I need some help waxing up my new walnut stocked shotgun. Do I wax the checkered areas, too? How many coats? Any help you can give is appreciated. I have Johnson Paste Wax and Birchwood Gun Stock Wax. Which do I use? What say you? Thanks...

Neither. You use RENAISSANCE wax polish, distributed by Restorer Supplies, Inc., among others.

It's a little pricey but it's the best wax to use on ALL parts of your gun, if you wish, although I just use it on my wood.

I shy away from the checkering as it's just too doggone tricky to get an even distribution without filling up spots. I don't miss any shine/protection in those areas, however.

Others may chime in with tricks they use on checkering.

Wax is OK on the wood but on metal it is a bad joke compaired to the modern rust preventive oils. If you are going to use it wax the wood, oil the metal.

bill

I AM 60 YEARS OLD GREW UP IN A GUN STORE AND IN MY OPINION RENAISANCE WAX, [WHICH BTW IS USED BY THE CODY MUSEUM ON ITS' DISPLAY WEAPONS] IS HANDS DOWN, FARRRRRRRRRR SUPERIOR TO PROTECING BOTH WOOD,METAL AND LEATHER THAN ANY OIL! It is just a plain fact that since I changed to using it 17 YEARS AGO for protection, I have not had a single case of surface rust ON ANY GUN but have had several cases of bores getting a slight dusting of rust, even with a V.P.I. TYPE OIL IN THE BORE, V.P.I. CARTRIDGES AND A DEHUMIDIFIER SYSTEM IN MY GUNROOM. Just my experience, plus a gun with a wax coat on it, when bumped is much less likely to be scratched than one with just oil, believe ME I know! I use a toothbrush to put a light coating of wax in the checkering to seal it in case of rain and use a cheap medium bristle toothbrush to work it in good. Brush in the directions of the checkering cutters. The Renaissance ends up being a lot cheaper than the B.C. PRODUCT as a little goes a longgggggggggggggggggggggg way. HTH Jerry

Gary,

Renaissance wax may well be the cat's meow, I can't say, but I have used both ones you mentioned, and they work fine. I'm a duck hunter, and my guns get subjected to less than ideal conditions at times. Johnson's Paste Wax does a good job of protecting the gun from the elements.

I would tend to say I favor the BIrchwood Casey for luster, the Johnson's for protection.

SRH

Is the Renaisance Wax ok to use on oil finished stocks?

No problem...it puts moisture and darkens oil finished wood temporarily, the only thing I have noticed is on guns with polyurethane type finishes [700 BDL etc.] it takes very little or it tends to gum up or roll instead of polish out with a soft diaper type cloth. HTH Jerry

I used Johnson's for many years before I had RW. If I couldn't get RW, I'd revert to Johnson's.

DDA

Ditto!

12 years living on Kodiak Island, hunting in the salt water environment, I kept my rifle rust free by waxing wood (inside and out) and metal with Johnson's. RW is however an excellent wax that I use, with a tiny amount of lamp black, to coat and protect "french" greyed engraved scenes.

Let me ensure I am reading this correctly.

Many use wax on their barrel and other metal parts in lieu of oil without issue?

I have waxed my gun stocks for years with RENAISSANCE wax polish, but have used Eesox on the barrels and other metal parts.

Brad Bachelder restored a set of Parker twist barrels for me, and strongly recommended a coat of Johnson's Paste Wax as a protectant.

I use oil for 99% of my metal protection, but use wax when I expect the gun to be subjected to adverse amounts of water for a day, hunting in the rain, etc.

SRH

Am I correct to assume when using wax it can be put on over a coat of Eesox oil?

I have never used Eezox, although after hearing of it's many virtues I plan to order some. Before applying wax, prior to a rainy day hunt, I wipe down the metal thoroughly with a dry soft rag, to remove oil. then I apply the wax.

Where I think the wax beats oil for water protection is where the wood meets the metal, at the inletting and joining. When you put a good, heavy coat of wax all over these areas, and then buff it off lightly, you have these areas somewhat sealed from moisture migration, for awhile. I know that really good inletting leaves no visible crack between the wood and metal, but we know that it is a potential place for water to creep in, through capillary action. When waxed properly I don't feel the need to remove the wood from the metal every time. Now, if it got submerged, that's another issue entirely.

SRH

Old Colonel - I use Renaissance Wax on the wood and EEZOX IN the barrels and ON the barrels.

I do this to protect ALL my firearms, including my vintage percussion shotguns and rifles that use blackpowder.

Now, you know BP and petroleum products don't go well together, so before I use these muzzleloading shotguns and rifles I get rid of the EEZOX oil with denatured alcohol.

Works like a charm.

Trewax also works very well on the wood.

General FYI on Ren Wax -- Prior to to being mixed with a petroleum solvent to melt it, the wax is very hard small pellets. When the liquified wax paste is applied to an object, the solvent evaporates and leaves a tough film, that can be removed safely, again with a petroleum containing solvent.

The wax is actually not vegetable or animal based, but is a high-molecular weight 'poly'; very dense,hard plastic. Well rubbed in to crannies and crevices, as well as the surface, it serves as a water barrier. It is not invulnerable forever, but once applied it is easily renewed.

At season's end, or after a muddy grit-t-ty day,you may remove it with most mild gun-cleaning solvent, let dry, and re-apply. Not cheap, but well worth it's effect.

I do rather like to use the products that where around at the time Black Powder was the main propellant. So for protecting gun barrels and other metal parts while in long time storage use a mixture of Goose Fat and Almond oil mixed to a fine soft paste. Though you must remove every trace from a shotgun bore before the gun is used other wise it may cause a ring bulge. Yes I know it does not sound correct for us modern types but it really works well.
As for wood polish a mixture of Bees Wax and Carnauba Wax to give some hardness to the finish dissolved in real turpentine with a small piece of Castile Soap added. This produces a soft sheen rather than a bright polish on an oiled gun stock and smells acceptable. Well in reality there are more formulas for wax polish than there are days in the year but this is the one I use.

I still miss our old resident Beesley waxer........The Laird of Glenthorne manor. As much as he used to talk about waxing that Beesley he most surely would have had some valid advice on this subject.

There was an article in The Garand Collectors Journal about antique arms in NOLa that got flooded during Katrina. Those that had been waxed with RW were by far better off than the others. They noted that some had been waxed hot. Those survived the best. Before I found the RW, I used some old Blue Coral on both wood and metal. I don't think the RW will get rubbed off with handling as fast as other waxes.

There is another product available which, to the best of my knowledge, is very similar to Renaissance Wax (perhaps even the same product). It is available at Lee Valley Tools and is known as “Conservators Wax”.
I could not find RW anywhere in Canada which led me to this product which is available in my hometown.