Best Finish for a Garand Stock?

[mtgrs737]

I did a search but found nothing about finishing a Garand stock. I have a new Boyds stock that has an oil finish on it but feel that the oil is only the first part of the treatment. Has anyone here applied another finish over the oil finish that comes on the stock? I saw some military stock finish on ebay that said it was made of 1/3 percent of beewax, boiled linseed oil, and turpentine, would this be a good finish for a new stock? I appreciate your comments.

[Lead Fred]

Figuring you have a walnut wood stock

If done correctly a tung oil finish with 5-7 coats is all it will ever need. Wet sanding it smooth between coats 4 and 6.

[mtgrs737]

Fred, is that tung oil finish the one with varnish in it or is it the 100% pure tung oil?

[Rock]

100% pure tung oil. The word "finish" indicates the presense of lacqure or varnish.

I get mine from: http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html

Apply one drop at a time, rub in by hand. I did one treatment per day for a week, then one per week for a month. Let it dry for an hour then wipe off any remainder with a paper towel. The finish is unbelievable.

[Hardcast416taylor]

A friend of mine, yes I do have a friend, had a new stock custom made for his pet rifle. The stockmaker finished it in a oil finish. He told my friend the same quote Rock just said he did. The stockmaker added the quote..."a coat per month for the first year and then a coat a year for the rest of your life"!Robert

[mtgrs737]

Does anyone know with the finish is on the Boyd stock? Might it be a single dipped coat of tung oil?

[missionary5155]

Good afternoon
I just use plain old Boiled Linseed Oil. A coat a day untli I like the looks. Dark walnut usually takes 4 coats and I am happy. Then one coat a shooting season. If I was going to have to sit in the rain and sun day in and day out I would give it some car wax.
If I was real serious about long term element survival scrap the wood and go synthetic. I have NO regrets putting my M1A in a surplas Army fiberglass stock.

[Dutchman]

Early WW2 = linseed oil
Later WW2 = tung oil

I wouldn't suggest sanding "smooth" like that. You don't want a "smooth" finish. You want a GI finish. You get the smooth finish by boning the stock.

To bone the stock...

Dutch

[Le Loup Solitaire]

A very long time ago the saying was," 3 drops of linseed oil and rub for 3 weeks". Cutting the linseed oil with turpentine (not too much) which is used a carrier makes it penetrate better. I have no idea what beeswax would do...never considered trying it. The good thing about the linseed oil finish is that it can always be touched up without changing the look. Tung oil is good stuff too. LLS

[mtgrs737]

It smells like linseed oil now, that must be what Boyds uses. Can you go over that with tung oil?

[Lead Fred]

Fred, is that tung oil finish the one with varnish in it or is it the 100% pure tung oil?

Matco 100% Tung Oil

Here is my Tenn black walnut stock with 7 coats on it.

Nothing else

http://i865.photobucket.com/albums/ab211/stallhorn/Lock.jpg

[Gunfreak25]

Please do NOT follow the "a coat per month for the first year and then a coat a year for the rest of your life" rule when using BLO. Think about it, that would be 12 coats for the first year and then say 40 years from now that's a total of 52 coats. What you will end up with is a stock that's overly saturated with BLO, and that much is just not needed. BLO needs to be applied in thin coats at a time. Let each coat dry for 24 to 48 hours before applying the next one. For newer stocks you will probably find after 7 coats it really stops wanting to suck up anymore oil in.

I am a big fan of pure tung oil, found at www.realmilkpaint.com It's kinda like BLO but has alot of other positives compared with BLO. Tung oil will not darken your stock as much, and it will not darken as much with age (oil oxidizes and darkens with time). Tung oil will provide more protection from moisture as well. It's non toxic and smells freakin great too. :lol: In fact the Army liked it so much that they stopped using BLO and switched to pure tung oil during around 1942 to 1943. Don't confuse this with "tung oil finish" like you see at your local hardware stores. These are more or less wipe on varnishes and in fact contain very little tung oil if any at all. These dry hard to the touch. Not bashing the stuff, but just be sure of what your buying. :D Formby's make a great product called "tung oil finish" which is a wipe on varnish that looks really great on newer stocks and furniture.

