Most of my cedar hives I leave unsealed and they will turn the grey color you describe. They’ve been fine for many years, and will likely be for many years to come. However, sealed cedar will last even longer and minimize the grey color for those who don’t like it.
Cedar and teak both have very long natural lifespans untreated. I couldn’t say what if any difference in that life expectancy tung oil treatment makes but common usage in the marine industry is to treat it. There is a smaller but healthy school of thought that prefers au natural. General consensus among experienced mariners is that the polymers wreck havok on good teak and just add useless extra maintenance. The good news is that no matter what technique is used the wood is tough stuff and lasts for a long time!
Thoughts on Cabots Bar D-K for treating the Flow Hive?
Just read the can, not intended as a finish.
Hi there peeps!
For those interested in Tung Oil, you can try
www.tungoil.com.au and their linked shopping website: https://www.thewoodworks.com.au
I am in Australia and stumbled across this fine business whilst searching online. They are located in Sydney. Through them I have ordered some pure Tung Oil and a Citric Turpene Thinner without issue at all. Highly recommend, I’ll certainly be a return customer. The proprieter sounds like a ‘no nonsense’ kind of fellow but very kind and helpful.
*note some products MUST be delivered via courier (flammable etc.)
For our wonderful international readers (ie not Australia) these folks state that they deliver worldwide.
At the very least, do yourself a favour and visit the Tung Oil website for a wealth of info on wood treatments and why Tung Oil is the best.
Cheers all.
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Hi McFoxdale,
I went with a litre of both the Tung Oil and the Citric Turpene. I was initially just going to get the 50/50 mixed bottle but decided to give myself the freedom to be able to play with mix ratios.
Primarily went with the litre option from a financial point of view ($100 or so delivered for both). And because I just wanted to see how this product behaves.
The litre option will be plenty for my initial purposes in terms of coverage. Jump on their webpages and read up on approximate application coverage (very dependant upon the porosity of the timber to be treated).
The overarching rule: many THIN coats makes for a higher quality and longer lasting finish than fewer THICK coats.
Happy hunting!
My best mate paints his cedar with a mixture of raw linseed/beeswax. His hives look beautiful.
I must admit i’d never heard of tung oil. Husband is an antique restorer and he says tung oil is the premier wood restoring oil but cedar doesn’t need anything like it.
Addit - just picked up my order today. Arrived as advertised with an application guide sheet contained in the Tung Oil (the same info as contained on their websites)
I phoned the business to convey my thanks for the pleasant and speedy transaction.
The proprietors name is Mike and was glad for the call. I mentioned to him about Flow Hive (he said he had caught the Doco on ‘Australian Story’). He was keen to hear of this forum and will look into submitting his business credentials in the ‘Business Advertising’ section.
Rock on.
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Did you all oil inside the boxes too?
No, don’t do that the bees do it with propolis and wax.
After purchasing Tung Oil from Bunnings (Feast Watson brand) a member posted the MSDS for that product and it seems to be made of ingredients that are anything other than Tung Oil. So after a bit more searching I also came across Mikes website: https://www.thewoodworks.com.au selling the real deal. Two days later the oil and citrus turpentine was delivered no problems and Ill be visiting Bunnings for a refund.
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Yep generally when they say ‘contains’, it’s only a small percentage, I think I read on the labelling ‘contains between 1-10%’ or something like that…
So I finished up getting 100% oil from eBay with 2 day delivery, best deal I could find <$50 per litre.
Of course I had to get some turps for it so went to the hardware store and there was gum or mineral turps…
I did a quick Google and got varying results on toxicity and uses so thought I’d pose the question here as to which is best for Tung oil.
(The cost here for orange turpene rules it out)
Thanks.
Can anyone please advise?
Most places I have seen seem to recommend citrus terpene. mixed 50/50 with the tung
Unfortunately I’m already way past this years budget after buying a new fandangled hive on a whim…
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Bee keeping is addictive
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And expensive too…
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I’ve oiled inside and out prior to assembly: including the brood frame parts. Do you think this might be a problem for the bees? I could buy new frames for the brood box but the inside of the box itself will still be oiled. Unfortunately, I used the Feast Watson product. While it may be fine, I won’t be using that again.
You’ll probably be OK. I would just weather the box open for a few weeks.