Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Snakeoil?

its proprietary... you are not going to find it... its the mix of ingredients that makes it unique... that is the whole point...

Any one ever use this stuff...

Kramer's Antique Improver


I know a very well respected stock smith (lots of antique double gun guys use him) and he sometimes uses this stuff...pretty pricey.

And Randy... Snake oil is not just a Savage 99 group thing... I have seen it for sale at several gun shows...

I make my own gun oil. It's an old soldiers recipe with new ingredients. I use it for oiling and cleaning. It does a great job and a little goes along way. It really spreads out. I have read several posts about snake oil, but have never seen it in these parts.

here's there web page.
snake oil

i have never seen snake oil available in my parts of pennsylvania (northeast pa), maybe i am a weirdo but i have used kroil on my guns for the past 10 years and it works great, especially if you get a rifle with some surface rust some steel wool and the kroil really removes it well.

Kroil?

That stuff would dissolve uranium.

Works great on frozen takedown barrels, but not sure I would be putting that stuff on my gunstocks.

Just sayin'

A product called Varnish Food used to be a stable for those who restored/maintained antique wooden boats. It appears to be long gone but a high grade (expensive) Teak oil can be used to give tired varnish a pick me up. It "feeds" the natural resins in old varnish. The key is very light application as varnished Walnut has a much tighter grain than Teak.
Avoid any product with a petroluem base, must be a wood or nut based oil.

As someone who for much of his adult life made his living restoring/maintaining/building wooden boats, both antique and modern, I can tell you why Varnish Food went away. It was no good. It gave short term improvement to a weathered finish, but didn't last and when it "wore off", so to speak, the varnish was worse than before, necessitating stripping and re-varnishing (which is what usually should have been done in the first place). Truly another example of modern day "Medicine Show Snake Oil". There is no panacea for tired varnish, except maybe waxing it and then you're only protecting it, not "rejuvenating" it.

As far as teak oil is concerned, be advised it does not come from teak trees, as it may have long ago. It is merely a thinned drying oil (often tung oil) with metallic driers added. Again, it is not a panacea for tired varnish. It will look good for a while but in the end the varnish will be worse than when you started. The notion of "feeding" worn out finishes with miracle cures is one that took hold generations ago and people won't let go of it. Short term , long term .

"Varnished walnut has a much tighter grain than teak." Of course you can't get the stuff into the grain of varnished walnut--it's sealed with varnish. If something is strong enough to get at the raw wood under a coat of varnish I think it would properly be called a stripper.

Avoiding petroleum based products on wood is sound advice. When I was a kid a few guys I knew swore up and down that 3-in-1 oil was perfect for stocks. So, I slathered up the stock of my Mossberg .22 autoloader with the stuff. Repeatedly. When the old man finally discovered what I was up to, it was too late. That el-cheapo gun still sits in my safe, offering mute testimony to the fallacy of petroleum products on wood.

Outside of the cost, is there a down side to using snake oil? Just by chance I ordered 3 bottles yesterday.

the cost is not bad seeing as one bottle would last a large collection for MANY years... 3 is probably nearing a lifetime supply depending on your collection size.

What other products are there out there that seemingly like Snake Oil, work equally well on both wood and metal?

the product I listed above claims to but I have no first hand experience.

Would the chance be that there is or isn't a down side?

Boltman,
Years ago I know a lot of people were using "Liquid Gold" on the stocks. It also got on the metal I am sure. I do not know if there is or was any down side.

All,
As to the make up of the "Snakeoil" there should be a MSDS available since it is sold commercially. Usually you can get some idea of the contents from it.

Didn't Rick find something in a hardware store not too long ago that was similar to SO?

One should last you a lifetime on your guns.

Guess you'll have to drink the other two

I use Snakeoil on all my rifles, i have used about 2 bottles so far. i have a few expensive guns and if i had any worrys i wouldn't be using it !! its the best for wood and metal i have found. Don

I have some antique furniture that I was planning on using it besides my guns. It came highly recommended on WinchesterCollector.org

Does the stuff work to ward off rain and snow or does it work like a Murphy Oil Soap? I always thought that was odd (oil and soap). Are we just purdying things or does it act like a rust preventer? Still a haswop sheet should be for the taking unless it's a mix of what's already for sale. Mineral oil, mineral spirits and a scent is easy to brew.

Yes, Professor. I do speculate, when heard only word of mouth presentment. We all do or should! Heck, I used to think fluoride was ok in the drinking water, I used to think a lot of things.

Show me the car facts.