[mtgrs737]

So, not knowing for sure what the factory put on the stock to begin with I can treat it with tung oil even if it was BLO right?

[mtgrs737]

Fred, I like the looks of your stock! Thanks for posting it!

[Gunfreak25]

Absolutely, the factory really doesn't "finish" these things. I am not sure if they just dip them in BLO or rub on a few coats. Either way, it's not alot of oil they put into them and many people do indeed finish these stocks on their own. In the case of these stocks they have had very little BLO applied to them so it will still take more BLO or PTO (pure tung oil).

For other gunstocks that have already been treated with say 5 or 6 coats of BLO or PTO, you can add oil to these stocks but they will need to be given a denatured alcohol cleaning to remove top layer of dried and cured oil before any newly applied coats to soak in properly.

When your done giving a stock an oil finish you'll want to wax it to seal it. After applying the last coat of oil wait 2 or 3 days before waxing. For a harder feel use Johnsons paste wax, for a softer feel you can use Toms 1/3 mix. Great stuff!
www.thegunstockdoctor.com

[leftiye]

Like dutchman said, Mil-Spec finish for WWII garands and carbines was to soak for five minutes and then hang out to dry (forever). That was straight -NOT BOILED linseed oil!

As was also said if you want a military finish DO NOT SAND! Otherwise anything goes, and there are much betterer finishes.

Even boiled linseed oil may take a week to dry, and where I live you don't do BLO finishes except in the summer when you can cook them in the hot sun.

The object is NOT to soak as much oil into the wood as is possible (with a hand rubbed oil finish). Don't slop a bunch on - you may be six months getting it to dry. Oil will continue to cook or bleed out of the wood (sun dry) forever until all of the wet oil in the wood dries, and it will leave bumps on your finish.

Put a light coat on, let it dry, repeat, and sand when you've got some buildup. Do this until you have the grain filled to smooth. Now put a very light coat on and wipe off with a cloth or lintless paper towel. Repeat until you have a nice shine. Rub as the spirit moves you to do.

Alternatively, use birchwood casey or other oil finish Put it on thick and sand until pores (grain) are filled. Next spray maybe with birchwood casey spray can, sand (wet - use paint thinner to wet) with 320 or 400 grit, and then polish with stock rubbung compound (rottenstone etc). Auto rubbing compound works fine (really fine). If you want more shine, light coat, wipe off, let dry,rub , repeat.

[Lead Fred]

737

Be advised, that was brand new wood, and I sanded down to 400 grit dry
Then 600 grit wet sanded two coats.

[mtgrs737]

Thanks to all whom have posted here! I appreciate all the posts as I know little about stock finishes. I ordered a small bottle of 100% tung oil and will attempt to improve my stocks looks and longevity.

I think I will make up a small batch of 1/3 stock wax using tung oil instead of the BLO, do you think that will work?

[gnoahhh]

The old BLO/beeswax/turpentine solution, mixed to a paste wax consistency over heat (huge fire hazard- do it outside), was the stuff commonly used in barracks in the days of the '03 Springfield for maintaining stock finishes. That was told to me by an old Army artificer who was there. I routinely use it today on Garands, Springfields and Krags. It provides a nice luster and a modicum of protection, and smells good too- a nice compliment to Hoppes#9!

Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a great deal of difference between Tung oil and BLO as far as weatherproofing goes. They both pretty much suck as far as that goes.

[gishooter]

PLEASE check out the stock refinishing tips over at the CMP! Wealth of information on how to replicate various finishes for Garands. I've used several of the recipes/procedures from that web site with excellent results on several Garands, Mossberg 44s, as well as other various stocks. I'm out of town on business otherwise I could e-mail my receipe.

[c3d4b2]

You might find this article of interest.

http://www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/wood_cleaning_article.htm

[BruceB]

This thread has given me considerable bemusement.

We are not in the depths of a world-wide war, nor are we restricted to the methods and materials of the 1940s. If collectors truly want to duplicate the methods used then, that's just fine and more power to them.

