Refinishing with Boiled Linseed Oil

[maskedman504]

When I was looking around the 'net about ways to refinish rifle stocks, it appeared there was two camps as far as oil finish is concerned: boiled linseed oil and tung oil. After reading alot of impressions, I went with boiled linseed oil and I could not be happier. I read somewhere this quotation:

"Once a day for a week, once a week for a month and then once a month forever."

After progessing into the once a month stage, I am totally pleased with the results.

I was wondering, however, how many of you are proponents of tung oil finishes? I have no experience with tung oil and am about to purchase my next milsurp project for refinishing. I am not interested in returning the rifle to 'original' form, only in refinishing is beautifully. Can some of you provide me with some tung oil finished rifle pictures and with your opinion on the benefits of each type of oil? Thank you in advance.

My SKS after ~20 coats of linseed oil:

 

[cuervo]

I prefer tung oil because I feel that it seals the wood better, more like a shell than a stain. Very good sweat resistance.

It requires fewer coats (the most I've ever put on was 4 coats with light sanding in between) and I've never had to come back and add another coat down the line.

Sorry, no pictures, but just about every CMP rifle I've bought has been refinished with Minwax stain and tung oil.

 

[Max C.]

The nice thing about Tung oil is you shouldn't have to re-coat it ever, unless dirt and hand oils adulterate the finish. I usually use it to redo wood practice weapons at work (Martial Arts related). Tung oil does darken the wood a bit. I'm not sure if linseed oil affects the color or not. It dries rather quickly and any tackiness usually goes away after a day. You can repeat coats every hour or so (with some types of wood, it can be after as little as 20 minutes). Neither seals the pours of the wood completely which is why I like using polyurethane to seal the wood after applying any stain or oil. Varathane makes a nice oil-safe polyurethane in Satin through High-Gloss.

On my last project I stripped the shellac off the stock, sanded it to 220 grit, and simply used polyurethane semigloss over a light coat of mink oil (very lightly patina-ed the wood). I'll have to experiment to see if I can reproduce the results without my initial screwup, but basically I put a coat on (which took to the wood really well and looked great), read the instructions wrong and put a second coat on too early, stripped the stuff off when it was "soft" and then applied two more light coats. After an 80-120-220-320-400-600 sand job, the stock has a nice even, smooth, and very tough/scratch resistant finish that only has a slight sheen (polyurethane needs a much higher grit in order to shine brilliantly). The sandpaper was what I had on hand and not ridiculously meticulous by design. 80(for drips)-220-400-600 would have worked just fine.

I'm not sure if the initial screwup helped set the material better as I've never been able to get as thick/even a layer of polyurethane or if the ancient laminated Birch stock from my Mosin made a difference. If I had a half decent camera I'd post pictures (sorry guys).

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I can see the pores from Alaska. take a THIN linseed oil [not GB] and soak a 0000 steel wool pad in it and bring the finish down to the surface of the wood. Wipe off with paper towels and give a day or so. At this point you have filled the pores,so apply coats of Dem-Bart oil and wipe them down wth paper towels.This fills in the small scraches from the 0000.

 

[Storm]

Once a month forever? No way Jose! I know that BLO is authentic for many milsurps, but I prefer tung oil (not even the pure stuff) or Watco's Danish Oil Finish. Watco's has given me some great tough finishes. Put a coat of Birchwood Casey gun stock wax over that and you are good to go for a long, long time.

That said, if I had a very valuable milsurp where the original finish was BLO I wouldn't hesitate to use it.

 

[maskedman504]

Once a month forever?

Hm.

Maybe is was once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year and once a year forever?

 

[Storm]

Maybe is was once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year and once a year forever?

That sounds much better.

 

[maskedman504]

I suppose I will try tung oil for my next project; is polyurethane a viable finish? I have never applied it to a rifle stock.

 

[kanook]

have you looked at Linspeed Oil? I've used that with great success over the years. I don't have any before pics, so my after pics won't mean squat.

 

[jcwit]

Minwax Antique Oil Finish, very similar to Birchwood Casy's Tru-Oil. You can go with a flat/sheen finish to a high gloss depending on the coats. Won't chip and crack like a poly/varnish finish coat and it in the wood like BLO.

