How do i buff a linseed finish to a shine?

[sheepdog]

I've seen stocks that have been buffed like this, just not sure how.

[danski26]

First let me say I have not worked with linseed oil but I am assuming it is the same as the oils I have worked with.

The stock should be sanded smooth and the grain filled before the "top coats" of oil are applied. I won't go into a complete explanation of how to finish a stock here but after it is prepped you apply the oil by hand rubbing it on all parts of the stock. I usually cut the oil 1 part oil 3 parts mineral spirits. After the oil has been rubbed on you wipe it off with a clean dry soft rag. A microscopic film of oil is left on the stock. Do this many more times. The more you rub on and wipe off "let dry between applications" the higher the gloss. You will start with flat move to satin and then on to a gloss finish. I have never buffed any of my stocks after oil has been applied. That is what I call a hand rubbed oil finish.

[calaloo]

In a word, or two in this case---Elbow grease. Each time you apply a coat of linseed oil just rub the devil out of it untill it is smooth and shines. Wait several days and do it again. do this over and over untill you are satisfied. Hand rubbed linseed oil will not have a high gloss finish, but will have a satin appearance.

[Bret4207]

IME I would suggest not touching it with a cloth until it's really dry, which may mean several days or even weeks. Rub it in with the palm of your hand using many light coats. The heat from your hand will help it spread and sink in. When it gets really dry- absolutely no tacky feel whatsoever, you can rub it more with a lint free cloth. Use a common tee shirt or something like that and you may be sorry. Be very choosy about what cloth you use. There are lint free colths available, or there used to be, from auto refinishing suppliers. I foget the type, but it's lint free cotton. If it gets a "pebbled" or non smooth looking finish you'll have to even it out with pumice stone and apply more oil over that.

Best to read some of the older gunsmith books as they cover linseed finishes in detail.

[Hardcast416taylor]

An old gunsmith once told me about getting a glossy finish with oil.

Rub in a coating of the oil once a day, each day, for a week.
Rub in a coat of the oil once a week for a month.
Rub a coat of the oil in the stock once a month for a year.
Rub a coat of the oil in the stock once a year for the rest of your life!

Robert

[sheepdog]

So far I've put three coats on thickly by hand, rubbing it into the pours, then letting it sit for 15 minutes and wiping off the excess. Next day doing the same. Its starting to turn a nice dark honey ale color but not tacky, pores aren't really filling, and doesn't feel warm like I hear BLO is supposed to.

[danski26]

Filling the grain needs to be done before you apply the top coats of oil. You dont NEED to fill the grain but i think it looks better. After about 25 to 50 coats you should get gloss. I wouldn't let it set for 15 min either. Wipe it off as soon as it is completly covered IMHO.

[Pepe Ray]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been mentioned. Perhaps you've already discovered that there are 2 versions of Linseed oil available. Raw and processed. The processed or "boiled" oil is the preferred product for treating gun stocks.
Pepe Ray

[jmsj]

Too get a good sheen on gunstocks we've always used tung oil. It seems to work a little better for us. My father calls it a warm glow. It stills takes a lot of coats and elbow grease. We used 0000 steel wool to apply and buff the oil.

[fecmech]

I have never worked with straight linseed oil but have done a couple stocks with Tru Oil which I think is pretty close. Once you fill the grain and have some finish on top of the wood you can wet sand with automotive 1500 grit wet/dry paper and then use clear coat rubbing compound to bring up the shine.

[Rock]

I use pure tung oil. I would also be willing to use raw linseed oil if I had no access to pure tung oil. I do not use any product containing the word "Finish". "Finish" includes un-necessary hardeners or sealers or varnishes which I do not desire.

BLO is an adultered product with additives that are not needed in my rifle stocks.

