Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Penetrol question.

Has anyone used Penetrol to seal the barrel channel on a wood stock, if so then were there any issues?

Worked fine, painted on, wiped off after 20 minutes, dried quickly and added definition to the wood grain.

I took the opportunity to do this as I was putting a new pad on a 1958 Brno model 5.









Pictures were taken in full sunlight so are a bit bright and glary.


I use the Penetrol on my trailer and tools and noted that it set fairly well, yesterday I mixed it with raw linseed oil and sprayed the table and chairs in the picture, the oil has pretty much hardened overnight and it doesn't have the overwhelming linseed odour that seems to persist for ages.

I have never heard of it used in this type of application but it appears to work quite well. I will take notes next time I weather seal a barrel channel. The guy that repainted the baseboards in our house applied it to the oil based paint so it could brush easier and smoother.

Nice job on the Recoil pad BTW

Thank you.

The Penetrol makes an excellent thinner for hammertone paint so I decided to give it a try with raw linseed, it must have a lot of Terebine or similar in it as it sets practically overnight, by comparison the raw linseed I used on the bedside setting still stank and was moist after four weeks, I sprayed it with straight Penetrol yesterday as well and the smell has almost gone and there is no 'dampness'.

What really interests me is the possibility of using it on the metal work below the stockline, for when cured it reminds me of the 'varnish' finish old English rifles wore.

Another good use for Penetrol is reviving the gloss on any surface that was originally painted with oil base paint. A 50/50 mix of Penetrol and mineral spirits wiped on faded chalky surfaces makes them look like new.

That is definitely worth knowing.

Penetrol sounds like it would be the brand name for a whole 'nuther class of product.

Penetrol is a product I've used for thirty plus years and it's not what many people think it is. First it's not a thinner but a paint conditioner that was targeted toward high end brush applicators wanting a 'wet edge' extender. It essentially acted like ball bearings for brush painters looking for better flow and handling. But Penetrol was also a great rust inhibitor used primarily in Europe where the fishing fleets bought it as ' Floetrol" which the Flood Company marketed under that name. My wife was able to run some lab tests on this product back in the 80's using mass spectrometry and found high levels of fish oil. On rusty metal it's a great product that seals and retards further wastage by sealing off oxygen and moisture. I've used it on everything from snowplow frames to you name it. And finally it is a product that will penetrate, cure and stabilize most woods short of the most highly resinous tropicals. I can not see any downside to using this product with wood stocks.

MSDS shows mostly Coconut Oil and saponifiers. Sure seems to work though.

I use it often in My line of work as thinner for Marine finishes. It also does a beautiful job restoring the dull plastic trim on vehicles.

Just an update on this thread, when I applied Penetrol to the stock in July last year I also cut a set of bridge mounts to make them into a set of two piece mounts (which have sat on my desk near an open window since), I wiped a bit of Penetrol on the raw steel and then hastily wiped it off within a minute of application as I remembered I had to blue the cut steel, fast forward to today and I degreased and attempted to blue the raw steel...the bluing liquid would not touch the raw steel and I had to vigorously apply ooo steel wool to cut any residual Penetrol from the steel surface.

After this the steel blued immediately.


Just the faintest smear of Penetrol had stopped the bluing liquid from touching the steel so I am of the opinion that it would be worth while applying the Penetrol to all exterior metal surfaces on my firearms.

Added as courtesy for those who hunt blue rifles.

Thanks for the info. A poster on this thread alluded to Penetrol containing coconut oil, that is one of the ingredients of Frog Lube as well . I have some wood trim on the outside of my house that can get weathered, I am going to try this stuff on it .

Never used Penetrol, but for sealing the inside of barrel channels or other areas of raw wood that might need sealing, I've always just used clear polyurethane. Seems to have worked fine.

MM

If I ever get to hunt Hawaii I will slather Coconut Oil or Penetrol on my rifle. Need to look into this more as it seems to work with low VOCs and little or no toxics other than the carrier solvent.