Questions on refinishing a gunstock with linseed oil

[jamestech]

I am currently refinishing a gunstock with a mix of turpentine and boiled linseed oil as per a thread I read here at The Firing Line.

I have applied it liberally then wiped it off , how do I know when it is dry so I can apply another coat?
It does not seem to be drying.

[Walosi]

The going theory (since I learned finishing in 1955) is to apply the oil in very thin layers (just the amount the pad of your fingertip will pick up, spread as far as you can without leaving gaps). Even this thin amount is slow to dry, and in high humidity it can frustrate the @X!!&$ out of you. A dry coat is hard and smooth to the touch - not tacky at all. Steel wool each dried coat down to the wood with 0000 steel wool (there will still be some oil in the grain) and repeat as many times as you feel necessary, to get the grain to show up well. Turp and boiled linseed will give you a good serviceable finish, but not as showy as with the commercial preps like Tru Oil, or others. These dry a bit faster and penetrate the wood a bit better. These formulations also brighten the grain and show it up much better. The clue to your drying problem is, IMO, "liberal application". Heavy applications of turp and boiled linseed that I've used on tool handles has stayed tacky for months.

[jamestech]

Give me a ballpark figure on drying time..say 85% humidity and drying in the sun.

[Southla1]

Another trick is to cut it 50/50 with mineral spirits (paint thinner) and rub it on.

Humidity here is always very high being right on the Gulf Coast like we are, but the hot sun helps some. A few days even in that high humidity will dry it fairly well if the sun is bright and temps are in the 90's.

[Bear Flare]

Here is the way I do it. First, liberal applications will take about a week or more to dry. Linseed oil dries by oxidation, not evaporation, so the stuff that soaks deep into the wood may NEVER dry. Setting in the sun really does not speed up drying more than a warm dry place. Baking it in the sun just bleeds all the uncured oil to the surface actually lengthening dry time.

Apply a light coat BY HAND, rub liberally until you start feeling some heat, remove excess with a lint-free cloth, repeat in 24 hours.

After 3 or 4 coats, do this weekly for a month, then monthly for a year, then yearly for the rest of your life.

Bear Flare

[Walosi]

"85% humidity and drying in the sun" No blapark figure for that situation, and the stock may not fit the gun afterwards anyhoo. Get it out of the sun and humidity, and steel wool it down until you are getting dry sawdust. As Bear Flare said, it may Never dry, and may have already warped or swollen. I have a hall closet which, for some unknown reason, has an air vent in it. The humidty with the AC on is somewhere in the low teens. The finishing I do is kept there until each coat dries, and the drying time will vary depending on which concoction I've applied._Usually_, no more than three days. Again, heavy coats don't accomplish anything. The light "finger dabs" spread continuously over the whole surface, and wooled down, will result in a tough, onion skin layer that protects, lets in light to show off the grain, and is easily touched up when scratched or dented.Even turp and boiled will react to this technique, and it is the least "showy" of any oil finish mix.

[jamestech]

Apply a light coat BY HAND, rub liberally until you start feeling some heat, remove excess with a lint-free cloth, repeat in 24 hours.
>>>>>>>

Thanks.

Do you use 0000 wool between coats as well?

[redneck]

I guess this is a little late, but I wouldn't use linseed or tung oil. They suck. At least in comparison to alot of the new oil/resin based finishes you can get now. I really like Watco's danish oil, its available in natural or colored (walnut, golden oak etc). It penetrates like an oil finish but has a resin mixed in to form a nice build up that hardens in the grain of the wood. Seals and polishes nicely, without the long drying time of plain oil finishes, and never gets gummy (unless you put too much on at once, or have really spongey wood)I use it for knife handles. Last one was bolivian rosewood sanded down to 400 grit beforehand. Wiped on first coat and let it sit. Came back after about 3 hours and buffed it alittle with a rag then wiped on another heavy coat, let it sit, then wrung out the rag and wiped off the excess (with the damp rag) Came back in another 3 hours and wiped on another heavy coat, let it sit for a minute then wiped off excess and rubbed out a nice finish with a dry rag.
Its easy to work with, easy to clean up, only takes 5-10 minutes whenever you have spare time to put a coat on, and offers good protection. Water beads up on my knife handles that are finished with it. Soft woods don't seem to do as well, as hard woods.