Tru Oil is another adultered product. Quote from their website: "TRU-OIL Gun Stock Finish penetrates deeply and forms a tough, clear, hard finish that protects and enhances the beauty of fine woods. For a hand rubbed, satin luster, simply buff with steel wool and rubbing compound or use Stock Sheen & Conditioner. Excellent as a sealer for under butt plates, recoil pads and in inletted actions to prevent stock damage. Use the liquid for fast filling of the pores and the aerosol for the final finish. "

[atr]

"raising" the grain beforehand helps...
to raise the grain spray on water over the sanded stock, then lightly sand (steel wool works best) to remove the raised grain. repeat this until you can no longer fell the raised grain after wetting.
THEN I would have applied the Linseed oil.
Let the Linseed oil dry completely before you start rubbing it down. Linseed oil gets tacky if it is not allowed to dry between coats.
If you have access to a buffing wheel, then you could also do buffing with a VERY soft buffing wheel.

[gnoahhh]

Make a paste out of BLO, beeswax, and mineral spirits (or turpentine if you prefer). Proportions are about 50% solvent, 25% oil and wax each. Melt the wax and add the rest. Jockey the amount of wax until you end up with a paste about the consistency of shoe polish, or a little softer. DO THIS OUTSIDE as this a fire hazard!

After you're done oiling the stock (using whatever oil and method you settle on), polish it with the paste. Wax on, wax off- polish with a soft cloth.

Two thoughts: Raw linseed oil will take forever to dry, if at all. Use the "boiled" linseed oil. Second, any oil finish is a p*ss poor barrier for water. Looks good, but won't protect your stock in a rain storm. The real benefit will come from the protection offered by the wax you finish with, and even that's nothing compared to a good barrier finish such as varnish.

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

If I want it to gloss I use Carbanuba auto wax. After you have finished the stock to the degree that you want with oil , hit it with some wax and get out your sunglasses. I personally don't care for a gloss finish but most all of the refinish jobs that come in the owner wants a gloss finish.

Everett

[KCSO]

After the stock is sanded, whiskered, sanded and steel wooled and garin filled if you prefer you...
1st Coat I usually mix 50/50 lindseed oil, boiled and turpentine and soak the stock down good. When it gets tacky wipe it all off and let it dry for a week wiping it dry if any more comes to the surface.
Then you rub in a coat of oil only and rub it till your plam blisters and let it dry for a week, do this over and over till you hands are 1 " of calus. After about 6 months you will have a nice satin finish that is unfortunatly NOT waterproof and won't keep a stock from warping. But it is somewhat traditional. Tru Oil or Lin Speed are NOT an oil finish and are better than oil in some ways but it is easy to chip and hard to fill in. French Oil is in the older formulas Turpentine, Shellac and linseed oil and is better. I have switched to Watco's Danish Oil myself.

I no longer recommend linseed oil for a gun that will see all weather use.

[StarMetal]

After the stock is sanded, whiskered, sanded and steel wooled and garin filled if you prefer you...
1st Coat I usually mix 50/50 lindseed oil, boiled and turpentine and soak the stock down good. When it gets tacky wipe it all off and let it dry for a week wiping it dry if any more comes to the surface.
Then you rub in a coat of oil only and rub it till your plam blisters and let it dry for a week, do this over and over till you hands are 1 " of calus. After about 6 months you will have a nice satin finish that is unfortunatly NOT waterproof and won't keep a stock from warping. But it is somewhat traditional. Tru Oil or Lin Speed are NOT an oil finish and are better than oil in some ways but it is easy to chip and hard to fill in. French Oil is in the older formulas Turpentine, Shellac and linseed oil and is better. I have switched to Watco's Danish Oil myself.

I no longer recommend linseed oil for a gun that will see all weather use.

I'm with KSCO. If I want to keep a rifle traditional for say a collection I'll put the correct finish on it. For my serious hunting rifles I seal the stocks with a finish that seals and is weather proof inside and outside the stock. Phooey on the traditional finishes for me.

[JIMinPHX]

Filled the grain? How do you fill the grain? Is that the same as raising the grain as explained by atr? Or is it something different?

