Tung oil is a main ingredient in almost all Waterlox products (excluding URETHANE). Because tung oil is a naturally occurring oil from the tung tree, there are occasional concerns about allergies to Waterlox products. There is no guarantee that a person may be allergic or sensitive to some ingredient in Waterlox products, however the possibilities are EXTREMELY rare. If you have any concerns, please test first and consult with a physician before using the products.
Tung Oil is a Seed Oil
While the tung tree seed is rather large, it is classified as a tree seed as opposed to a tree nut. This seems like a very minor difference, but it can affect how the body reacts to those proteins. If a known tree nut allergy exists, it is typically not a problem to be exposed to tung oil.
Oil Extraction Process
Most allergies are triggered by reactions to the proteins in a nut or seed. Tung oil is pressed from the seed and the oil contains very little protein and is therefore unlikely to cause a reaction. This is similar to people who have an olive allergy typically do not have a reaction to olive oil.
The TRUETONE and PURE Tung Oil products contain tung oil that has not been further processed, however, reactions are still essentially non-existent. If you were to have a reaction to any of our products, it would most likely be one of these two. Most issues would arise with uncured products and would usually only be a concern with ingestion although minor skin irritation may occur, again extremely rare.
Waterlox Processes
When tung oil is used in our film-forming finishes (ORIGINAL, H2OLOX and MARINE), it undergoes further processing to create the legendary tung oil and resin blends for our finishes. This additional processing further destroys any remaining proteins that would cause reactions.
