Anyone any experience of Le Tonkinois

[Fr J Hackett]

Application etc does it need thinning for 1st coat. I want to use it for a high gloss on some garden furniture I am making which will be exposed to a lot of sunlight and heat in SE France.

 

[Sandy]

It is amazing stuff. Give Brian a ring to discuss what you are planning to do, he will be delighted to share his knowledge. Number is on the web site.

I don't thin it, but others do.

 

[gardener]

No need to thin its like water anyway but really good stuff. You do need lots of coats but you need to recoat before the last coat is dry. I usually go with 7 to 11 coats. Good luck ,have fun. If your after a high gloss you need to finish off with d2

 

[westernman]

Gives good results for cack handed amateurs on top of poorly prepared surfaces. And can be easily touched up.
I.e. the perfect gloop for people like me.

If it is too thick - warm the can up a bit rather than using thinners.

 

[jamie N]

Nothing is better, in part because it's so forgiving.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Gives good results for cack handed amateurs on top of poorly prepared surfaces. And can be easily touched up.
I.e. the perfect gloop for people like me.

If it is too thick - warm the can up a bit rather than using thinners.

And me I hate painting and varnishing, I would spray it but as it's going to need lots of coats the wastage will be too high.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

No need to thin its like water anyway but really good stuff. You do need lots of coats but you need to recoat before the last coat is dry. I usually go with 7 to 11 coats. Good luck ,have fun. If your after a high gloss you need to finish off with d2

What's d2

 

[gardener]

Le tonks comes if two types d1 and d2. D1 is a base coat, thats all i ever use, d2 is the top coat

 

[Tranona]

Le tonks comes if two types d1 and d2. D1 is a base coat, thats all i ever use, d2 is the top coat

I think you may be confusing it with Deks Olje which is nothing like Le Tonkinois (and not particularly good stuff either in my experience)

 

[gardener]

Very possible

 

[gardener]

But still very good stuff

 

[Arcady]

Lovely stuff to use, but I found it did not last well with high UV exposure

 

[westernman]

And me I hate painting and varnishing, I would spray it but as it's going to need lots of coats the wastage will be too high.

More than painting and varnishing, I hate the preparation. The varnishing bit is OK.

 

[westernman]

Lovely stuff to use, but I found it did not last well with high UV exposure

I found it lasted better than Epifanes and two component stuff.

 

[mikegunn]

I have used Le Tonkenois with varying degrees of success and would therefore add the following caveats.
Firstly, because it is very slow drying (24 hrs min between coats) the coated surface needs to be in a completely dust/draught free atmosphere during that part of the process.
Secondly, it cannot be applied over surfaces that have been repaired or restored with West System epoxy. For some reason the varnish will never dry. When I found this peculiarity I read the instructions more thoroughly and found the cautionary note within.
Mike

 

[Hoolie]

The higher grade lasure (10-12 year life) from your local bricolage will be pretty uv resistant and doesn't flake off. I think I have redone our garden furniture twice (two coats max each time) since the original application about 25 years ago. IMO the spirit based products are more satisfactory than water based. We overwinter the table and chairs indoors.
The only problem is that it takes several weeks in the sun to fully harden to its full durability.

 

[Stemar]

Its biggest advantage is that if it gets damaged, it doesn't lift off like varnishes. Just rub it down and slap on a few more coats.

Definitely my goto if I want a high gloss finish, but you can also get a matting agent if you prefer less of a shine. I did the pine stairs with it in our last house. They needed redoing when we moved, but that was after several years of teenagers' wear and tear.