[leftiye]

Somewhat quicker - Once you have the grain filled put on a thick (not real sloppy ) coat of birchwood casey. Once you have a little buildup, wet sand (paint thinner and 400 grit). This will leave you with a matt finish. Then a few coats of BLO - rub on, wipe off, etc.. Watch the B'wood Casey, it will continue to be distinct coats, and you will sand through the shine of the top coat, and get an uneven coat due to the shine of the next coats. Thas why the one thick coat over the sanded and smooth base.

[danski26]

Wow! There are a lot of different ways to finish a stock!

[rhbrink]

A question for KCSO I recently finished a stock with Watco Danish finish oil, mainly because I had some on hand and had heard of some people using it. The oil that I have is probably at least 10 years old and takes a week to dry between coats is this normal? Do you cut yous with any thinner? I apply very thin just a few drops and rub in by hand until it feels warm then set aside for a week or more. I"m using this on a maple stock and it does make for a very nice looking finish. Thanks

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

JIMinPHX-

Filling the grain is done after you have raised the grain and removed the whiskers. I use a mixture of fine wood sanding dust (from my 320 or 400 grit sanding) and finish to create a sloppy paste that I apply liberally and allow to tack up. I then remove the majority of the excess with a coarse cloth. The remaining paste is worked into the grain by hand and allowed to dry. After which I fine sand this down to the surface of the wood. It results in a smooth surface for the finish to be applied to. You don't need 20+ coats of finish to get to an acceptable finish that way.

Word of caution- I don't fill the grain in the areas I intent to checker. The small amount to sanding grit that gets mixed in with the wood dust will dull your checkering tools in short order.

Regards,
Everett

[Wayne Smith]

Lot of good information here but one piece is missing. The way oils 'harden' is called polermerization. Tung oil completely polermerizes, BLO doesn't. BLO will never completely "dry" or harden in the pours. That's why you have to continually renew it, the old formula previously posted applys to BLO and furniture finish, applies equally to gunstocks. Tung oil is a permanent finish.

[gnoahhh]

Most methods of filling pores that involve wet sanding oil finishes and/or commercial pore filling products won't withstand abuse in the form of soaking rain. There is nothing more disheartening than watching the finish you spent months putting on a stock wash away when wiping down after a day spent hunting in the rain. One sure-fire way to prevent that, which is admittedly labor intensive, is to coat the stock with spar varnish first, then sand it back down to bare wood. Repeat as necessary until the pores are filled level but the surrounding wood is bare, then proceed with whatever oil finish you like. The same effect can be accomplished with a thin epoxy, such as West System 207. Lots of work, admittedly, but doing a job right usually takes extra work, just like most things in life.

[philthephlier]

never use raw, only boiled and the more you rub it the better with the heel of your hand. Rub until you develop friction heat and then keep rubbing. the friction heat slowly oooks the oil dry. Then add a "little" more oil, a drop or two and rub some more. It takes many hours to produce the London finish so famous for linseed oil finished stocks. But there are few if any that are more beautiful.

[JIMinPHX]

Can we make this a sticky?

[sheepdog]

Can we make this a sticky?

+1 for a sticky.

What I ended up doing is taking BLO and handed rubbing it in. Never really got warm as mentioned but massaged it in every nook. Let sit for 15, rubbed excess off. Let site for 36 hours to dry. On fourth coat right now.

[leftiye]

To fill your grain fast you can wet sand with linseed oil (boiled) as the wetting agent. This is AFTER you've put on enough coats to create what is almost a finish - not after each coat.

Alternatively, if you just apply coats and sand a little until the grain is completely filled, your finish will have much more depth, and bring out the beauty of the wood much better. This is much easier done with Birchwood Casey Tru oil as it dries faster, and applies much more finish at a time. Stains also screw up the beauty of the wood. I only use them if the wood NEEDS them to cover something up (like sapwood or repairs).

[Oyeboten]

Japan Drier ( any good Paint Store ) will greatly aid the drying time of various Oils used in 'Rubbed' Oil Finishes.

It contains Lead, so, keep whatever it is added to off your skin...find a rubbing method where this is easy and not a hassle needing gloves and so on...

