Snowman, first thing you need to do is switch to Formby's "Traditional Tung Oil Finish", available in 16 oz. metal cans (or bigger), easily and securely resealable, and in "gloss" or "low gloss" finish. It is the same thing as TrueOil, but with fewer of these drying problems, and at a fraction of the price. You can also greatly vary the surface result by playing with the way you put it on. Wal-Mart always has it on hand. I've been using it for years now, and am totally pleased with it.

As for drying problems, they can also arise if you have not thoroughly cleaned your wood surface. Residual oil in an old surface can really louse the works up. Sometimes, even with a clean and fresh surface, the first coat needs to dry overnight or perhaps as long as 24 hours. After that, all coats dry fast.

I've found I can recoat in as little as 30 minutes, if I am trying to build it up. And if you do it this quickly, you can get by without roughening the surface. Otherwise, for the very smoothest finish, let each coat dry well, very lightly dull the surface with fine steel wool, and put on the next coat. Do not roughen it so much that you remove all of what you just put on.

To get the most dull possible finish, for the last coat, wipe on a thin coat with firm pressure. For glossy, wipe it on evenly but heavy. You can play with it this way and get all sorts of effects. I stick with Formby's, but I expect there are a number of furniture finishes which do the same thing.

40 years ago, in the ship building area of Hong Kong on the island below Victoria Peak, you should have seen all the traditional wooden Chinese sailing junks being built; some nearly 100 feet long and diesel powered hot rods. The finish being brushed on was always tung oil, hundreds of gallons of it. It's a great waterproofing sealer. Walking among 50 or 100 junks being built or just serviced, the smell was wonderful. Except for the occasional dead animal floating nearby. But believe me, they were not paying Birchwood Casey prices for tung oil. Nor will I. It's a great product, but far too expensive for what you get.