Can you apply the oil when the bees are already in it?
@Sallywags, No, it needs time to season, if you put in to search button at top of page, tung oil, painting hives there are lots of threads with hows & whys
I would modify what @Kirsten_Redlich says, by saying it isnāt ideal to apply it to an occupied hive, but you can do it if you use 100% PURE Tung Oil (no solvents or additives).
It is a natural nut oil, so it is non-toxic. Bees donāt like it much (they groom it off if they fall in a pool of it), but it doesnāt seem to harm them. However, it cures to a resinous finish, it doesnāt stay wet/oily. If you apply it and it rains before it cures, you can end up with a mottled/patchy finish with some semi-opaque waxy looking areas - not very pretty. It takes around 2 weeks to cure most of the way, and several months to cure fully. If you get a mottled finish, just rub it with some 000 wire wool and re-coat.
I will be refinishing my hives with Tung Oil in the apiary - I donāt intend to dismantle everything. 
thanks Dawn - i might be able to do the super, as i donāt bring the bees home for a few days yet!
There is best practice and what works. I would do as much as you can it should be dry in a few days. I imagine I will redo mine with bees in it at some point in the future as needed. Dawn brings the important part do not use Tung oil finish it is a mix only pure and do outside only.
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Any plus for the rack? A nice visual stand?
I didnāt buy it for visuals. I bought it after hearing an number of beekeepers whom I respect having better results when they used a slatted rack. Better results means improved ventilation, less condensation, reduced bearding of bees on hot days, and nice brood pattern even in the bottom box (when you run on two deeps as we do, the bottom box often doesnāt have as much brood as the top deep).
So this year I decided to try the slatted racks. I like them for all of the above reasons, and I will be keeping them on the hive.
As always thanks. I like the rationale. I have yet to open my box since the set up. I will soon and will have first look at the frames and see what I even have. Will transfer to the new box that came with my tool and gloves. Very interested to learn how the slatted frame progresses your hive. I am hoping mine moved into the bottom deep frame. Beeās are going to keep me learning very stoked about that.
I have bought 40 L of tung oil and Iām selling it the cheapest in australia, 0490523255. After finding bunnings had none or crap mixed with tung, i found some 100% tung. i ship to anywhere in australia free
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Hi Dragon Fly,
Do you have a pine or cedar hive? The pine is not quite as resilient as the cedar. How do you go with the Thinner - is it Turpentine or Turpene?
The hive is so pretty i donāt want to paint it.
Hi there BeeShack,
Thanks for your message! Its a Cedar Hive and had two coats of 50:50 Citric Turpene/Tung Oil before a final 2 coats of straight Tung Oil.
The initial dilution is to encourage good penetration of the mixture.
Like you - I was reluctant to paint over such a wonderful grain but in Australia with its generous doses of UV, I am aware that Iām fighting a losing battle and it will eventually āGrey offā. That being said - Iāll try to keep it pretty as long as I can.
Though it will be three stories of WRC - you can get an idea of what my hive came up looking like after Tung Oil here: Hive Base & Screened Bottom Board Modification Idea
Cheers & Good luck!
I have the same problem but since it is already treated with tung oil, what can I do to get rid of the mold and keep it away?
Most of the time, the mold is very superficial and can be removed with wire wool or very light sanding. You could try a marine polyurethane varnish on the outside of the roof. The tung oil layer would accept this without any major issues, especially if you wire wool or sand gently first. Just leave it off the hive until it has finished drying (I would give it at least 4 weeks). The other possibility is to paint it with a high quality exterior paint. I would be careful about using paints with mold-inhibitors in them though, you donāt want to expose the bees to those chemicals.
Personally, I just stick with tung oil, and wire wool/reseal periodically.
Thank you so much for your advice!
What I use: https://www.amazon.com/Half-32oz/dp/B00HYHSURM/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1487291783&sr=8-16&keywords=tung+oil
Thanks for the link.
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Hello fivekai
I read yr post from 2015
how did the tung oil comparison go?
regards
wayno
Hi all, This topic is a bit old but Iām new to beekeeping and intended to treat my hive with pure Tung Oil. However, Iāve also read that it might produce black mould in damp/wet climates. So it put me off initially, but Iāve now read that itās ok? Lots of different opinions on the subject! What I have learnt that the first couple of applications should be diluted with turps on a 1:1 ration then a less turps and then pure Oil. Itās important to let it soak into the wood before reapplying additional lays.
Iām still in favour of this treatment method, but would ask for first hand experiences etc on the subject.
My flow is an original it is old. I used plain pure tung oil. I took my time and allowed days to dry with 3 coats. I am in Hawaii we get a fair amount of rain mine has had no mold. Only thing is I need to figure out how to reapply to my boxes as I do not want to take the bees out of the box and then replace the box. The top I can do the super I can pull but the base and the boxes.! the super I just put back on and see my medium?
Hi, Thanks for the reply and pictures it all helps. Iām certain to use pure Tung oil now. lāve done more research and provide you take your time and apply it slow with 3 coats and let dry itās fine.
Thanks again, appreciated.
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