Linseed Oil will NOT soak...

[Magno]

I decided to post this in BP since I guess it's the closest thing to a wooden furniture board on this site.

I've reworked two sets of gun furniture now. Boiled linseed oil is my preffered finish.

The first set I worked on was some type of birch, and, after staining, this wood soaked up the BLO quite effectively for 5-6 coats.

My second set is an unknown wood. All I know is it is Brazillian and it is a mid-brown color. This wood, after staining, won't soak up anything. My first coat of BLO sat on the wood for two days and barely looked dry at all.

What should I think?

 

[BCRider]

Mid brown almost sounds like it could be cocobolo. Is it heavy as all get out?

In any event if it's not soaking up any oil then that is because it's either an oily wood which has no need of further oil or it was coated with some sort of varnish or other drying oil and it's not ready to take any further oil into the grain.

Generally I don't like to stain woods that have good colour of their own. Any stain will cloud the original grain unless it's a transparent dyed oil stain that looks like "KoolAid". Minwax used to make such stains but I haven't seen this style of stain for some time now. They've switched over to the pigmented stains which color the wood much the same as "watered down paint" would do and those are the ones that tend to muddy up the grain clarity.

In any event if the wood isn't "thirsty" then it's happily sealed already. Wipe it off before the boiled linseed turns into a sticky mess and call it done.

 

[arcticap]

I wonder if it's one of the super hard Brazilian ironwoods that are used for flooring and decks. Is it as hard as cement?
If it is it could Ipe (Brazilian walnut or ironwood) or Cumaru (Brazilian Teak) which is the next hardest.

These are recommended to be oiled with PENOFIN® Penetrating Oil Finish or a similar Brazilian hardwood oil finish product which can be looked up on the internet under "Ipe stains" or “Ipe decking stains”.

http://www.mataverdedecking.com/care_and_maintenance.html

http://www.mataverdedecking.com/

 

[o Unforgiven o]

A few months back I had to re-handle one of my axe's. The wood was old growth hickory, and I had to use 3 coats of stain to even start to change the color. Well 2 days and 11 coats total got me a beautiful light brown handle that was no where near as dark as the can of Minwax Special Walnut but still looked great, and brought out the grain.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

BLO layed for two days on the surface without drying? Are you sure it is boiled?

I prefer to use something like "linspeed" on indoor stuff and stocks because it is faster drying, but I have used BLO on many things, including out door wooden furniture. Plain linseed oil has taken a week or two to dry, but BLO usually dries in about 24 to 36 hours. At least on the surface.

 

[frontiergander]

Did you rub it in by hand?

The way i do BLO finish is by using as little oil as possible, rub it into the stock in sections and after 24 hours, wipe off excess oil and rub it again.

Got to rub until your hands are burning hot.

 

[mr16ga]

you are supposed to mix some turpentine with the linseed oil for oil finishing wood.
Linseed Oils make an excellent furniture polish. I have made my own for years. mix more Turpentine for hard wood to help it sink in. this stuff does not keep well only mix small quantities most of the time I use a jigger and make a 3 jigger batch. Keep in in a tightly sealed can. Rub it on with your fingers and wipe off all that does not sink in let sit at least a day between coats. Good stuff last several years, 3 to 5 years before a renewal coat is needed.
Safety: Don't use near fire.

Basic recipe:
1.Mix two parts of Pale Boiled Linseed Oil or Raw Linseed Oil with one part of Turpentine

 

[Indian Outlaw]

Mix two parts of Pale Boiled Linseed Oil or Raw Linseed Oil with one part of Turpentine

Or, for lazy folks like me, go out and buy some Watco Danish Oil.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

you are supposed to mix some turpentine with the linseed oil for oil finishing wood.

I've never used any turpentine. I have used odorless mineral spirits for wet sanding dried layers of Tru-Oil before adding more layers.

 

[Jaymo]

I don't use linseed much anymore. Tung and teak oil are better in every way.

 

[mr16ga]

I don't use linseed much anymore. Tung and teak oil are better in every way.

I kind of agree with that.

The modern products seem to hold up longer but none of them last for ever. I was looking at some small boxes I finished back around 93 with Danish oil and sat mostly in a store room with out being handled much and all of them need to be re-oiled.

I have a rifle stock project going right now I am using Lin-Speed on. a new stock for a .30-40 Govt. It is going to look nice after about 10 coats and a lot of rubbing by hand. If you never seen it before here is the url: http://lin-speed.com/ I don't have anything to do with the company I just like the product.

 

[06]

Bought a can of boiled today. Have a couple of stocks(4) on old military shooters that are in need of some attention. The finish on the 1917 has bubbled up and looks terrible. Will take some serious sanding to clean up that mess. May try a stripper on a small spot first--getting lazy, I know. Did an M14 stock once that turned out very nice--had a lot more time to rub it also. Wonder if a polisher would do good for the task--anyone tried it?

