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Thread: The Official Steel Wool, Tung Oil, Bees Wax On a Buffer Stock Refinishing Thread.

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    Boolit Master Just Duke's Avatar
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    The Official Steel Wool, Tung Oil, Bees Wax On a Buffer Stock Refinishing Thread.

    The Official Steel Wool, Tung Oil, Bees Wax On a Buffer Stock Refinishing Thread.

    In lieu of my relocation back to the Rain Forests of Starbuck Coffee I am going to have to abandon lacquer finishes on rifles and either go back to plastic (ICK!) or this process for stock finishing.
    So here's the problem with lacquer finishes in the rain. Water gets under the edge of the finish and causes the wood to swell which then cracks the finish and eventually the finish lifts off.
    Hopefully Wakasupi will join in and help out on this thread.
    Last edited by Just Duke; 04-07-2014 at 12:33 PM.

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    Boolit Grand Master leftiye's Avatar
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    Agree on the lacquer. I haven't had them lift off, but I have had them crack. Ya just gotta know lifting up is next coming down the road. I like the tung oil. I've gotten lazy and don't like waiting for BLO to fill the grain anymore. There's a BLO/beezwax military (with stain even) recipe out there (may be what you've already mentioned) that would be interesting over tung oil. I've got four stocks right now finishing up over tung with BLO.
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  3. #3
    Boolit Master



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    Duke, have you investigated any of the nautical oils and/or finishes available on the market?
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  4. #4
    Boolit Master Just Duke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by wch View Post
    Duke, have you investigated any of the nautical oils and/or finishes available on the market?
    Yes and also read the MSDS compliant documentation also. Same stuff.

  5. #5
    Boolit Master


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    Many years ago I had a friend tell me of a process he used before applying the finish to stocks. As I recall he would use marine spar varnish thinned to the consistency of water and saturate the complete stock, inletting and buttplate area included, with a paint brush and let cure before applying the final finish. He claimed this would seal all the pores of the wood and prevent it from taking on moisture. I've never lived in the "rain forest" environment, nor do I know if this process would be compatible with laquer finishes. Anyone ever give this a try and know how effective it is?
    Just a thought,
    Rick

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    Quote Originally Posted by RickinTN View Post
    Many years ago I had a friend tell me of a process he used before applying the finish to stocks. As I recall he would use marine spar varnish thinned to the consistency of water and saturate the complete stock, inletting and buttplate area included, with a paint brush and let cure before applying the final finish. He claimed this would seal all the pores of the wood and prevent it from taking on moisture. I've never lived in the "rain forest" environment, nor do I know if this process would be compatible with laquer finishes. Anyone ever give this a try and know how effective it is?
    Just a thought,
    Rick
    I have used a blend of 1/3 each spar varnish, BLO, and mineral spirits. It is commonly known as a wiping varnish, and I use it on all my woodworking projects(including outdoor). Spar varnish is just to give a little UV protection. I have never had to test it in a rainy environment, but it does soak in, seal pores, and you can build it up however thick you want. I used it more for the ease of repair of a dinged stock than waterproofing since it can be fixed without a total refinish.

    A buttstock on a Remington Model 8 I repaired a wrist crack on, about done because I like a satin finish:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Last edited by texassako; 04-07-2014 at 11:15 AM. Reason: added photo

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    As far as I know only two wood finishes completely polymerize - Tung Oil and Walnut Oil. Spar Varnish is specifically formulated to stay a little flexible so it doesn't crack with a little wood movement. No wood finish is completely waterproof except an epoxy finish.

    You might look into the Chinese tung oil varnish finish, it is done over weeks in a very damp environment. I do not know how this might work in the rain forest, but they have some very similar conditions in parts of China and thousands of years of practice.
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  8. #8
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    I have just used Tung oil to finish stocks. the first coat goes on by hand and then I take a cutoff from an old leather belt to apply all the other coats and it does a very good job and saves the skin in my hand. When the finish is in the gummy stage the heat and force from using the leather forces the Tung oil into the open pours of the wood giving a very nice smooth finish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by texassako View Post
    I have used a blend of 1/3 each spar varnish, BLO, and mineral spirits. It is commonly known as a wiping varnish, and I use it on all my woodworking projects.
    while I am following this thread, I didn't expect to post anything, as I am mostly a Hack when it comes to wood working, BUT...

