Garand stock finishing question.

You don't need any kit. Just use boiled linseed oil, or tung oil (your choice). Either will work fine. No experience needed. They're both very forgiving and will tell you when you've used too little or too much. As for what to use with there's another good thread somewhere around here of members discussing pros and cons of various rubbing and wiping methods and materials. I honestly think it's pretty hard to go wrong. Just pick a method and go with it and see how it works for you. Try something else if you're not happy with the results.

BLO is the authentic finish, tung oil is better looking and less troublesome.

Yes, just pick an oil finish and do it. The new wood turns out really nice.

I have gone back tung oil for all my guns and will never use Tru-oil again. For you will never be able to match Tru-oil when touching up a finish and tru-oil attracts dust like a magnet.. With tung oil, its as simple as 1,2,3. After lightly sanding and applied stain has dried , I highly recommend a hand rubbed tung oil application. Allow to thoroughly dry between coats; 24 hours minimum. Then a slowly thin the tung oil and apply multiple coats and gently use 000 or finer steel wool in between coats. I took a pill bottle, added a tablespoon of tung-oil and 4 drops of Mineral spirits and stirred it up with a Q-tip. I coat 1/2 side of the stock at a time and wipe off any excess with flannel or t-shirt scrap (go with the grain)after three minutes. After 6 complete coats, I had a very nice satin finish. Everyone thinks I had a pro do it.

On my Garand service grade with new furniture. I used Tru-oil. Rub with steel wool OOOO. Apply thin coat of the oil to entire stock. Let dry 24 hrs. Lightly rub with the steel wool again. Wipe with a tack cloth. Apply another coat of the oil. I repeated for seven days. Then I did once a month for 6 months. I have a beautiful satin finish that gets a new oil coat yearly. It honestly looks much better than what I carried in the Corps. I did not go to the mirror shine that is sometimes seen on the parade and ceremony troops weapons. I have a beautiful and functional shooter that looks ready for combat.

BLO takes time. Thin coats, lots of time. Once dried, hit it with some beeswax based furniture polish, looks gorgeous. The “fake” BLO with the drying agents takes a lot less time...

Gunny USMC has had some good posts on THR about repairing stocks.

Have you looked in the THR "archives" ?

Hopefully, Gunny will be along shortly.

I would post a link to past posts but i ain't that smart.........

I do BLO with Tom’s wax over the top.

I bought the exact same rifle as OP, I used this, following the instructions to the letter. The finish is perfect.

1976B.L.Johns. said:

Hopefully, Gunny will be along shortly.

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PSA, you can "tag" members here by using "@" before their screen name. THis function has a certain amount of auto-fill--but your spelling has to be exact. They then get an Alert for the thread in question.

