Oil for my Gunstock

[Nobody]

11111

[Newtmaker]

I'm interested in replies as well. I just started refinishing the stock on my recently acquired Swedish Mauser. It had been neglected for a long time but was in sound condition. I stripped the finish and sanded to bare wood. A lot of the shallow nicks were removed but the deeper ones persist. This AM I put a coat of gel Walnut stain and boy am I happy! It looks great. After it dries I have to decide what next. I don't want to use a urethane finish, but I do have an old can of Tung Oil finish that is still good. I also have a can of gun oil stock finish left over from a stock refinish kit I bought a long time ago. Decisions, Decisions ?

Walt

[Nobody]

11111

[Rusty]

For the Marlin look at this, Some guys on the CZ forum swear by this stuff. They claim it brings out the grain as well. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=38196

For the Mauser, I myself have always liked the finish acquired by coat after coat of hand rubbed linseed oil. If you look at some of the old WWII era M1's, that' what they have on them. To me, it brings out the grain and looks deep and warm.

[jdad]

If it still has the original finish, then just use some Howard's Feed-N-Wax.

[Bruce Scott]

I'm interested in replies as well. I just started refinishing the stock on my recently acquired Swedish Mauser. It had been neglected for a long time but was in sound condition. I stripped the finish and sanded to bare wood. A lot of the shallow nicks were removed but the deeper ones persist. This AM I put a coat of gel Walnut stain and boy am I happy! It looks great. After it dries I have to decide what next. I don't want to use a urethane finish, but I do have an old can of Tung Oil finish that is still good. I also have a can of gun oil stock finish left over from a stock refinish kit I bought a long time ago. Decisions, Decisions ?

Walt

From: http://forums.gunboards.com/archive/ind ... -1702.html

Translated from the 1927 Swedish Armorer's Manual:

"The new stock (excl. barrel rail and action cut-out) are oiled with BLO applied by a piece of cloth and rubbed in by hand. After that leave to dry for 12 hours. Beech stocks are to be oiled twice.

Stocks are to be polished with floor wax using a polishing disc. Polish until surface is smooth and has dull finish.

Barrel channel and cut-outs are to be covered with vasoline (lots of it). Handguard is oiled, polished, etc, like the stock."

Apologies for taking this away from the original topic

[Newtmaker]

Good info, Bruce. I read some stuff from that link and the mixture they were wiping the stock with seems to be beeswax and turpentine. Probably ok for a military rifle but I suspect some of the current day treatments might be better, except, as I mentioned, I don't want to do a urethane treatment.
I have about decided to use the Tung Oil that I have. I put a couple of coats on the small for-end top piece and it goes on really smooth and easy. It will probably take numerous coats to be effective however.

Thanks for the good input.

Walt

[Ji in Hawaii]

I used bolied linseed oil reduced 10% with gum turpentine for better penetration and quicker curing epscially the first few coats but finish with pure BLO for final coat.

[piller]

The Boiled linseed oil finish on the cutting board I made in 1978 still looks good, has withstood several thousand uses, and the grain of the wood is still visible. I agree with Ji about thinning it for the first few coats. After it is dry, rubbing with wax really brings out the beauty of the wood.

[Cruise]

If using Oil (BLO, Tung, Penofin or something else), I think it would be best to get the desired effect with the oil before the wax as the oil will have a harder time penetrating a wax.

I kind of like the oil only look. Rubbing with 3M Wet-or-Dry (sanding actually) taking it up through the grits (220, 360 . . . 2,000) and then finish with fine pumice will give a knockout oil finish. The finer grits of 3M Wet-or-Dry can be found at an auto paint supplier and probably not at Home Depot. Reapplication from time to time can be applied with a bare hand. The warm hand on a gunstock aids in penetration of the oil.

I like Howard's wax for many applications but for wood gunstocks, tables etc, I like the oil only look. It is also easily
repaired with more oil.

[Charles]

When it comes to gunstock finishes, there are many products and an equal number of opinions. I have been finishing and refinishing gunstocks for 50 years and here is my thoughts on the subject:

1. BLO is a traditional finish, looks nice when it is done, takes time to do it, but offers very little if any resistance to water entering the wood.

2. Tru-Oil, Linspeed and the like do a good job of sealing the wood and can give a good looking finishing depending on how it is applied.

3. Tung oil is similiar to BLO, but much faster drying. There are several things called Tung oil, sold for furniture refinishing that is not pure tung oil, but have several additives.

4. Along the line of #3, Waterlox is a tung oil with some additives that has been used to seal and protect wood floors for many years. It also makes a good stock finish

5. For a wax, I use Johnsons Paste Wax, which does a good job of protecting. If a straight BLO finish is done, a good coat of wax is almost a necessity to add add water protection. I only use JPW on stocks finished with BLO or Tung.

6. Sealing the inside of the stock, particularly the end grain (including under the butt plate) is very important. The old timers used two coats of shellac to do the job. Any of the products that enter the grain and seal it can be used. BLO is not good for this purpose.

7. The straight organic oils like BLO and tung, can, under some circumstances, develop mold colonies on and in the wood.

[Newtmaker]

Thanks Charles. I had two coats of the tung oil on and it still was feeling somewhat tacky after a couple days of drying. Thinking maybe the stuff if old and going bad?? I wiped it down with a tack rag, scrubbed lightly with a 0000 steel wool pad, tack cloth again, then rubbed a coat of Birchwood Casey True Oil. It was hard dry this AM, so I rubbed it with the wool again, tack rag, and another light coat with my fingers this time. It is looking surprisingly good after only two coats, but sure is glossy. I didn't know this stuff had a high gloss? Any recommendations as to how many coats and what to do at the end?

Walt