Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Tru-Oil over Linseed.

I am refinishing a stock for a Win 70.

Local antique restoration company striped the old finish, added a very nice reddish brown stain, and had me start finishing in Linseed oil.

My first 3 coats were a 50/50 mix with mineral spirits. Went on okay. Last coat was straigh Linseed oil. stayed tacky for a day. I had waited 2 days between each coat.

I am now considering using Tru-Oil. I am not sure what is blended with the oil, but it looks like a harder finish, and will offer more protection.

I washed the stock yesterday with mineral spirits, and it feels dry. I dont want to use a stripper and remove the stain color.

When the stock is completely dry, can I use Tru-Oil over the linseed?

I would upload picture if I knew how. I can e-mail to somebody if they want to see the stock for other finishing recommendations.

thanks,
Curly.

P.S. I need it to look fairly nice as it will go with a very nice custom satin blue and metal work from Penrod Precision.

Linseed oil is just one of the two oils used in virtually all oil-based finishes, including paints. Chemical "driers" are added to speed the cross-linking (polymerization) of the oil molecules.

Tru-Oil is an oil-based finish with a fair amount of resin and wax added. It will stick to the linseed oil fine if you rough it up with a Scotchbrite pad first. Apply it heavily, allow to sit for 10-15 minutes and wipe completely dry with a clean lint-free rag. Very little finish will stay and coats will build slowly. There is no need to sand between coats except to clean up runs.

Never use old oil, even if it has not been opened, as shelf life is poor. The oil starts to polymerize when tiny amounts of Oxygen come in contact with the oil. Interrupted polymerization causes the long chains to make weak bonds that inhibit Oxygen from breaking and then bonding with when applied and open to air.
art

Thank you Art,

How does Tru-Oil compare to Waterlox. I googled stock finishing, and there were several how to articles that mention Waterlox along with Pilkingtons.

Patience I have. My concern is allowing enough time to work with the finish before it dries. I dont want to rush and get it in the checkering.

I have wiped down the stock again today with mineral spirits, and the color is still there, and the wood just looks dull. When it was wet with the mineral spirits, it look beautiful.

How do I get that without the high shine.

Waterlox makes a bunch of finishes and some are better than Tru-Oil for hardness because they put more resin in the bottle... But in real terms there is little difference between them.

Varathane 66 is similar and extremely good and easy to work with and yellows less than Tru-Oil. Pilkingtons must be pretty good but the few times I attempted to test it, curing was an issue... Simply old oil...

With any oil the idea is to allow the glossy finish to cure fully (30 days) and rub it out with rottenstone and mineral oil on a felt pad.
art

Have you tried any "Tung Oil" I have redone several gunstocks using Linspeed oil and Tru oil and liked the finish I had with tung oil over both of the others. and it was easier .
A man that restores Furniture told me about it years ago and that is all that I have used since that time . I have used it on Pistol grips and Rifle stocks , Fireplace mantles and did some shelves .

Tung oil is just oil and there is no meaningful difference between it and linseed oil. It is all in how it is blended with driers, resins and waxes that makes the real difference.

Any straight oil is worse than useless at "sealing" wood from moisture. Bare wood will absorb atmospheric water more slowly...
art

good info. I guess thats why it's worked ok for me here in Texas where it's a lot Dryer that where You are at in Alaska . You get to see what moisture does to wood a lot more than we do down here and your climate is just a little more severe. ha boy thats an understatement , and I quit using wood stocks several yrs. ago when I started using fiberglass rifle stocks .

Right now our air is considerably drier than TX air, though I can look out the window and see ocean at the foot of the hill. Freezing at night knocks the water right out of our air before it gets inside and drops in RH like a stone...

Regarding "old oil" a furniture restorer I met one time said that as you use the product from the can or bottle, add marbles to the container to take up as much of the air space as you can. Extends the shelf life.

Also, another related question for Sitka: Would adding Japan Dryer to the oil-based product speed up the hardening process? Don

Okay,

Now that I understand tung oil or linseed are just media to impregnate the stock with solids to help seal it, my next question would then be which is better for not yellowing and or darkening over time.

I am happy with the color, and don't want it to yellow. I also need an oil finish that does not request the sanding to fill the pores. I don't want to lose any of the stain color.

