Acraglas release agent?

[Char-Gar]

I recall reading that paste wax makes a decent release agent..true or false.

[pietro]

.

Paste wax has long been the Gold Standard of release agents - I've been using it for bedding jobs since the mid-70's, w/o any issues.



.

[BK7saum]

Also, the paste wax film will be a little thinner than the acraglas release agent for those that want the tightest bedding. I've used paste wax on the action and action screws of several bedding jobs.

Brad

[Mk42gunner]

True.

It has been a few years since I last bedded a rifle, but I always thought that two or three buffed coats of Johnsons Paste wax did a better job than anything else I tried, from the blue stuff Brownell's sells (works but is a pain to remove all of the blue film) to Pam cooking spray (better than nothing if you don't mind oil dents all over).

Robert

[fouronesix]

Been using JPW exclusively for a long time for all epoxy/glass bedding jobs. I think any basic paste wax such as auto wax, Renaissance wax, Kiwi shoe polish, etc. will work fine.

[Frank46]

Have used Johnson's paste wax especially for the action screws and the threads. Works good. Frank

[Gofaaast]

Kiwi shoe polish is what I have always used and had good results.

[Mytmousemalibu]

Been using Kiwi clear shoe polish with perfect results.

[koger]

I use turtle wax, past wax, wipe on, let dry, then spray with Pam or Brownell's Mold release, which is silicone spray. Do a lot of bedding jobs, none stuck so far, excellent results.

[country gent]

Test the release agent to be used with the bedding agent by trying to glue a couple pieces of scrap metal together. If it releases it should be good to go. Also make sure all places for a mecanical lock are filled with clay or play dough.

[LAGS]

JPW is my Go To Choice Hands down.
I had one barrel stick with Pam Cooking Spray, and wont go back using it for that reason.
It stuck in tiny spots like there were air bubbles when the Pam was Sprayed on.
Probably My fault , but why take chances.
Hand applies assures the better coverage, and more evenly than any Spray, as sprays build up in corners.
Then you dont want to touch it , for fear you could be rubbing off other areas.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Does anybody think the gunsmiths' special products are better? Not me.

[pietro]

.

FWIW, I've never buffed the paste wax release agent, since IMO it's counter-intuitive ( buffing can result in naked areas); and pray tell us - exactly how are the tight corners in the inletting buffed ?


.

[LAGS]

Heck when I first started off, and I didn't know what I was doing, I would rub the metal parts with a Block of Parifin Wax and then warm up the parts with a hair dryer to let it melt evenly and smooth out. Sort of like the way I waxed my Surfboard or Snow Skis.
I was a Kid, What did I know.
But it worked Great.
I still use the same method in construction, when I have to Epoxy a Threadded Rod into concrete and want the threadded rod to be removable in the future out of the concrete. It will screw right out with a Double jam nut and a wrench.

[Larry Gibson]

I've used Lee's liquid alox for years as a release agent. Works extremely well with every bedding compound, including Accra-Glass, that I've used it with. A light coat, easy to apply (I use Q-tips and a small brush), let dry and it cleans up with normal gun solvents, brake/carburetor and engine cleaners.

Larry Gibson

[plainsman456]

Pam or other spray release agents for baking will work also.

[Blackwater]

I will NOT use the little blue "release agent" that comes with Accraglass. The only stock I ever glued in was for a good friend's rifle, and I used the kit stuff. What that does, is form a very think "skin" over the metal that keeps it from sticking IF (and HERE is where the problem comes in!) it doesn't tear as you place the barrreled action or whatever in the stock. If that thin skin tears, it exposes the bare metal, and you get a glue-in. Stuck. BAD, too! I finally got the gun apart with a rubber mallet on the barrel after trying the freezing trick 3 times, and everything else I could think of, including warming the metal with a hair dryer for quite a while. Nothing worked until I got the big rubber hammer out. And it cracked his stock in the process. I fixed it so you couldn't really see it unless you looked VERY closely, and even then it wasn't very clear, but it was "ruined" in his mind, and he sold it off and got another one anyway.

JPW and shoe polish both worked, and I've used them with total satisfaction. I REALLY prep the metal with it before glassing. One glue-in is ENOUGH for me! And I'll NEVER use that factory "release agent" again! And yes, I was, in fact, gentle when I lowered the barreled action into the stock, and it still tore somehow. After getting them separated, I found a little spot about like a match stem and about 5/8" long had torn, and had stuck it in THAT badly! That Accragless is GOOD stuff!

[Akheloce]

Hornady one shot case lube worked fine for me- just let the solvents evaporate off (just like when using it to lube cases) before installing the barrel/action in the glass.

[Char-Gar]

Thanks guys... I used JPW and things are now sitting up to harden. I am rehabbing set of revolver grips and one of the pin holes had wallowed out, allowing one side to slip. So, I got out the Acraglas and found the release agent had dried up. The glas was still good, so I mixed a little and filled the hole to take out the slop. About noon tomorrow I will pop it open and take a look.

[LAGS]

@ Char-Gar
For small fixes like that, the regular 5 minute epoxy works just fine and you dont have to wait overnight.
It too will take the coloring agent if you need it to match, but the agent slows the drying to about 15 minutes before you can take it apart.

[Blackwater]

Too late, I know, but for future reference at least, I've used appropriate sized steel wool to firm up the threads where screws will be used. Just makes the whole repair stronger and more long-lasting. FWIW?

