armor-all and tru oil

[nagantguy]

Interesting post, lots of good first hand info. I don't think I'll change how I do stocks, like how they turn out and they last. I'm a painter by trade and armour all on a job site where we are doing wood work would get someone fired, but I am always open to new ideas , tricks. Also I like that this has remained a very civil post. Truoil and linseed are my go to products but I also have used shalacs and spar varnish just depends on what look I want.

[leftiye]

I use tung oil to fill the grain. It takes much fewer coats than when using linseed oil. I finish up with linseed oil (BLO), and then use stock rubbing compound and then more oil and lastly wax.

[gnoahhh]

Please be sure you aren't mistaking the "tung oil finish" that's found in every big box store in the country with pure tung oil. The stuff commonly available is nothing more nor less than a thinned wiping varnish. Read the labels. I have never seen pure tung oil sold in any big box or hardware store. As far as the difference between pure tung oil and linseed oil, there isn't any in the finished product. The pure tung oil will dry quicker than the linseed oil is all, unless you compare it to boiled linseed oil and then it's a toss up. Varnish manufacturers regularly interchange linseed oil and tung oil in their formulas depending on what they get for the best price.

If you're using tung oil to fill the grain, I will bet you're using a "tung oil finish" because it is a wiping varnish. You will get quicker (and better) results by using varnish (or better yet epoxy), and then switching to the oil.

All of that is a moot point when one looks at the poor qualities oil has when it comes to preventing water fenestration in a wooden gun stock. It can't be all bad, you say, if governments the world over used oil to finish military stocks for centuries. Well, the reason they did was it is the cheapest finish available, not the best.

[oldred]

I can tell you about a finish that won't work! Since I do auto/truck painting also I have clear coat automotive urethane paint on hand, some of which is dry enough to rub out in as little as hour or even less. This stuff does not "dry" as such but rather it is a two part mix that chemically hardens after it's mixed. To experiment with it I did an old Winchester 22 that appeared to be Walnut, I say appeared because I honestly could not tell for sure but this was a "two dollar" gun anyway so it didn't matter much. It was very glossy, went on from start to finish in just a little over and hour and it looked great! Within a week patches became dull and then areas of it started coming off. Well so much for the quick dry stuff I thought I would try my high dollar Dupont clear coat on a walnut (for sure this time) forearm, it ended up so slick a fly would have busted his rump trying to land on it but even this super expensive stuff did exactly the same thing as the other clear coat, of course this coating is designed to chemically adhere to a paint substrate and not wood so there really was no reason to expect it to work. Still as the old saying goes "nothing ventured nothing gained" and I just thought I would mention this in case anyone else might be wondering about it.

[rking22]

Thanks for the info on clearcoat. Could save someone some agravation. In the past I researched the finish Browning used on the M52 sporter reissue in the 90s. If I remember correctly it was an automotive finish and also used by a giatar (sp) company. Am I confused or ....???? I have one that needs a DEEP scratch repaired and was looking for compatiability of different repair options. Haven't goten rountoit again

[cuzinbruce]

If you are worried about rust blems from steel wool, try bronze wool. I get it from Tru-Value I think. Does about the same as steel wool but can't rust. Comes in different grades, just as steel wool. Also good for cleaning gun barrels, wrap it around a bore brush. And getting rid of little rust freckles on the outside without destroying the bluing.

[firebrick43]

Brownells also sells a synthetic wool that works well to.

[leftiye]

Please be sure you aren't mistaking the "tung oil finish" that's found in every big box store in the country with pure tung oil. The stuff commonly available is nothing more nor less than a thinned wiping varnish. Read the labels. I have never seen pure tung oil sold in any big box or hardware store. As far as the difference between pure tung oil and linseed oil, there isn't any in the finished product. The pure tung oil will dry quicker than the linseed oil is all, unless you compare it to boiled linseed oil and then it's a toss up. Varnish manufacturers regularly interchange linseed oil and tung oil in their formulas depending on what they get for the best price.

If you're using tung oil to fill the grain, I will bet you're using a "tung oil finish" because it is a wiping varnish. You will get quicker (and better) results by using varnish (or better yet epoxy), and then switching to the oil.

All of that is a moot point when one looks at the poor qualities oil has when it comes to preventing water fenestration in a wooden gun stock. It can't be all bad, you say, if governments the world over used oil to finish military stocks for centuries. Well, the reason they did was it is the cheapest finish available, not the best.

You bet wrong. Pure tung oil. And there's a lot of difference. For one, tung oil hardens the wood. It dries much harder, much faster than BLO. If you want real weather proof, get a fiberglass stock.

[bangerjim]

Two drying oils I use for "rubbed antique oil finishies" are PURE (!) tung oil and walnut oil. They take forever to dry compaired to my normal sprayed lacquers, but are semi-water proof.

[PeteA]

I didn't realize how old this thread was when I decided to revive it! Oh well....

A buddy who knows a thing or two recommended this to me and I found this thread in my reading.

I mixed some Armor All with Boiled Linseed oil, about 2 parts AA to 3 parts oil. It formed a weird butter-like substance that I rubbed into my revolver grips. The heat of my hands melted it, and a few minutes of brisk rubbing caused it to shine up. I worked on two sets of grips and just went around in a circle for half a dozen coats in a couple of hours. Every few coats I used 400 grit sandpaper with the stuff. It clearly seems that the combination makes a new substance that behaves differently from either of the ingredients.

I have put the grips in a warm spot to cure and will report back after some drying time.

Pete

[gwpercle]

If you don't want to wait forever for a stock finish to dry or you live in hot humid Louisiana where drying anything is a problem .... take a look at Minwax Tung Oil Finish ... It's not just plain tung oil ...it's a tung oils based finish that has driers and hardeners added to it so a good hard film can be built up and will dry and be hard .
True Oil finish is similar but has a linseed oil base with driers and hardeners added ... the minwax tung oil finish works great and provides a beautiful finish ... much easier and better than pure tung oil or pure linseed oil .
Gary

[indian joe]

Wow, this is interesting indeed and on the surface sounds like a serious contradiction, normally Amor-all and any kind of finish would seem to be about as compatible as screen doors and submarines! In my paint shop I will not even allow Armor-all or any other silicone based product to even come inside the building never mind actually applying it to any surface that I would want anything to stick to! Not sure how this works and to be honest it just doesn't sound like a good idea at all but apparently for some reason it does appear to work and if it doesn't adversely affect adhesion it just might be the solution to an age old problem with Tru-oil, I always liked the stuff but absolutely hated the dry time to the point that I didn't even bother with it.



[EDIT:] After taking a few minutes to think about this and after reading Jim's reply that was posted while I was typing I think maybe I might have some serious questions about this, the problem would seem to be the obvious incompatibility of these two products but of course I am only speculating. When reading the OP I was thinking maybe a chemical reaction causing the Tru-oil to harden but I just can't see that happening, try as I might all I can see happening here is a situation with adhesion issues. Could it be that the Tru-oil is not drying at all but rather just taking on a silicone slick surface and the lack of tackiness due to the silicone is being mistaken for drying? Again I am just speculating but knowing from experience what even microscopic droplets of Armor-all can do to wet paint I just can't for the life of me see how adhesion issues would not be a problem?

My wife "helped me" one time I was going away on a road trip - she cleaned the dash of my car with armour all - from a spray bottle - I spent the next TWO YEARS trying to remove the armour all smears from the inside of my windscreen where she oversprayed - metho - every kind of detergent i could find - you name it I tried it and could not shift that stuff from the glass - not locked up in the basement but banned for ever from cleaning inside my car.