doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Oil Finishes

Just curious, are there any advantages or disadvatages with any f teh oil finishes for stocks? Boiled Linseed Oil, vs Tru Oil, vs Tung Oil, vs any other combintations or concoctions? I am currently using a blend of Tung Oil and Boiled Linseed oil in about a 50/50 mix and am getting (what I consider to be)very nice results. After an adequate time to totally dry, I will be waxing with a fine wood wax like Johnson's or Butcher's.

I am just looking for comments and suggestions as well as what has worked well for everyone.

Thanks,

Steve

STOP IT NOW!!!
One more try to set up the audience to 25 pages thread!

Steve
Do you use a drying box or air dry? How long does this tung oil and linseed oil combo take to dry? A little Japan Drier might speed the process up a bit.
Regards, Gordon

Steve - Regarding Geno, its just fatigue. There are two recent threads still in play here that get deep, deep into the questions you ask (same for Katie and Jessie)). Go to search here. Write "Alkanet" in and make some time available. There's much more to the longer of the two threads than discussion about coloring stocks.

I've been a near life-long fan of tung oil finishes, following good prep work. I am seriously going to explore more traditional approaches as a result of Yogi000's 240+ entry post.

Best of luck.

Katie and Jessie, when applying this mix, I do so very sparingly. No more than three drops per application and about 4 applications per evening while watching TV. I just barely let my ringer tough the mixture and then rub it in with my fingers and hands. I then scuff with either 0000 or 00000 steel wool, tack rag and apply another coat the next night. Depending on the finish desired it will take about two to three weeks of this nearly every night.

As far as drying, as I said, I air dry by hanging the piece up over night in the house, not garage or basement, but inside where there heat/AC.

Outdoorlvr - thank you, I saw that thread adn thought it was about the coloring of wood only. I should have known better!!!!

Steve
Thank you for this information. I have been using Minwax English Oil Finish that works very well but I think they have stopped making it as I haven't seen it for almost a year now.
The linseed oil should give the finish a nice low sheen.
Thanks again, Gordon

I have tried them all and find that the oil finishes are fine if you have the patience of job.

One day I came across a recipe in a woodworking magazine that I tried...it's the answer to my prayers. To refinish a stock, all that's necessary is a good wipe with lacquer thinner to get the gunk off (or stripper if it has a poly finish). Then three to five coats 6 hours apart. You are done. I call this my "Rapid English Oil Finish". It's in the wood, all natural ingredients, and gives a nice satin sheen and looks great. The finish hardens and is quite tough and withstands water very well.

We sell this stuff in small jars for folks to put in their guncases. That way you can give your gun a touchup anytime. There is no dye in our formulation so if you want to darken a stock, do it after the cleaning.

Doublegunhq, you apparently forgot to post the formula as is customary when sharing knowledge on this Board.

JC(AL)

Uh, JayCee, our friend "doublegunhq" is advertising, not giving away today.

I use a nearly "instant gratification" finish which may or may not resemble the aforementioned. Simply the old "barracks soldiering" concoction equal parts BL, turps, beexwax melted in double boiler (actually use a baby food jar in pan of water and make it in that quantity because that's all I need and there's some loss of volatiles each time opened)and colored to requirements with shoe polish. I'm not much for taking everything down to the wood. I have done the laquer thinner wash treatment and sometimes it leaves enuf slush for filling pores, rottenstone on felt on cork smooths everything up and cordovan (or whatever) waxy buildup is the topcoat. I also add a little Simichrome to the mix on a cotton rag which I keep not quite forever but sometimes until it's worn thru in a 1 lb. plastic snapon lid coffee container. Good sheen and renewable but the BL is permeable and supposedly rots wood. On the other hand, beeswax isn't and doesn't IMVHO. I don't worry too much about posterity here because I'm also permeable and coffee does about the same to me and I'm also more or less renewable every morning despite being at that age when one realizes that many concessions must be made to the length of human life.

I tried something similar with parafin and linseed on some rustic furniture years ago and the result was a mess of sticky, bleeding linseed, but something about this combination makes a thin coat "set" such that's there some build when buffed a few hours later. There is never any linseed "bleed" even from a gun kept in a hot automobile.

jack