I've got the opposite question -- hopefully Sitka will respond: I LIKE the yellowing/darkening over time, and am hesitant to use Tru-Oil because the manufacturer states that it DOESN'T yellow. Is it really the case that it won't yellow? How about the tung-oil modified stuff like Waterlox or Permalyn?

Dons1
Adding marbles or inerting the air with N2 will slow the process with oil some, but once Oxygen hits oil it starts to bind with it and "starts the clock".

Actually, oil that is allowed to film over has been shown to last longer than oils with reduced access to Oxygen. But that is arguable. The idea being the polymerization stays at the top and compromised oil is not wiped on the wood...

Japan drier used to be heavy metal based and is now simply accelerants and viscosity reducers. It might help, but good oil has enough in there already and it probably does not need it. I have added some to old oil and thought it worked, but I am sure the formulas have changed since I tried it. Now I insist on fresh oil and I test it before using it on a stock. The old once biten thing...
art

All oils will yellow, no exceptions. Tru-Oil is my favorite finish for myrtle because I love the way the colors are enhanced by it... YMMV. I prefer Varathane 66 for walnut and most everything else, but it has been impossible to find for some time now.

It really is impossible to know which oil you actually get with any finish. Even "pure tung oil" is allowed a liseed oil cut.

I do not use sanding slurry to fill pores as the old traditional methods do. It kills luster and it is easy to see on a sample board. I fill with epoxy because it is fairly clear and fills prefectly and relatively easily and maintains depth. Silica-based fillers do not "kill" luster, but rather add some of their own... I do not like that and do not use it for that reason. It is much easier and IMO better than sanding slurry however.

For absolute clarity, non-yellowing, sealing and weather-proofing superglue is impossible to beat, IMO. I intend to finish my next stock with it just to try it. I have run a few tests on samples and am satisfied it will work. Paul Dressell has used it quite a bit and he cautioned me it shrinks the wood a tiny amount and keeping your inletting a little proud is required... I would NOT try superglue on a refinish job.
art

Art,
I know there was a thread about the epoxy. What product is commercially available that has the epoxys. How hard is it to apply.
Can they be applied without problems involving the checkering, and without sanding?
Is the epoxy used with an oil as a media to get it into the wood, or a separate application.

thanks,
Curly

Curly
I do not use epoxy on refinishing. The pores are too plugged for reasonable penetration. I only use it on original finishes.

I have written the process out a number of times and it should be findable with the search function.
art

Thank you all,

At this is a refinish, epoxy is out. I did pick up some Tru-Oil tonight, and will try that.

The directions say to apply liberaly and let dry, then steel wool it. Some posters say to thin with mineral spirits, and apply multiple thin coats.

Any concensious on how to apply?

Curly, I've read Sitka's posts stating not to use steel wool. I think he said he uses something like a Scotchbrite pad -- hopefully, he'll respond.

BTW Sitka, I really appreciate you sharing you wealth of experience with some of us rookies/amatures. Thank you!

Oil should be applied fairly generously, allowed to sit for 10-15 minutes and wiped dry with a clean rag. No need to thin. If your oil is so old you need to thin it, pitch it! Or keep it for base coats in less demanding work.

NO STEEL WOOL! It le4aves tiny shreds that will rust and freckle. They may be small, but they kill luster.

Rubbed out coats and several of them works.
art

Sitka Deer:

Odd that you mentioned super glue for a stock finish. I make pens (writing instruments) from exotic woods and also deer antler. I finish the wood and antler with superglue, and I have been thinking that it might be a good stock finish, but I haven't tried it.

If you want to do a search, there is a web site called penturners.com. There are pictures and lots of information on superglue finishing, only it is called CA on the site. CA stands for the stuff superglue is made from.

Some of the pens I made are pictured on the site. If you are interested in seeing some of mine, search the album part of the forum. My log on name is RobertR, and the pens will be in my album. I would post pictures, but I don't know how.

As an aside, do you have any experience with a finish called Slackum, or Slockum, not sure of the spelling. It is used by some of the English gunmakers.

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I have a couple wood lathes and have spent a great deal of time turning, still do. Have turned more than a few pens in wood, ivory, horn, antler and whatever... I will take a look at your site.

Slackum is a finish, basically just oil of unknown origin used like any other oil. It tends to run very thick and light in resins. Usually it is tinted with alkanet root for the reddish stains the Brits seem to favor. I saw nothing special about it in any way.
art