Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Looking for some advice on a pure tung oil finish

Jeff, you were well advised to use pure tung oil on your project. While tung oil and "boiled" linseed oil are totally interchangeable, it is so only when good linseed oil is used. To even the odds of getting good stuff I make a bee-line to the local art supply store. An added benefit of using their stuff is that they sell oil in small bottles with attendant lessened risk (guarantee) of it going bad before the project is completed or the next project is started.

As for filling pores, I learned loooong ago that filling with sanding slurry is a waste of time and energy for all the reasons Art outlined not to mention durability. But, we are all missing Jeff's point- he's going for a 1920'-1930's vintage Springfield Amory oil finish on his stock. Those folks back then didn't give a horse's patoot about filling pores in that black walnut they used. They used linseed oil and tung oil interchangeably in the process- whichever the procurement officer could get the best deal on at the moment. Into the vat of warm oil the stocks went, waited a few minutes, out they came and wiped down and then the next batch came through. (This I got from an old friend who witnessed it at Springfield when he was in training to be an Army ordinance field artificer early in WWII.)

Were it me when your project is done, I would wax that bare wood (which is essentially what you have after wiping oil on and off- it looks good but with no real protectiveness) with a good paste wax for a bit of protection. Remember the military with their oil finish didn't care that it wasn't the very best wood finish- it was cheap and quick. The Army didn't care that stocks would suffer as a result. Uncle Sam had deep pockets and would just buy you a new one if needs be.

One after-finish treatment that my old ordinance artificer friend showed me was the wax/rejuvenator/waterproofer they were taught to mix and issue the guys in the field for use on their stocks. It consisted of beeswax and oil (take your pick) melted and mixed to give the consistency of shoe polish, with turpentine to adjust the viscosity. Rub on, buff off. It's what I have used for decades to spiff up Springfield stocks. (I like the smell of turpentine, but if you don't just substitute mineral spirits.) Note: be careful when melting the beeswax. Do it in a double boiler or you might have an epic fire emergency.

Another point about stocks of the era which I also failed to mention was boning. Just rubbing the stock carefully and firmly with a piece of bone.

Gary - thanks. I checked my last application this morning and I think I like how its turning out. My last thee applications have been thin skim coats that were rubbed in with my hands. I used no cloth. And by skim I mean that I barely got my hands oily with just enough finish to bring a shine to the wood (like you would get if you wiped it down with water) before I set it aside to dry. Personally, I like the smell of tung oil. My goal was to get a finish that looks like what you see on some of the more better finished rifles from the US arsenals and I think I did it. With a standard issue 03 or 1917 I would have been happy with just getting oil into the wood and calling it a day. But for this one I was shooting for what you would see on a NM or NRA Sporter. That is, something that was just a cut above standard issue and with the M2 I was happy with the grain not being fully filled. My next projects are the NRA Sporter I told you about, a Savage Super Sporter in 250-3000, and a standard issue Remington 1917. This project was a trial run for those as its been a few years since my last stock refinishing projects.

So, for a more historical method of finishing gun stocks, here's what I learned:

1. Use tung oil or a high quality linseed oil from a art supply shop
2 Use spar varnish to fill the grain and don't bother with the "sand to make dough method" for any quality of finish above military grade
3. Don't cut the oil, but put it on full strength from the start
4. Apply the final coats very (and I mean very) thin until they no longer "suck" into the surface of the wood
4. Allow plenty of time for drying between coats (a good reason to have multiple projects in the works)
5. Top off the final product with a good paste wax or for a military grade finish use the beeswax/turpentine concoction mixed to a consistency of shoe polish
6. Be patient and have a snort of good whiskey between each step

This leaves me with one more question about paste waxes. Based on auto projects in the past I learned to stay away from any product that contains silicone as it plays hell with the surface should you ever need to repaint the car. Is there a similar issue with gun stocks?

I appreciate all of your advice and I'll have a snort for each of you. This is a great forum with participants like you guys!

Does this increase or knock down the sheen?

Silicone will contaminate any finish, you'll wind up with a bad case of fish-eye.

Thinning the initial coats with mineral spirits WILL be absorbed a little deeper (wood cell structure does that by capillary action) and has the added benefit of drying the application a bit faster to allow subsequent coats sooner.

Actual testing over many years with many different finishes shows both assumptions to be wrong. The mineral spirits outruns the finish and goes deeper, but the finish does not. In most cases it reduces the finish penetration. It also slows curing of oil finishes rather than speeding them up.

Also, in some non-oil finishes, like epoxies, mineral spirits and acetone will create pores through the finish as the solvents leave, greatly reducing waterproofing.

To test drying speed make two sample cubes and weigh them on a powder scale. Finish them two different ways and monitor their weights... very quick and easy test and then you can prove it for yourself. Penetration is easy to prove by the method I posted earlier.

Good oil with driers will cure very fast... several coats per day is usually possible.

And it will be very hard to eliminate without far more work than the original job.

It is hard to say as it depends on a lot of factors. Basically you are crushing the surface by burnishing.

when I use tung oil I use an applicator, then use my bare hand to rub, when it starts to getting warm, that's tells me its good, when I am satisfied with however many coats I want, I finish with bee's wax or Johnson paste wax.

I suspected this as silicone additives always caused problems with auto body work.

Sitka deer...

Alaska is Alaska so keep doing what works for YOU.

Hey guys, it's all good. We all have our own ways and techniques for doing things. Take me for instance. I had been doing the dumb approach for years until you guys set me straight. My thanks to all. I appreciate it!

Physics remains constant in all 50 states... lab tests back up everything I have posted here and I gave very simple ways to test those tests. In no way did I attack you or your posts beyond pointing out the fact you have fallen for very commonly held myths.

How about you take the few minutes required to show you are correct? If my comments are proven wrong, please call me on it. Nothing personal intended in any way. But I will tell you I have done the tests many times under very controlled conditions and helped many folks from here repeat them for themselves. Not one test has been anything but proof my comments are correct. I apologize in advance for not guessing about applying finish.

No, things work differently in Alaska, radiation from the aurora don't ya know.
Do your research. Sitka is in the mainstream of the experts' writings.

Even if the laws of physics didn't apply in Alaska, would it not behoove the responsible finisher to follow protocols worked out and proven in a harsh environment, making his finished product universally adaptable? (Uh, I better not take my treasured go-to gun on that dream hunt. It was given an oil finish in Santa Fe and it might not withstand the weather swings on the Kenai.)

Got ya there! My tinfoil hat provides a radiation shield because I use a 3' brim!

Radiation an auroras? Meh. Ain't nothing compared to the humidity and heat of a summer on the Chesapeake Bay. That stuff will shrivel your gonads quicker than any wimpy-assed radiation! For that you need hog grease and a Mexican sombrero.

There is saltwater just a block from my front door... But the stifling heat remains well below triple digits. I did turn on the AC a couple days ago at 61F.

Having once called "The Land of Enchantment" home, I can say the state can get high and dry, and in the winter at altitude, cold. It's a great state and if I could have made a living in my chosen career I would have stayed there.