However (did you know that was coming?) I've owned and refinished many types of rifles for decades now, including the M1/M1 Carbine/M14/1903 and A3/Krag...you name it. Linseed oil, boiled linseed oil, tung oil, are all at best slow-drying nods to "the way we used to do it". I've tried them.

A fine and relatively-fast-drying finish, and it DOES dry, unlike raw linseed oil, is George Brothers' "Linspeed". Using it we can easily duplicate the WWII APPEARANCE of an arsenal stock, without the hassle and mess. It even has that linseed aroma. I've used it for many years, and it gives a satisfactorily "military" finish if desired.

As civilians, we are also not restricted by anything but our own tastes, when it comes to the degree (or lack) of finish we apply to our personal rifles. At the last Big Reno Show, I bought a very nice Garand wearing a reddish varnish-type finish, and with a smoothness and satin gloss that rivals the very best sporters on the market. My first impulse was to take the shine off it, at least, but DAMMIT, it looks too nice to touch. Call it a "civilian" Garand, if you must, but it's still a 1943 war-baby and still functions the same way as rougher-finished specimens do.

Personal taste still counts, I guess.

[StarMetal]

This thread has given me considerable bemusement.

We are not in the depths of a world-wide war, nor are we restricted to the methods and materials of the 1940s. If collectors truly want to duplicate the methods used then, that's just fine and more power to them.

However (did you know that was coming?) I've owned and refinished many types of rifles for decades now, including the M1/M1 Carbine/M14/1903 and A3/Krag...you name it. Linseed oil, boiled linseed oil, tung oil, are all at best slow-drying nods to "the way we used to do it". I've tried them.

A fine and relatively-fast-drying finish, and it DOES dry, unlike raw linseed oil, is George Brothers' "Linspeed". Using it we can easily duplicate the WWII APPEARANCE of an arsenal stock, without the hassle and mess. It even has that linseed aroma. I've used it for many years, and it gives a satisfactorily "military" finish if desired.

As civilians, we are also not restricted by anything but our own tastes, when it comes to the degree (or lack) of finish we apply to our personal rifles. At the last Big Reno Show, I bought a very nice Garand wearing a reddish varnish-type finish, and with a smoothness and satin gloss that rivals the very best sporters on the market. My first impulse was to take the shine off it, at least, but DAMMIT, it looks too nice to touch. Call it a "civilian" Garand, if you must, but it's still a 1943 war-baby and still functions the same way as rougher-finished specimens do.

Personal taste still counts, I guess.

Amen Bruce. Individuality is what makes us humans unique.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I highly recommend PURE tung oil for refinishing old milsurp rifles. Its easy to use and makes a great looking finish. Also Tung oil finishes don't mold or mildew like linseed oil or BLO. This is important if you live in a humid environment. If you do use Tung oil make sure you keep your container tighly sealed or one day you will find a glob of gel in your can. I go to the local craft shop and buy a bag of clear marbles (found in the flower arranging area). Every time I use some tung oil I drop a marble in the can to keep air space to a minimum. This procedure will keep your expensive tung oil usable for a long time.

G

[mtgrs737]

I should be receiving a small bottle of 100% tung oil any day now! I will be giving the stock a good rub down when it comes. Thanks to all who posted on this thread, I appreciate it!

[mtgrs737]

I have now applied two coats of the 100% tung oil and I can start to see what you guys have said, it is smoothing out and bringing out the grain in the walnut. I am going to let it dry a little extra before I apply the next coat. Thanks to all, maybe I will post a picture of the thing when I get it done!

[jaguarxk120]

Has anyone tried calling Boyds Gunstocks and asking what they recommend to complete the finishing process? I have used them in the past and they were very helpfull, after all they are in the business of working and finishing wood.

[Gunfreak25]

I believe for Garand stocks Boyds just applies a few coats of BLO. To me their stocks are all unfinished unless they have varnished them with something or given each stock 4 or 5 coats of BLO topped with a form of stock wax. They expect most of their stocks will be final finished by their customers, that's why they just apply the light coat of BLO, to keep it from drying out.