To wit: @GunnyUSMC

Hi there everyone nice to see that some of you think so highly of me.
And @CapnMac is right. If I get an alert to a post I will hop in and try to help.
I have posted several times on doing oil finishes covering Garand stocks and others. I’ll try and link one or two at the end of my post.
One of the misconceptions about oil finishes is that many think that you need to apply several coats over several months. This is far from true. An oil finish can be completed in as little as four coats but, this will depend on the stock that you are working on.
But before we dive off into the oil finish, let’s talk about the stock. The reason for addressing the stock first is to know where to start.
For the OP: You didn’t say what type of wood your stock is made of, but since you said your rifle is a CMP Spl. Grade , I’ll presume that it’s Walnut. The stock is shipped with a light finish that has a die mixed in it, due to the fact that CMP does not buy the high grade walnut. They buy a good walnut with straight grain that is strong and will last for a long time even with hard use. The only down side is that it is not always the prettiest walnut. The finish that is applied is to help hide light sports.
I have worked on several of the stock that CMP puts on their rifles, walnut and hardwoods. I have found some that are thicker in some areas and needed reshaping. So check your stock and see if the stock is the same thickness on both sides of the rear barrel band and if the wrist area is not over sized. If they are you will need to address these areas first.
Now not all wood reacts the same with dies and oils. And even the same type of walnut will react differently depending on how tight the grain pattern is.
I could spend a lot more time on the stock but then this post would get very long and maybe boring. So let’s get it oils.
Not all oils are the same. There were two oils used on military stocks Linseed oil and Tung oil. The military used Linseed oil until 1941. In 1942 they switched to Tung oil to help stocks to hold up better in tropical climates.
So the original finish on manny Garands was Tung oil, but this is not the correct finish. The US military had a large supply of Linseed oil in it’s inventory for weapons maintenance and was not about to throw it out. They just keep issuing Linseed oil to the troops and the troops kept applying it to the stocks.
So I tell people not to get all hung up on which of the two oils to use. Also after the oil has been on the stock for a while, 99.99% of people can’t tell which of the two oils you used.
Let’s touch on Tung oil. Pure Tung Oil (PTO) was used. Do not confuse PTO with stuff called Tung Oil Finish. Most of the stuff called Tung Oil Finish has little to no Tung oil in it. So if you go with Tung Oil , get Pure Tung Oil.
Now PTO will not darken as much as BLO but it does take longer to apply a PTO finish.
Now for BLO, which stands for Boiled Linseed Oil. Which in fact is not boiled anymore. It just has dryers added to it to heir dry faster.
Now some will tell you that the military never used BLO and that Raw Linseed Oil was used. This is true, but RLO takes forever to dry, even longer then PTO. So GI’s would just add turpentine or something else to it to make it dry faster. Basically they made BLO.
Are we having fun yet?
So you will need to pick which oil you wish to use. BLO will be the easiest to get and take less time to apply.
Now earlier I said that many people think that they need to apply several coats of oil over several months to get a proper finish. In truth this is what they get, oil soaked wood.


Here are a few things you need to know about an oil finish. It’s a finish that is in the wood and not built up on the surface.
An oil finish can be done in as little as 4 coats. On a very dry stock it will take a little more.
The stock will tell you how much oil it will take.
An oil finish is applied with two types of coats, wet and polish.
You have to allow the oil to cure between coats.
An oil finish needs a protective coat.
Let me stop right here. That way y’all can ask any questions about what I have posted before I get into applying an oil finish.

I used Tung oil, (yes, the commercial stuff with drying agents in it) Usually 4 coats, done within a week, and a thin later of paste wax (the same Johnson's paste wax we'd light on fire and dump on the barracks floor before buffing) over it for a matte weather resistant finish.

