Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Tru Oil not drying?

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It is easy to make your own finish which will compete with Tru-Oil, on any metric.

My standard "quick and dirty" finish is a 4oz can of spar varnish and 4oz of oil from a paint or art store. Apply a couple coats of varnish... apply heavy, wait 10 minutes and wipe completely dry. Top off the varnish with oil. Repeat until happy.

As the oil replaces the varnish the finish improves, yet has a good base of varnish.

I used to think the same about Truoil once it got thick or old but I'm reevaluating my opinion since the last couple stocks I've done. I bought a new bottle of Truoil about a year ago because my existing bottle was getting old and a bit thick so I inverted the bottle and started prepping a couple stocks. After a few days of prep work and carving on a couple stocks I opened the old bottle and used it on both stocks and it worked perfectly but took a bit more care to lay down with my "one drop on the finger" method. I do filter it through a paint filter or other media to get the chunks out of it and sometimes use a small amount of paint thinner stirred into a small amount of Truoil to thin it out so it will filter more quickly. I also started using a trick someone taught me few years ago- open the top and just poke a small hole with a pin or a ball point pen point in the foil seal so you don't get a lot of air exposed to the oil at once. I dribble out enough into a bottle cap or something similar to do the job at hand and toss any left over in the cap after a coat is done. Both of the stocks came out perfectly and the Truoil worked as it always has. I can see where the thickened Truoil would be a problem if you believe in the "flood it on and wipe it off" method, but I was able to put several coats on a day like usual .
Now that the bottle is down to just a few tablespoons of material I may finally dump it if it isn't pliant enough to filter and use properly, but I have had pretty good use out of the older Truoil by doing it this way. I guess you could call me a cheapskate, but often I've found it isn't available when I need it , so I stretch my supplies as long as I can.

You write this as if it takes the entire $8 bottle of drier to "resurrect" the $6 bottle of Tru-Oil.....it does not. In fact, Japan Drier is used very, very sparingly. That $8 bottle will literally "resurrect" gallons of any oil based paint or varnish product. I still have half the can of drier I got 20 years ago and it still works fine. About a 1/4 teaspoon to the entire bottle of Tru-oil is plenty. Given the amount of Tru-Oil it has saved for me over the last 20 some odd years that was $8 measly ass dollars well spent!!!!!

I’ve had japan dryer on the shelf for 30 years, and still good. It can save the day from having to run to town .

I was taught that IF you do need to thin TruOil for some reason VMP&Naptha is the thing to use. I find it does work better than "paint thinner".

Stands to reason because I use naptha to thin my Epifanes spar varnish. A little bit of it goes a long way too. Increases "flow" and self-leveling of the varnish to mitigate brush marks. I brush, not spray, and on long objects with cambers and radii I built a jerry-rigged rotisserie to slowly revolve them to forestall runs/sags/curtains for as long as needed until the coat of varnish flashes over and is self sustaining in that regard.

I will have to write this down somewhere- honestly. I've heard it before but seem to forget by time I am in need of this advice . For the amount of material we are talking about I only need a few drops of thinner and I use the old fashioned real thinner, not the new, non aromatic nonsense that is sold in most places now. Haven't noticed any issues with the finish yet- have any of you tried it and noticed any anomalies?

Minwax Antique Oil is essentially the same. Cheaper, a bit thinner, drys easier and nicer to work with imo.

Try not to read things into it, I understand it wouldn't take the whole bottle. I meant to infer that if I'm going to have to drive into town to buy something to finish this project, it would be a new bottle of Tru Oil. I appreciate your suggestions and if I had some drier on hand I would've tried it. I do have thinner on hand, hence my original post.



Good to know, I haven't tried that one. Formbys used to have a matte "tung oil" finish that worked really well.

To get matte they add silica dust which disrupts the surface as it cures. It also weakens it and greatly reduces water resistance.

The Minwax Antique Oil used to have very low solids and lots of solvents. Have not checked it lately. It was best for adding coats of finish to old furniture, especially after using a solvent wash to soften the old and allow the finishes to blend.