[jamestech]

The first thing I tried was some of this..
http://www.howardproducts.com/restora.htm

This might sound stupid but I sanded it off because I could not get an ingredients list anywhere.
I do not like using things that I am not sure of the ingredients...and then they add the Cancer warnings to boot.

..and I almost bought the Watco stuff that sat right next to it. The reason I did not buy the Watco stuff is because the reading material on the container turned me off, I don't remember exactly what but it did not seem suitable for a gunstock. It may well be good stuff but they should hire a better writer, it was just too vauge. Being a beginer when it comes to wood finishing with stains , oil and laquers etc vauge is something I cannot have.
I need to know certain facts before I start rubbing on some crap that I know nothing about.

Now the Boiled Linseed Oil says right on the container that it makes a great gunstock finish plus it was only $4 for a huge can of it.

So far the linseed oil is looking very nice on my inexpensive CZ 452 Beech stock.

[Alex Johnson]

When you get done playing with the boiled linseed oil as a finish give Pilkintons finish a try following his explicit instructions to the letter (even the part about using cheap burger joint napkins), I think once you go about finishing a stock this way you won't bother with plain old linseed ever again. You can finish a stock with this stuff in less than three weeks an have a beautiful low gloss london oil finish with the grain either partly or fully filled. This finish is suitable for exhibition grade wood and won't darken it to the point of obscuring the grain, it won't give the protection of an epoxy finish, but than again who wants a $1200 stick of english walnut glittering like chrome.

[jamestech]

Sounds interesting Alex, do you have a weblink to the Pilkintons finish website?

[Gewehr98]

hand-rubbed over several months, is indeed a thing of beauty. And with all the new polymer-based instantwunderfinishes, it tends to be a lost art, too. Nor would I be subjective enought to say it sucks:

[jamestech]

That's a beauty!

I planned on starting hand rubbing the stock today but should I use the turpentine with the linseed oil?

What is the purpose of mixing up the two?

[Hemicuda]

I'm kinda partial to pure Tung oil,applied by hand, and rubbed out with 0000 steel wool... about 200 THIN coats...

it makes the grain stand upand say "hello" while leaving a hard shiny finish!

[jamestech]

Few more Qs:

It would be nice if I could put the gun back together after I get around 4 or 5 coats on it, will this oil harm the bluing on my barrel?

Also is wax necessary? I suppose if I applied wax right now then the wood would stop taking the oil. I would rather just have the oil on the wood then I can add a coat anytime I want.

[redneck]

I mean that it SUCKS to use. Look at the hoops your jumping through putting on 200 coats. Watcos is made of all natural oils and resins and rubs out just as nicely. Its alot easier to use though. Its a penetrating finish just like the oils. I go with about 6 coats before actually putting a knife to use, but of the ones I've kept they get another coat every month or so and keep getting better. You get the same result, a nice polished filled grain where its still WOOD and not a plastic top coat that scratches off or shines so much theres a glare to it.
Your more than welcome to go 200 rounds with any finish you want, I just thought I'd throw out an alternative to think about.

[4V50 Gary]

Anyone else believe that that Winchester's safety (Browning design) was copied by Kalasnikov?

[9x45]

The rule for applying linseed oil is once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, then once a month for a year. About 6 months along, all the curl will stand out of the wood.

[Gewehr98]

Kalashnikov had plenty of time to copy that safety design, even if it is a REMINGTON Model 8. (Browning patent)

And, no, there aren't 200 coats of boiled linseed oil (BLO) on that black walnut stock. More like 20 on this particular rifle, but I can see being impatient and wanting a finished gun right away. Good things come to those who wait...

[CZ Gunner]

I like to keep in garage/wood shop (partial A/C = less humidity) and with a fan going in the room ... still takes a long time.

(I don't think it would dry until Spring if I left it outside around here!)

Good luck,

Gunner

[Alex Johnson]

You can get pilkingtons at Brownells, Dixie Gun Works, and probably some other places. It's the nicest looking finish I've come across and easy to use if you follow the instructions. The bottle is small, but it will do several stocks since you cut it with mineral spirits.