BLO is a great finish when applied correctly, which is not hard.
Let’s start off with getting your stock ready. First you need to inspect to see if any reshaping is needed.
Next you will need to strip the finish from the stock. And good paint stripper will work, but the ones that will remove poly work best.
Here’s the key to getting the best results when stripping. It the stripper do the work. Don’t be in a rush. Strippers work best on cool days because, heat causes it to dry faster giving you less work time. Remember, if the stripper is wet, it’s working. And sometimes you will need to apply the stripper two to three times, depending on what finish was on the wood.
Once you have the stock stripped you have to decide if you are going to sand are not. But remember, you can’t replace the wood that you sand off. Sanding is not required to get your stock smooth after stripping. You can Bone the stock to make it smooth. I use an Ash dowel to Bone stocks. I make my dowels from old pool cues. Boning is basically just rubbing down the surface to make it smooth.
Now let’s say that you have your stock ready. You can apply your oil in two ways. One I’d directly from the can.the other is to put some into a container that you can dip three or four fingers into. I just dribble it from the can onto the stock.
Now I will be using the word coat when referring to applying the BLO to the stock. These coats are not coats as in building up a finish. It just refers to each time you apply BLO to the surface. Remember that we are working oil into the wood, we are not trying to soak the wood. Also don’t forget to wear gloves, BLO is not good for your skin.
Depending on how tight and how dry your stock is, will determine how much oil you will apply.
You want to apply a very wet coat on your first coat. Start off by applying oil to the stock and start rubbing it in. You want to rub until it gets warm. As it gets warm, just add some more oil to keep the surface wet. Now you want it wet but not dripping wet.
After you have rubbed in the first coat, which should take about 20 minutes, set the stock aside in a cool dry place and let it sit for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes check your stock. Here’s where your stock will tell you a few things. If it is still covered in wet oil, it’s not going to soak up much and you will not need a second wet coat.
If the stock is dry, you will need to give the oil more time to cure.
But most often you will have some wet and dry areas.
No matter what, just use a good clean dry rag and wipe the stock down. Then set the stock back in the cool dry spot to dry.
If the stock had soaked up all of the oil, you will need to let it sit for 48 hours. This will allow the oil to cure just under the surface better so that it doesn’t soak up to much oil and become oil soaked.
If the stock was still wet or had wet spots you just need to let it sit for 24 hrs.
Now for the next coat.
If the stock had wet and dry spots, rub in another wet coat but just not as wet as the first. Rub till it is warn, let sit for 30 minutes then wipe dry. Let it dry for another 24 hours.
If the stock was wet, you can now start on what is called a polish coat. You apply just a little bit of oil and rub it in. You want to rub until you hand gets hot. What this will do is bring out the grain in the stock. After rubbing the stock down, let it sit for 30 minutes then rub it down with a clean Cloth and let it dry for 24 hrs. You should only need to do two polish coats.
Now let’s say that you want that softer look and feel to your stock. Instead of doing the polish coat, do a scrub coat. A scrub coat is done by wetting 0000 steen wool and buffing the coats int the stock. Two scrub coats will be enough to get the job done. Just remember to let the stock stand for 30 minutes after applying a coat and then wipe it dry. And always wait 24 hours between coats.
If your stock was one that soaked up the first wet coat and you let it dry for 48 hrs, applying additional coats should be the same as the others.
Here is where you can mess up your finish, applying the wax top coat. The key here is not to get into a rush. If you apply the wax to soon, your finish will turn milky or cloudy. This is caused by oil in the stock coming to the surface. It often happens two to three days after applying the wax.
Here’s a simple way to avoid putting your wax coat on to soon. After you have finished your final polish or scrub coat, let your stock sit for 48 hrs. You want the BLO to cure In the stock, or basically the BLO that is just under the surface. To check you stock use a dry paper towel and rub it in different areas. If the paper towel picks up oil, let the stock dry another 24 hrs. Depending on where you live and your weather your drying time will very. I have had stocks that took almost a week to dry during winter months.
There are many different types of wax that can be applied. I prefer Tom’s 1/3 Mix. I’ve been using it for several years. Tom makes a better mix then I ever did and I no longer have to deal with the mess of making it.
If you want a shiners finish, one of the furniture paste wax on the market like Mimwax will work fine.
If you or anyone else has any questions please feel free to ask. The simplest of questions are most often the ones that are never asked, and remember, the questions not asked will get on answers.

A few years ago I was once told by someone that I was doing oil finishes wrong. When I asked how many oil finishes he had done, he replied 4. I told him to add a few hundred to that to come pretty close to the number of oil finishes I had done.
Yes, there are other way to do oil finishes, some better then others, but I’ve been doing stock work for over 30 years and I’ve come to trust in what I’ve learned.

What about the fungicide?

I thought it was de rigueur to add fungicide to Garand finishes?

BLO is a very forgiving finish and quite difficult to mess up. I like to apply it by hand instead of using rags or cloth wipes. That stuff will never get out of fabric, so you essentially have to throw rags away if you use them. Get some BLO on your fingers and rub it into the wood evenly and thinly. Be careful not to glob the oil in one place too much, as you will create uneven curing and drying in small areas. Hang up the stock to dry in an indoor area with good air circulation. I like to hang it on cut up metal clothes hangers from the ceiling with a large fan pointed that way. The fan will help cut drying time by a little bit and keep the smell from accumulating too much. As the BLO dries it will feel sticky and eventually hairy. Hairy feeling is good. Gently card off this hairy top layer with 0000 steel wool or 1200-2000 grit sandpaper. If you use anything much more abrasive you will start removing the finish you just applied and dried. Apply at least 3 more coats, dry, and card the same way after each. After the last coat and card, you will have a very smooth top coat. Seal this top coat with paste wax or BC stock conditioner. Paste wax gives a more dull look whereas the conditioner starts as a glossy finish and can be sanded lightly to matte or dull finish.