Plus non of that once a month for life, I've got more important things to do that that for the rest of my life. Also BLO doesn't give true waterproofing to your stock.

New technology is great, in this case.

 

[loadedround]

I have used both and am pleased with both finishes. However Tung Oil seems to give the stock a harder finish with less work. Another benefit of Tung Oil is that it's available in both gloss and matte finish depending on your preference. I happen to be using Formby's Tung Oil available at any hardware store or home center.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

I have worked with Tung Oil, Linseed Oil, Polyurethane, and Velvit Oil. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Tung oil dries very quickly and becomes sticky as it dries. You have to apply it in one fell swoop or it will get streaks in the finish. Linseed oil never really dries. If you take your linseed stock into a hot and humid environment you will notice that the wood "sweats." Polyurethane is easy to apply but it shows the flaws so much more due to the high gloss it produces so you need to apply more coats until you don't see flaws anymore. Velvit oil is very slow drying and the most forgiving for beginners. The downside is that you need to let the gun sit for about a month to let the velvit oil fully cure. My preference is a combination. I like using the velvit oil for the base coat build and use the polyurethane finish for the top. It dries rock hard and looks very nice.

 

[krs]

I used boiled linseed almost exclusively but I don't just wipe it on.

For bare wood that's smooth and all finished shaping and sanding I'll start by soaking a stock with the oil - really glopping it on. I let that soak for a day or two until the wood has absorbed as much as it will.

Then I start with light coats rubbed in. I rub with my bare hand until my palm is so hot I'm sure it's blistering and then move to another area, rubbing it until it's hot and I've done the whole stock. Then I let that sit for at least two days and start again with the hot hand rubbing of another light coat. The heat sets the oil and I'm getting a dry satiny surface now.
I keep that up until I like the look then I either put the stock in the sun, up on the roof of my house in the summertime or in one of our ovens with the door open in the winter.

My stocks set up pretty good this way and generally don't bleed in the sun. I've had them bleed in the past and that sucks but it's always been just a day or two of a quick wipe off to use it. Now though I think all the rubbing makes a kind of invisible hard shell under the surface of the wood.

It's time consuming and a lot of work but to my mind for an old gun or for a milsurp rifle there's no quick substitute. I don't like the gloss of tru-oil or other of the varnish type finishes unless the rifle warrants a high gloss or even a hard finish. Most of mine are not like that because I've never cared for gloss guns like Brownings or Weatherby.

This applies only to good Walnut wood. For Beech or other hard woods that are used on cheap guns, new guns, or foriegn guns there's no way to make them look the way I like gunstocks. I've gotten a couple of passable appearances by coloring hardwoods with shoe dye and sealing that "paintjob" in with several coats of tru-oil applied slowly and carefully but they still don't look as rich as walnut can. Tell the truth I hate Beech gunstocks like the non Walnut Swedish Mausers, K31's, and some others. They ought to be left light colored but light colored gunstocks remind me too much of baby poop.

 

[GBExpat]

Be aware that almost all products named "Tung Oil Finish" contain varnish resins and, therefore, produce a hardshell varnish finish rather than a true oil finish.

I have used Minwax Tung Oil Finish on a couple of longguns that need to be weather-resistant and it looks good (not like poly) so long as you only use a couple of light (cut w/MS) on&off apps.

I use Tung Oil on my US Military WWII and later wood-stocked longguns and BLO on all earlier German, Brit, US milsurps ... never more than 4 apps, though, and usually only 3.

 

[longdayjake]

I have used tung oil and I cant stand the finish. It is more for the people that like their guns to look and feel like the floor of a basketball court. BLO is for those people that want to protect their wood yet still feel like they are holding onto a piece of wood rather than a piece of plastic covered wood.

As far as how often to do the BLO coatings I just do it a few times right after I finish the stock and then I only do it again when the stock looks like it might be drying out.

all with BLO. Sorry no before pictures and a couple are well used after the refinishing process.

 

[30Cal]

I like pure tung oil over BLO any day of the week.

It dries, and provides a superior barrier.

The only plus to BLO is that it smells better.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Not to change the subject, but do you know anything about using 'Rotten Stone' to polish a bare wood stock prior to refinishing?

