinner. Even if you use 100 percent pure tung oil, work in a well-ventilated space simply to avoid the smelly fumes. Usually, the piece that you've treated with tung oil will continue to give off a slight odor for a couple of days following the application.