 

[dirtyjim]

one of the tricks to using blo is giving the first coat sufficient drying time.
if you do not do this the rest of the coats will not fully harden.
i do my first coat then sit the stock in the corner for 2 to 3 weeks. i then seal the stock and left it sit for another week.
after that i'll do a coat a day for about a week, i let the coat sit for about 30 minutes the rub it in.
if your in a hurry you can add 4 or 5 drops of cobalt dryer to the blo, but only add it to a a small amount of the blo that you are using on the stock that day and wear gloves.

time is the best stock finisher there is.
H&H still uses blo on their rifles & shotguns

 

[bigedp51]

95% of all American boiled linseed oil is toxic and is NOT to be rubbed on bare handed. The fake BLO is nothing more than raw linseed oil with resins added as a binder plus driers.

Real actual boiled linseed oil is heated in a sealed vat and the heating action makes the linseed oil form into long molecular chains and plasticizing the oil. This binding action makes the oil more water resistant and harder when dry.

Anytime you buy a product check the MSDS sheets for contents and toxicity.

Sonnyside boiled linseed oil, Fake BLO and not boiled and toxic



Go to a craft store and buy artist oil painting supplies.

Below Grumbacher Linseed Oil, 100% pure raw linseed oil with nothing added.



Below MSDS sheet for Grumbacher Linseed Oil.

http://www.grumbacherart.com/assets/pdf/msds/Mediums/554_558_592.pdf


Below Grumbacher Stand Oil (Real Boiled Linseed Oil)



MSDS sheet for stand oil

http://www.grumbacherart.com/assets/pdf/msds/Mediums/566_StandOil.pdf


Linseed oil info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil

Stand Oil

Stand oil is generated by heating linseed oil near 300 °C for a few days in the complete absence of air. Under these conditions, the polyunsaturated fatty esters convert to conjugated dienes, which then undergo Diels-Alder reactions, leading to crosslinking. The product, which is highly viscous, gives highly uniform coatings that "dry" to more elastic coatings than linseed oil itself.

Below two Enfield stocks, on the left is actual boiled linseed oil and on the right is raw linseed oil that was applied to all issued military Enfields. The Enfield on the left was used in competition and was given several coats of boiled linseed oil as added protection from the element's and to help accuracy and constant bedding pressures.



Below pure raw linseed oil mixed 50/50 with turpentine a evaporative oil made from the sap of pine trees. (natural wood oil)



The best stains for wood stocks are water or alcohol base stains. Oil base stains will seal the wood and prevent the oil from penetrating into the wood.

 

[Magno]

Thanks for all the helpful information guys. I think I've narrowed the wood down to either Brazilian walnut or Brazilian cherry. I can't really tell much further.

It seems like varnish was the culprit. As someone pointed out early in the thread, the wood was varnished. However I had sanded all of this finish off so I guessed it wouldn't be a problem, but I suppose it was.

At any rate, I've been leaving the stock out in the sun for the past couple of days. It seems to be drying out pretty well, so hopefully I will try the BLO again.

 

[Maj Dad]

Jaymo,
Do you used boiled/whatever tung varnish or raw tung? I have both raw tung oil and "tung oil varnish", Formby' and a couple others. I also use Watco Danish clear initially, then one of the others after a good week or so drying (BLO, Tru-Oil etc). I'm currently finishing a nice hickory tomahawk handle for a buddy, and the Formby's TO varnish looks beautiful and is as hard as stone, but I'm sanding/steel wooling it off so I can fill the pores. What would you choose for the final coating or two?
Many thanks,
George Jacoby

 

[Olympus]

I've ran into the same problem on various types of wood when making grips. I've found that rubbing down the raw wood with lacquer thinner a few times will remove any oils or residue from the inside the wood and it will take the finish much better.

 

[BCRider]

Exactly, you sanded off the surface film but you still have the little "pins" and "lumps" of dried varnish sealing off the openings that is what the "grain" of the wood is. To get rid of that and open up the grain to accept an oil finish more properley you'd need to use a stripper or some other solvent that would dissolve or soften the varnish in the grain and allow it to be flushed away.

 

[Magno]

Hmm, that sounds like a good idea.

Here's the real question though; can I use lacquer thinner AFTER doing the BLO?

I've been letting a coat sit for a few days now and it has soaked in a bit, although it's still not "working" properly.
At this point, with stain and a partial BLO finish, will using lacquer thinner trash it?
I'd like to do it still, if I could...

 

[Olympus]

Yes, the lacquer thinner will take off anything you have already applied. But if you're not happy with the results, starting fresh may be the better option.


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