Years ago, I wrote an article for the Winchester Collector Magazine on wood finishes, off the top of my head (without pulling up my notes), a few key points:
The three most common plant oils which set (dry) on their own are linseed, walnut and tung; only drying oils form a cohesive, hard film when used as a wood finish.
Linseed oil has a few issues. When you first wipe linseed on a stock, the wood really pops… it’s gorgeous. But… linseed oil continues to oxidize, and darkens with age. I have seen some linseed finishes that were so dark that they were almost black.
As a wood protectant, linseed oil is not very good, it easily allows moisture and moisture vapor to penetrate.
Finally, it’s very slow drying and need the addition of metallic dryers.
The primary ingredients in Timberlux seem to be: Naphtha (thinner), equal amounts of linseed and sunflower oils and a smidgen of metallic driers. As noted above, linseed oil is not a great wood protector, and I have no idea on the protective qualities of sunflower oil as nobody recommend it for anything more than “food safe” applications such as cutting boards and salad bowls. And only if you cannot use walnut oil due to nut allergies.
Tru-Oil contains solvent, a proprietary modified oil and only about 13% linseed oil.
Respectfully
Mike
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