One of the worst things you can do is rush the process. Oil is a large molecule compared to water. It takes time for the oil, whichever you use to soak into the wood. You can tell how well a coat will dry within an hour or so after applying the coat. But you will easily want to wait 24 hours to apply the next. If you keep the drying room above 70 degrees, relatively dry (50% or less) and have a fan going, you can shave off a couple hours here and there.

herrwalther said:

BLO is a very forgiving finish and quite difficult to mess up. I like to apply it by hand instead of using rags or cloth wipes. That stuff will never get out of fabric, so you essentially have to throw rags away if you use them. Get some BLO on your fingers and rub it into the wood evenly and thinly. Be careful not to glob the oil in one place too much, as you will create uneven curing and drying in small areas. Hang up the stock to dry in an indoor area with good air circulation. I like to hang it on cut up metal clothes hangers from the ceiling with a large fan pointed that way. The fan will help cut drying time by a little bit and keep the smell from accumulating too much. As the BLO dries it will feel sticky and eventually hairy. Hairy feeling is good. Gently card off this hairy top layer with 0000 steel wool or 1200-2000 grit sandpaper. If you use anything much more abrasive you will start removing the finish you just applied and dried. Apply at least 3 more coats, dry, and card the same way after each. After the last coat and card, you will have a very smooth top coat. Seal this top coat with paste wax or BC stock conditioner. Paste wax gives a more dull look whereas the conditioner starts as a glossy finish and can be sanded lightly to matte or dull finish.

One of the worst things you can do is rush the process. Oil is a large molecule compared to water. It takes time for the oil, whichever you use to soak into the wood. You can tell how well a coat will dry within an hour or so after applying the coat. But you will easily want to wait 24 hours to apply the next. If you keep the drying room above 70 degrees, relatively dry (50% or less) and have a fan going, you can shave off a couple hours here and there.

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I tried letting the oil get sticky on the surface. The end results are basically the same as in the steps as I posted but with a lot more work to remove the sticky oil that is drying on the surface. By wiping the stock after drying for 30 minutes, you save a lot of time.
Now I do allow BLO to dry on the surface when matching an old oil finish after making repairs. Once the BLO has become gummy, I rub it away with a clean rag. This leaves a look of the gloss of an old oil finish.

I almost forgot to put a link to one of my post that covers doing an oil finish.
This one covers two Garands that I picked up at CMP. The stocks were filthy and one needed a major repair.
There’s also info on making one of the Hackberry stocks look good.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/a-little-road-trip-to-the-cmp-south-store.835226/

Here’s another that covers the restoration of a No4 Mk1 Enfield. The stocks had to be cleaned and refinished.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/restoring-a-no4-mk1-enfield.825379/

GunnyUSMC said:

I tried letting the oil get sticky on the surface. The end results are basically the same as in the steps as I posted but with a lot more work to remove the sticky oil that is drying on the surface. By wiping the stock after drying for 30 minutes, you save a lot of time.

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I tried doing something similar on one of my refinishes. I ended up with lint from whatever cloth I was using getting in the finish that I would have to card out anyway, even if I was using "lint free" cloths. PITA so I just stuck to the long drying time and card it off like I was taught years ago. What do you use to wipe the BLO at the 30 minute mark?

herrwalther said:

I tried doing something similar on one of my refinishes. I ended up with lint from whatever cloth I was using getting in the finish that I would have to card out anyway, even if I was using "lint free" cloths. PITA so I just stuck to the long drying time and card it off like I was taught years ago. What do you use to wipe the BLO at the 30 minute mark?

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At the 30 minute mark the BLO is still wet and I wipe it off with rags made from old T-shirts. The method of allowing the BLO to gum up on the surface is what was used as a final coat. This final coat was to give the stock a smoother finish. What happens is that when you card off the gummed up oil, not all of it comes off. There’s gummed up oil that fills the open grain on the stock. When this is polished it leaves a smooth simi-glossy finish on the stock. The proper steps to the final part is to card the stock and let it dry for up to 6 or so hours. It needs time to dry because the BLO in the open grain is not as dry as the oil you carded off. By allowing it to dry a little more it will stay in the open grain better. But it is a PIA to buff off. At first it feels like your rag wants to get stuck like a truck in the mud. The key is to rub down small sections at a time until the finish starts to smoothen out.
If you do use this method, you will still need to apply a wax top coat to protect the finish.
I normally only use the gummy BLO finish when making repairs to old military stocks to blend in the repaired area with the rest of the stock.