Steve;
When you use the Rapid Oil, the first coat will take maybe overnight to dry or partially dry; coats thereafter will dry quicker until towards the end of the stock finish cycle they will dry in a few hours. Do not let the coats of Rapid Oil over dry as it is a arm and elbow tiring experience to rub away the dried to long residue so that you can apply the TS 95. I always use the TS 95 drier oil and I do it by wiping dry the previous coat of the stock oil and with a few drops on my fingers coat the stock overall with the TS 95 and let it dry then polish with a soft cloth. It is possible to get two Rapid Oil/ TS 95 drier oil cycles in a 8-10 hour day, but do not push it to do that. For the very best finish I sometimes have taken 3 or more weeks to finish a stock. After you finish several stocks with Trade Secret, you will ask yourself why did I not know about this stuff earlier. In applying the Rapid Oil, thinner is better, sometimes I use only a drop or two per side of the stock and forepart.
Learning how much time to allow for the coats of Rapid Oil to dry so that you can rub the residue away is the main task and learning experience in using Trade Secret. I have found that letting the Rapid Oil dry until you begin to have difficulty rubbing the residue away works best for me. Things will be a bit different for you there in Colorado with low humidity.
I have used the Trade Secret Alkanet oil, but I like to make my own as I think their Alkanet oil is too thick.
Large containers of the Trade Secret Rapid Oil and TS 95 are available in the UK, and in the past I have had friends buy it for me when they were on business trips in UK and bring it back on the airplane. That may be an issue today.
Trade Secret oils are made by Mike Smart in the UK. He bought the formula from another gunsmith who developed them.
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