    Long ago, an old timer told me how to protect wood on "outside" projects, like utility trailer beds or a Deck or small items like wheel barrow handles and such. Coat them with a 50-50 blend of BLO and MS. I doubt this is any secret to any of you, but maybe to a few, like me, that tend to read these threads and not post on them. What I like is how the wood turns a greyish-black as the wood ages a couple years. The roughcut Oak on my Deck was installed in the mid 90s and shows no signs of rot. I coat it every year with this recipe. Normally, untreated wood in the Minnesota outdoors lasts about 3 or 4 years...depending on variety of course. I have one trailer that has cheap, standard exterior plywood for the Bed...That wood was installed at least 20 years ago...while it shows lots of wear, the BLO-MS applied every other year has made stay functional.

    this photo of the 1874 Gras has my roughcut Oak deck as the background.
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    I did a lot of experimenting with various stock finishes. The sad result is, none of them are impervious to water. Some slow it down, but the only ones that come close are the butt ugly Weatherby type finish. I just got in the habit of putting on a heavy coat of Johnson Paste wax before going out in wet weather, being sure to fill the area between stock and metal. That is the area you need to be concerned about, as few take their rifles down that far to clean and dry after hunting. I leave a coating of the paste wax on the barrel and action when they are put in a stock.
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    Boolit Man
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    I am thinking about refishing a few old guns but know nothing, what is this BLO where due you by it?

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    Boiled Linseed Oil
    get it at any Hardware store or Home improvement store.
    ALSO, since this is old timey stuff,
    If you have a county run household hazardous waste program, they will usually recycle usable Paint and thinners and household chemicals that are still usable. I have gotton many gallons of boiled linseed oil from them over the years.
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    Boiled Linseed Oil. Just about any hardware store.

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    Boolit Man
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    Thanks I will get some BLO and try my hand at it.

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    The guy who did my Ithaca stocks recently used a polyurethane finish from Brownell's. It completely seals and yields a satin finish that looks like a hand rubbed oil finish.

    I was impressed. I normally prefer an oil finish on guns however a proper oil finish takes literally weeks to apply. This polyurethane material took one afternoon! And looks just as good if not better.

    This guy uses it on redo's of $50,000 shotguns so it can't be all bad.

    I'll be posting pics of the completed gun here after it returns from Ithaca.

    One thing you guys should know is that there are many different types of "Paint." Oil finishes are a type of paint, as are Shelac and Varnish. Oil finishes are more like varnish than shellac and polyurethane finishes are similar to varnish as well.

    Different types of finishes produce different effects on wood and other substrates. The master artists of old used Egg Whites as binders for their pigments. Many survive today having lived for 500 years.

    Point of all this is you should pick your finish based on the proposed use of the gun and the protection it will need. You should also note that NO gun manufacturer uses anything for a stock finish that takes more than 15 minutes to apply, unless you are talking custom level guns.

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  16. #16
    Boolit Master Just Duke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by waksupi View Post
    I did a lot of experimenting with various stock finishes. The sad result is, none of them are impervious to water. Some slow it down, but the only ones that come close are the butt ugly Weatherby type finish. I just got in the habit of putting on a heavy coat of Johnson Paste wax before going out in wet weather, being sure to fill the area between stock and metal. That is the area you need to be concerned about, as few take their rifles down that far to clean and dry after hunting. I leave a coating of the paste wax on the barrel and action when they are put in a stock.
    Thanks for joining us sir. Perhaps you could share your process you used on Joni's rifle.

  17. #17
    Boolit Master rondog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by deerspy View Post
    Thanks I will get some BLO and try my hand at it.
    Be aware that BLO, tung oil, pure linseed oil, and some other wood finish products can be dangerous. If you have rags soaked with the finish, they need to be spread out to dry. If you take wet, oily rags like that, wad them up and throw them in the trash, they're quite likely to spontaneously combust and burst into flames!

  18. #18
    Boolit Master
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    A finish I use on cherry projects is made of BLO and beeswax- about 50/50, melted together in a double boiler (crazy flammable/dangerous otherwise), and applied to the wood surface while hot. Makes for a nice mellow finish that buffs up nicely with a microfibre cloth or old soft t-shirt after curing overnight. Sand the cherry down to 600 grit minimum first.

    While I occasionally use an oil finish on gunstocks, what I prefer is a straight spar varnish, many coats, sanded between coats, until pores are filled and beyond. Then I rub it out with either oil-free 0000 steel wool or rottenstone to de-gloss it, then wax with a quality paste wax. The result if properly done is a lustrous finish way up there on the water resistant chart that looks for all the world like an oil finish but which actually offers some protection for the wood.

    I reserve oil finishes for guns that customers insist on, or for guns that won't see the rigors of the hunting fields.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by rondog View Post
    Be aware that BLO, tung oil, pure linseed oil, and some other wood finish products can be dangerous. If you have rags soaked with the finish, they need to be spread out to dry. If you take wet, oily rags like that, wad them up and throw them in the trash, they're quite likely to spontaneously combust and burst into flames!
    Yep. There's the anecdotal case of a guy (a doctor in Massachusetts, I believe) who left a pile of oil soaked rags in his shop that spontaneously combusted and burned his house down and cost the lives of a couple of his kids.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master Just Duke's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rondog View Post
    . If you take wet, oily rags like that, wad them up and throw them in the trash, they're quite likely to spontaneously combust and burst into flames!
    We learned this in first year shop class in Jr High. Good info though and thanks.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check