I sealed mine, it doesn’t really qualify as an interior part. The tung is not toxic to the bees or anything but they won’t likely propolize the landing board. You leave the interior surfaces untreated mainly so they can treat it themselves with propolis and wax.
I agree with Adam, you should seal it. The only reason not to put Tung inside the hive is because the bees will seal the inside themselves. Anything you put inside is therefore unnecessary. It is very much needed on the landing board, although I think you will find that when you install bees, they won’t use the landing board all that much. They are quite happy to take of and land at the entrance boundary.
Thanks all for the confirmation! I really appreciate your clear and prompt replies. So I have seen where some people used two coats and others as many as three. I live in Midwest USA (Wisconsin) so we get fairly cold/snowy winters. I will for certain use at least 2 coats but not sure about 3. Sometimes the extra coats don’t really add much. Opinions anyone?
I applied two coats basically just to make sure I got a decently even coat to penetrate. If you thin it properly it penetrates pretty well and it’s probably unnecessary to go more then two coats. The cedar is pretty thirsty so three coats would definitely get absorbed if you wanted to put it on.
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When I used undiluted Tung for sealing, I only needed 2 coats. However, when I diluted the first coat with citrus solvent, I felt that the finish was a little uneven after the second coat. For those boxes, I put a third coat on.
Sorry for excessive questions on finishing… does everyone use Tung Oil on the “inner cover” All of it or just the frame? What do the experts recommend on this one? Thanks for all your help … my hive finish looks really great so far after two coats of Tung Oil.
Not sure if I qualify as an expert. But I did finish my inner cover. But only a single coat unlike the outside that got two coats
Just the surfaces exposed to weather. The rest is not necessary to seal. You can, it won’t hurt the bees, but you absolutely don’t need to do it.