Wood Refinishing Question

[Aguila Blanca]

Does anyone have experience using linseed oil to finish stocks and furniture? I encountered an odd problem. I refinished the wood handles on a couple of Mauser bayonets. One came out fine, with a nice, hard finish. The other one hasn't set up after about 6 weeks. The surface still feels slightly tacky to the touch.

How can I correct this? Do I need to use a paint stripper to remove the linseed oil and start all over?

 

[Mossyrock]

Linseed oil can be pretty picky stuff. If you didn't get all of the old finish off before applying the new, that may be enough to keep the new oil from curing. I would suggest stripping it and starting over. High humidity can also lengthen the drying time on linseed oil. Is it pure linseed oil, or a commercial mixture of linseed and some other drier?

 

[johnmcl]

Do Over

Hi Hawk,

I agree with Mossy. I had an experience in refinishing a stock with a commercial linseed oil product. It was still wet to the touch days after application, where other applications dried in hours. I re-stripped, re-applied and it was fine.

My guess is there's something under the application, like a finish, that's impeding the oil soaking in.

John

 

[Chipperman]

Try Tung Oil next time. I like it better.

 

[30Cal]

Boiled linseed oil should work fine, but you need to make sure you wipe off the excess, otherwise it will take forever for it to cure. Pure linseed oil may never ever cure.

You can rub in as many coats as you want and you'll get a deeper finish. It will darken (towards red) with time as it oxidizes.

Use a little paint thinner and some steel wool (I prefer the 3M abrasive pads because they don't leave steel whiskers embedded in the pores) and it will get rid of the tackiness. Then give it another go.

I also prefer tung oil. Its a little more durable and seals the wood. The more coats you use, the shinier you'll get (but you can cut the gloss with steel wool after it's dried).

 

[RaggedClaws]

Make sure when you apply it, your rub it in good and remove all the excess. You don't want a coat of BLO sitting on the top of the wood, you want to work it into the wood.

Try some paint thinner, mineral spirits, or turpentine and a stiff cloth w/elbow grease to remove the tackiness.

 

[Cacique500]

+1 for Tung Oil

Pure Tung Oil

 

[Tokugawa]

Birchwood casey "true oil" You can bulid it to a high gloss like a buffed lacquer if you want, or just go to a dull rubbed satin. Tung oil is goood too. Linseed oil has to have driers added to set up hard. I think there are two varietys, "raw", and "boiled". I think the boiled is supposed to have driers already added. That true oil is good stuff though, I finished a koa guitar body with it , sanding with 320 grit and letting the slurry dry in the pores, then wiping all the excess off and it was on a par with a high gloss lacquer.