[country gent]

For small repairs JB Weld works wonders and is a solid hard stable fix when cured. You can if needed drill and tap threads into it also. I pefer to make a small aluminum steel or brass insert with the threads and glue in place on location, much better cleaner threads and will last a lifetime or several. One thing when using an aresol release agent is to give it time for propellant gaseses, carriers, or bbuild ups some time to evaporate and or normalize before bedding the part. MAterial still having these in them will have bubbles and rough finishes in the bedding. I have used pam with good results by rubbing a heavy first coat into place and then a light second coat spread and evened with a fine soft brush. then let sit for 10 mins or so and bed. One thing I also do now is I buy the cheap vetranary syringes in larger sizes. Mixk bedding in it install plunger and its a no mess applicator for the bedding allowing an even coat to be applied easily.

[azrednek]

Hornady one shot case lube worked fine for me- just let the solvents evaporate off (just like when using it to lube cases) before installing the barrel/action in the glass.

Haven't used it personally but a relative an avid rifle builder swears by it. No dents or dimples he previously got using PAM. If I remember right, two coats with a 15 or so minute break to allow the solvent to evaporate. The few I've done were either with Johnsons or Aero Wax and it worked fine for me.

As far as One Shot for a case lube. I swear at it!!

[LAGS]

One tip if you are going to do the old Steel Wool and Epoxy or JB weld Fix.
First , Wash your Steel Wool in Acetone.
Steel wool is coated with a thin oil to keep it from rusting in the package.
Wash off the oil, and the Epoxy sticks to it better.
Same as if you are using Steel Wool to polish metal for Bluing. Wash off the oil first, so you are not rubbing oil back on the metal, or getting it on your hands or gloves.

[Char-Gar]

The JPW worked fine. The grip popped off easy.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

I've just bedded a barrel with some Devcon epoxy and I dyed it with a few crystals of Dylon dye for fabric, dissolved in as little methyl alcohol as would do the job. A little goes a long way, and I put it in only the adhesive part of the epoxy, and mixed that on its own to give most of the alcohol a chance to evaporate. It was meant to be a slow-hardening epoxy, and it set just as hard and as quickly as a little of the clear version I used for comparison. I think this means the ink from a felt-tip pen (not the gel rollerballs) would also do, but brown is rare unless you mix red and green.

[El Bango]

Try Alox on the metal and Saran Wrap between the Aloxed metal and the Acra-glass. CAREFULLY set the action into the stock. If Saran Wrap fails because of a tear the Alox is your back-up. Works pretty good for me.

[MBTcustom]

I realize that using the right tool for the job totally defeats the allure of home Gunsmithing, but I would like to recomend this stuff for the record. It's all I use, and it is designed for the purpose, and sold by Brownells:
It has a crazy name too. It's called Acra-release.
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/stock-work-finishing/stock-bedding-accessories/mold-releases/acra-release--prod1045.aspx

[Char-Gar]

I realize that using the right tool for the job totally defeats the allure of home Gunsmithing, but I would like to recomend this stuff for the record. It's all I use, and it is designed for the purpose, and sold by Brownells:
It has a crazy name too. It's called Acra-release.
http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/stock-work-finishing/stock-bedding-accessories/mold-releases/acra-release--prod1045.aspx

Jeeze Tim, look at the price on that spray can! Now throw in the postage and it was more than the pin head of Johnson's Wax I used.

BTW..Here are the finished grips.

[MBTcustom]

Jeeze Tim, look at the price on that spray can! Now throw in the postage and it was more than the pin head of Johnson's Wax I used. BTW..Here are the finished grips.LOL! Look Charles, all I'm going to say is that when bedding a rifle, JPW works 99% of the time. But when you get to that 100th rifle, and it cracks chunks off the edge of the stock, and the rifle must be reblued because you scratched the finish cracking the acraglass/10-110 off where it was stuck to the rifle, you may not think that can is so expensive!

Grips look great BTW!

[Blackwater]

Very nice work, Char-Gar. Are those Herrett's Troopers or your own design?

[johnson1942]

i bedded a rifle this morning with my own special mixture that ive used on several rifles. never use a release agent, i use a barrier. i use plastic wrap between the barrel and the bedding. when the bedding is dry,just a tap and the barrel is out of the stock and then just take the plastic wrap out and their you are. very very easy and very very simple.

[David2011]

@ Char-Gar
For small fixes like that, the regular 5 minute epoxy works just fine and you dont have to wait overnight.
It too will take the coloring agent if you need it to match, but the agent slows the drying to about 15 minutes before you can take it apart.

I've been building control line and R/C airplanes for about 50 years and epoxies have been a part of that in the past. Five minute epoxy doesn't penetrate into the wood and doesn't get hard like the slower cure products. As it ages it gets rubbery and will often peel off of balsa wood, birch plywood and fiberglass after a few years. Devcon 5 minute is probably the worst offender. If I need the strength of epoxy I have time to wait for the slower cure products to harden. Just my opinion.

David

[Geezer in NH]

After finding out the Brownells pre blue cleaner was just Dishwasher soap I stopped believing there advertising ****.

Du-lite corp took care of our cleaning and bluing problems at least 20 years ago. They by the way Due-lite supplys the big Manufactures also.

Since then we have been able to match most bluing no problem.

Note I have retired from that business 6 yeas ago.

I still use Johnsons Boston Polish wax as a release agent same as I did when in Business 20+ years ago. I don't know if the wax is still manufactured but the 2 cans of it will last me and my son's life for that purpose.

My son does Rust blue as a side business on request from old customers.

[Clark]

I used reloading sizing lube wax for release agent for 15 years.
Now that I am painting tactical stocks, I like a release agent that comes off with Alcohol, not Ammonia.
So I switched to very thin oil [lightly on top of the metal and masking tape] with a toothbrush.

I do use wax as a lubricant for over built threads, like 7/8-14 on a barrel vise and a tiny amount on the barrel to receiver mating. Wax on threads is much more efficient than oil or grease, but I do not want any getting into scope base threads.