And then, how and what is the best finish to apply, for that authentic hand rubbed oil finish that we all so much love?

has to be weather resistant-

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Use rotten stone on the dried finish( all pores must be filled and sufficient coats of finish applied). Apply with a felt pad moistened with linseed oil sprinkled with rotten stone powder. Buff entire surface lightly for a satin finish. Looks great. I've never used rotton stone on unfinished wood. My finishes of choice are "Tru-oil" and Brownell's Professional blend.

 

[IndianaBoy]

 

[Dr.Rob]

I'bve done the BLO refinishing trick from SurplusRifle.com to 3 different rifles, a modern Savage, a ww2 era Brno Kar98k, and an antique squirrel gun. All came out looking better than they were before and I'm please as hell with the resulting finish.

 

[Storm]

I happen to be using Formby's Tung Oil available at any hardware store or home center.

I've seen folks get scolded for using Formby's tung oil because it isn't pure. I also like Formby's and for me it's pretty much a toss-up between that and Watco's Danish oil finish. Sometimes I've used a combination of both with the Formby's first followed by the Watco's. I find with both of these finishes you can control the amount of gloss by the number of applications. I have used Watco's after the Formby's when I had gotten a bit too much gloss with the Formby's. Watco's tends to have much more of a satin sheen.

As to waterproofing, this is where the Birchwood Casey gun stock wax comes in. It's mighty humid here in Atlanta (today is a prime example) and waterproofing is a very good idea. Birchwood Casey does an excellent job and does very little to nothing to alter the finish underneath. I just did a Steyr M95 and you can't see any difference to the finish after the wax was applied. Plus, it can be stripped without harming the finish underneath (other than shellac). It may not be authentic, but I also wish to preserve my little pieces of history as I use them.

 

[Col. Plink]

Thank you Masked Man!

Very nice results, MaskedMan; I have an SKS that I would like to come out like that. What were your prep steps? Anythin you could share about the process would be greatly appreciated.

I want to make the old stock on my SKS to show itself off, warts and all. It's in pretty rough shape, but it matches and has some inimitable markings from it's Yogoslavian owner, Dado (if I'm reading his etchings right). The color is like yours.

I have heard of folks putting an old stock in the dishwasher, is this really a good idea?

I'm interested in doing whatever prep processes are best, and will likely do a finish that can be done in multiple sessions but not too labor-intensive each time. I know the value of using something that requires, or benefits from, many coats but don't have tons of time to do each coat.

Thanks!

 

[krs]

I don't remember what the correct name for "rotten stone" is off the top of my head, but it isn't "rotten stone". Sounds like "rotten stone" though, and it's used as a final rubout to give a satin finish to a glossy coating.

I've had mixed results with it, generally find #0000 wool easier and less messy to use than rotten.....eggs, er....stone. If I could remember where I left my box of rottinston, or whatever it is I'd be able to provide the correct spelling for it. How am I ever going to sleep until I figure it out? Sheesh. Uncle Mike, I'm gonna' have to kick your ass now for bringing it up.

 

[inclinebench]

I make a finish myself, with a mix of boiled linseed oil and bees wax. I combine 2 parts BLO and 1 part beeswax in a double boiler and let it cook for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes. I let it cool, then use the paste as a rub. I have found that applying it thick, and rubbing it with a rough cloth, then applying again, and once again rubbing with a rough cloth, then buffing with synthetic steel wool has given outstanding results on many of my woodworking projects. I rarely need to touch up.

 

[maskedman504]

Very nice results, MaskedMan; I have an SKS that I would like to come out like that. What were your prep steps? Anythin you could share about the process would be greatly appreciated.

The treatment for the stock I posted was as follows:

- stripped with wood furniture stripper from Home Depot
- baked using a electric space heater; allowed good control of the temp and boiled alot of cosmoline from the stock- made it alot less stinky
- i steamed the stock with a hand portable steamer to clean all the gunk off it
- dried it for ~36 hours
- lightly hand sanded
- red mahogany stain on the wood
- boiled linseed oil coats until satisfied, allow atleast 24 hours between coats


I didn't go for the 'restored' look- I wanted to refinish the rifle and I am really happy with how it turned off. I'll stick to strict restoring when I pickup a mauser or a K31.