How tough compared to Tru Oil?

Brownells Pro Oil is Tung oil/Urethane. It’s slower drying but tougher than Tru Oil.

I start with Pro Oil, use Tru Oil for fill, finish with Pro Oil.

DF

Neither is particularly tough. Ease of repair is where both shine. CA glue and epoxy are the kings of tough finishes.

Yup, one of the small trade offs for the ease of use of Truoil is the fact it isn't a really robust finish, so it scratches relatively easily and wears down noticeably with field use. However, it is extremely easy to repair in a short session back to new condition. I use it often over a couple sprayed epoxy finished gun stocks I have. I've fallen several times with one stock and it got some star cracks in the epoxy finish. Sanded it down a bit and rubbed in some Truoil over the top of the damage and it disappears like it was never there. This is quite handy as I tend to find tree roots with my toes often and tend to be a klutz when I get tired...

Unrelated, mostly.

Sitka,
Would the Minwax work well on a kitchen table?
We have a 20 year old oak table that shows a lot of suppers.
Not beat to hell, just thing finish.
I'd love to smear a new finish on it without stripping, sanding, staining...

Dunno about Art, but I would try it. Nothing beats a try but a failure!

Yes, it would. The right plan would be a bunch of washing with hot soapy water and a stiff brush. Do not let it sit with water on it, just attack it with the soapy brush. Rinse and dry. Make sure it is dry before the next step. Sunshine, heat gun or hairdryer.

Fix any big dings.

Then a solvent wash... lots of different stuff works, but Formby's Furniture Restorer is very good. Just a quick rubdown to get deeper dirt and produce a bit of tooth for the next finish. Then apply the Minwax heavy and wipe completely dry after 15 minutes. Let dry until no tackiness is felt... lather, rinse, repeat until happy.

I always follow these thread with interest and always think of other products that may, or may not work. One of the books I have from a well known stock maker mentioned Waterlox as a sealer, filler, and top coat. Waterlox is a pain in that once you open a can, if care is not taken, it gels and goes bad rather quickly. The company does sell it in 2 oz containers. I did start to use it on a Ruger #1 set, but never got around to finishing that set.

The epoxy route is really interesting and I am wondering if the CPES (clear penetrating epoxy sealer) would be a good choice. It is water thin when mixed. I used it on a boat project once and it seemed to penetrate the wood supports pretty well. Being as thin as it is, it might be easier to deal with over the normal epoxies.

For the table question.
I do build custom furniture as a side gig, been doing it for 20 years. I use the MinWax Antique Oil a lot as a base, ut on larger pieces, it normally gets top coated with something else. I have been building or refinishing a lot of desks and tables lately. After trying lots of various products, I have narrowed it down to one top coat for most table/desk tops. Varthane oil based poly in a rattle can. And before anyone laughs about rattle-can finish, this product simply works. It lays down nice with about 4 to 5 light coats. Usually only needs sanded after the initial coat. Does not leave water marks, is supper tough, and is not hard to get a great looking finish. It also plays well with the Antique Oil.

Years ago I refinished a old oak kitchen table for a friend. Used a professional water based product from General Finishes. For what ever reason, it failed. I suspect the owner may have used a wrong product to clean, but not sure. I refinished it again 2 years ago with the Varthane rattle can top coat, and the owner remains very happy with it. Her husband does my taxidermy, and traded labor for a deer mount for the initial finish job so I had to make sure to keep them happy.

Thank you sir.

Had been thinking about trying different finishes on a chair rung.
In case it went to crap.

Appreciate a better plan!

I don’t think either of the finishes mentioned are really tough. They repel water to a degree but I wouldn’t use them for the bottom of a boat. A tough finish is imo hard to repair without stripping the entire stock. The worst factory finish I have seen is on a Kimber classic select. It easily stains with water, and the minwax antique oil is absolutely much better. Is it as tough as the DuPont RKW finish? No, but it is easier to work with and much nicer in the end.