Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Tru Oil not drying?

I'm doing a little touch up on a stock and rubbed on a thin coat of Tru Oil and now after 24 hours it's still tacky. The bottle is a couple years old and 3/4 full from the last project where it worked fine. Will adding a bit of mineral spirits restore the dry time or just trash this bottle and get new? I've used older Tru Oil in the past and didn't experience drying issues.

Yes, toss it.

No, do not try to thin it. Rub it on yard tool handles if you are really frugal. Always use a fresh bottle when starting a project. If the new bottle is even slightly thick return it. Shelf life is not long and some places do not turn it over quickly.

High humidity is a common cause of slow curing.

Thanks Sitka. Yeah I'm frugal (cheap-ass), hate throwing away 3/4 bottle of the stuff but don't want to make a gummy mess if it doesn't cure properly.

I use a drying box. 12" x 14" x 60". 1/2" scrap plywood with a plexiglass window in front door. Screw in light fixture on floor with a 100 watt bulb with thermometer inside. Stocks hung vertically. Temp gets up to around 90 degrees. Also keeps paint smell contained if you are working in basement. Keeps finish clean while drying.

Oil on the stock or oil treated steel wool is a no-no as well

One of the things I like about TruOil is the fast drying properties. I could usually get on a couple thin coats a day so this kinda surprised me. I put the stock out in the screen room in direct sunlight and it seems to be hardening up but it still needs steel wooling and another thin coat or two.

The only way to store TruOil and hope for a respectable shelf life is to eliminate air to it. Once opened the clock starts ticking. An old bottle, 3/4 full is just about junk for a gunstock. You had to poke through a tough skin to get any out I'm betting.

One trick is to poke a pin hole through the foil seal when opening a new bottle. That will provide plenty to work with throughout a project. Squeeze drops out as needed. Put the bottle away with the cap on tight and setting it upside down on the shelf. Some folks drop BB's into it to bring the level up to the mouth of the bottle to eliminate air space.

Do not throw old bottles of Tru-Oil away!!! As long as it is still liquid it can be restored to its fast-drying self easy enough. "all ya gotta do"......{I hate hearing that almost as much as I hate saying it} is add some "Japan Dryer" to the bottle and shake well. You should be able to find Japan Drier at any paint store, hardware stores typically carry it too. I have done this many times and it always works for me. Was told to do this by Birchwood-Casey after I called them with the exact same complaint.
Here is another tip regarding Tru-Oil spray...run hot water over the can and shake it until the contents are nice and warm. Warm up the stock with a hair dryer too just before you spray the final coat, you don't want it "hot" just warm. It won't look any different as you spray it on, but as it sits it will thin out and smooth out into a nice finish. Good luck fellas!!!!

I will agree with msinc. I bought myself a dozen or so small glass colored bottles. They come in a lot of sizes. I think they are either 2 or 4 ozs. When I buy a product, I transfer to the small bottles. Fill to the brim. I got tired of wasted oils and such, plus they are easy to work out of. The colored bottles help block out the sunlight. An old time gunsmith used tru oil and thinned it with gasoline. A true cheap scate. He would use the old bottle first and use a new bottle for finish coats, but all you need is the Japan drier.

I'd give it a try IF I had some Japan drier on hand. Although it does appeal to the Scotch in me, I'm not going out to buy a $8 can of drier to resurrect a $6 bottle of Tru Oil.

Try adding 5 cents worth of gasoline like the old gunsmith that I knew, that has passed on. He swore by it!

Toss it. In future you can do a couple tricks to extend life - store it upside down or inject nitrogen into it as you close the lid, but frankly even those tricks are pretty much just whistling past the graveyard. Fresh components are cheap insurance when finishing a project which you have a ton of labor invested in.

Gnoahhh, you gave the best advice!

Yep, when it gets old chunk it.

Not drying means you need a new bottle.

Been using it for half a century, actually longer.

DF

What does it cost these days? I always tossed it when used once unless I knew another stock was soon behind which happened once in my 40 years of tinkering.

Agree.

It doesn’t cost enough to worry with when it won’t dry.

DF

Went to the LGS to pick up a new bottle this afternoon. Sold out. Will have to call around tomorrow

Check on line.

Midway, etc.

DF

As per usual...