Use Ballistol on plain gun wood? Seeking Pros and Cons --
- Thread starter Ignition Override
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Ballistol is an old formula (sans wale sperm these days) non toxic general purpose oil that works quite well. It is not going to be effective in giving your wood any kind of lasting finish. It may very well work for cleaning because most oils are emulsifiers that dissolve other oils such as gunk that might accumulate on an already finished or non-finished wooden stock but it will not protect your wood nor last as a finish. It will spread throughout the pores (the action of any decent oil) and produce a finish that looks similar to Boiled Linseed Oil that will quickly go away leaving your wood looking more or less the same (unfinished) without providing any protection. If Ballistol produced a lasting protective finish it would be worthless as an lubricating oil. Unlike Boiled Linseed Oil it does not form a polymer when dried. If it did you would wind up with the most chewy and gunky actions your guns ever had. To clear up this confusion I will let you know that lubricants and finishing oils are not the same.
Boiled Linseed oil seeps into the pores of the wood like oil but it slowly dries into a polymer providing some protection to the wood. Boiled Linseed oil out of most of the other more glossy finishes provides the least protection and application is a slow process, raw linseed oil is even slower as it can take a week or more to dry between coats. Boiled linseed oil can dry in about a day or two depending on environment. The advantage of the linseed oils is although they may darken the wood slightly they leave most of the original character and color of the wood intact as well as provide some pretty nice contrasts between the wood grains. They generally provide a less glossy finish but can be made on the glossy side with more work.
One of the best things about linseed oil is the wood still for the most part feels like wood while other shellac or polyurethane like finishes make the wood feel like a slippery plastic. That is what make linseed oil good for wooden items that need to have a non-slippery grip friendly surface that can absorb some moisture such as sweat while not being too absorbent to the point where the wood is totally unprotected. Other finishes are a compromise somewhere in between.
You will know you have applied too much linseed oil without letting it properly dry in between coats when the sticky stuff comes oozing out the wood after sitting a while in the hot sun. I would NOT advise soaking wood in bucket of linseed oil or applying large gobs of it to your wood on every coat. Each coat is to be very light.
Beeswax is often used as a final finish on top of wood treated with boiled or raw linseed oil to provide more protection to the wood.
The best advice is to read up on Boiled Linseed Oil using your google search. A lot of info can had on this among people who restore M1 Gerands. A lot of them have a dislike for modern boiled linseed oil (it used to be the raving fad among museum piece restorers) they say it turns black over time. I don't know there are lots of opinions out there by reading all of it you can at the very least properly educate yourself about wood finishing on a basic level.
Boiled Linseed oil seeps into the pores of the wood like oil but it slowly dries into a polymer providing some protection to the wood. Boiled Linseed oil out of most of the other more glossy finishes provides the least protection and application is a slow process, raw linseed oil is even slower as it can take a week or more to dry between coats. Boiled linseed oil can dry in about a day or two depending on environment. The advantage of the linseed oils is although they may darken the wood slightly they leave most of the original character and color of the wood intact as well as provide some pretty nice contrasts between the wood grains. They generally provide a less glossy finish but can be made on the glossy side with more work.
One of the best things about linseed oil is the wood still for the most part feels like wood while other shellac or polyurethane like finishes make the wood feel like a slippery plastic. That is what make linseed oil good for wooden items that need to have a non-slippery grip friendly surface that can absorb some moisture such as sweat while not being too absorbent to the point where the wood is totally unprotected. Other finishes are a compromise somewhere in between.
You will know you have applied too much linseed oil without letting it properly dry in between coats when the sticky stuff comes oozing out the wood after sitting a while in the hot sun. I would NOT advise soaking wood in bucket of linseed oil or applying large gobs of it to your wood on every coat. Each coat is to be very light.
Beeswax is often used as a final finish on top of wood treated with boiled or raw linseed oil to provide more protection to the wood.
The best advice is to read up on Boiled Linseed Oil using your google search. A lot of info can had on this among people who restore M1 Gerands. A lot of them have a dislike for modern boiled linseed oil (it used to be the raving fad among museum piece restorers) they say it turns black over time. I don't know there are lots of opinions out there by reading all of it you can at the very least properly educate yourself about wood finishing on a basic level.
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wbm
Member
I put Danish Oil on one of my Savage walnut stocks. Good/Bad?
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Scooter22
Member
Make sure the finish you use is rated for Exterior. If you look at the fine print on many of these commercial concoctions it will say "Interior use only" or something similar. And many aren't really the true mix of what they are named after. Another thing mentioned. Many of these finishes have Mineral oil. That is NOT what you want in wood except cutting boards, wood handle kitchen tools ect. It will get under wood finishes and lift them and stop others from properly adhering to the wood. It's a contaminate. There was a guy on Rimfire Central who was a top guy his entire career in the pain/t finish industry. He posted much info of wood finishes. Look up his user name, NOREMF. He was a Nam vet so some of you may know what his name means. George was a great guy with tons of great info. If you go to the trouble of refinshing a wood stock, use the proper finish so it comes out proper and lasts. I'm waiting for the first post to say use Hemp or CBC oil. Makes you happy and stops recoil pain. Just lick the stock.
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I was recently reminded when a piece of wood finished in boiled linseed oil dropped on the floor and hit the corner edge of a metal object. The wood had a ding. All I had to do was a little filing and sanding to smooth out the edges and reapply boiled linseed oil in that spot only. The ding is there and still noticeable but blends in and looks good. I prefer near perfect, despite that, the ding does add character even if it's not perfect. Applying boiled linseed oil to the blemished area went a long way even though the ding was too deep to just sand flat.
Boiled Linseed Oil type finishes are easy to refinish since all you do is reapply to the damaged area only. If the damage is shallow you just wipe it on without any sanding. That is another advantage.
Boiled Linseed Oil type finishes are easy to refinish since all you do is reapply to the damaged area only. If the damage is shallow you just wipe it on without any sanding. That is another advantage.
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