[Fly]

I always use bees wax to weather prof my linseed oil finish.It is what my grampa used &
it has worked for me.But then again I don't let it get to wet either.But back in the day, that's
what they used.

I have also mixed 1/3 pine tar, 1/3 bees wax 1/3 turps.It's said that is what the Finns used.
I have not found the pine tar in this mix darkens it any to speak of.I have done pine tar finish
also on a couple of rifles, but that's a different subject & mix, all together.

Fly

[uscra112]

Leftiye has it about right. One thing that old-timers knew is that you don't build up to a fine finish, you cut down to a fine finish. Wet sanding using 240 grit and oil is my preference now, after trying almost every other scheme that the gunsmithing books could dictate. Raw linseed oil only, too. Be especially careful with tung oil - it's toxic. So are "boiled" oils, which have chemical dryers added to them.

First coat, have the stock and the oil very warm, maybe 110 degrees. Don't spare the oil - lard it on. Don't try to wipe off the excess, either. Let that oil "cure" until it's gummy or even a little beyond. (Always dry in a warm place with plenty of air, but not in direct sun. Raw oil often takes about 3 days.) Wet sand with 240 grit and more oil. Again, do not wipe down. Let that wet slurry stand until it's good and gummy again. Longer is better. Do it again until the grain is well filled. Sand aggressively - you want to be cutting down everything but what's filling the grain. Once it's well filled, use less oil and 400 grit paper. (You'll use new paper every time.) Two or three coats more, then switch to 000 steel wool and no fresh oil to remove that gum. (The old-timers used burlap, but only because they didn't have steel wool.) Here is where the magic will happen. You will be cutting off the gummy top layer, and lo-and-behold, underneath you will have a smooth finish. Not shiny like modern polyurethanes - oil finishes never get that smooth. Once you are there, let cure for a week or more. From now on, just a few drops of oil on your hand, rubbed until your hand gets very warm, will keep the shine going. After this treatment, however, you do want to wipe the wood with a hard cloth. I use cotton twill from old chino pants.

If you ever damage this finish, start in again with oil, wet-sanding, and steel wool and you will be able to completely restore the it, leaving no trace of the injury. Can't do that with polyurethanes!

Linseed oil is great stuff. I use it to oil up a barrel after browning, instead of mineral oil. It keeps water off metal, so it's a good rust preventer. Preserves leather. Waterproofs fabric - (linen canvas with treated with linseed oil was the original tarpaulin). Sailors used oil-treated cloth for rain-gear, hence the term oil-skins. The main ingredient in traditional spar varnish is linseed oil. Raw linseed oil is non-toxic - heck, they sell it in health food stores, although there it's called flaxseed oil. Linseed cannot be washed off with plain water - but you CAN remove it by boiling the stock in trisodium phosphate, When I'm doing a major glue repair on a stock, I clear all the oil out that way, do the repair, then refinish.

[MtGun44]

Watco Danish oil. Let the first coat dry, then sand off the raised grain. Sand second coat
while wet with 320 grit wet or dry until there is lots of 'mud'. Even out the mud and let it
dry for a day or two. Sand water wet with 400 grit. Dry and apply more Watco with a cloth.
Dry then wet sand next watco application with 600 grit wet or dry, less mud but spread
evenly, let dry. Water wetsand with 600 or 800 grit, dry. Final few coats are rubbed in
by hand.

Far superior to linseed oil.

[Gunfreak25]

When working with BLO and PTO, remember to keep things simple. :D I am not sure where it originated, but "adding one coat a day for a week, one coat a week for a month, etc" you will end up with a HEAVILY oil soaked stock. There is no reason to apply more oil to the stock than it needs. The biggest mistake I see people make is applying BLO too quickly or to heavily. BLO needs to be rubbed in by hand in thin coats a time, be sure each coat has fully dried before applying the next coat otherwise your adding fresh oil onto partially dried oil, you'll end up with a gummy mess that won't dry or look very good.

The trick to getting a glass smooth finish is almost all in surface prep. Before applying your BLO or PTO (pure tung oil, www.realmilkpaint.com) you will want to sand your stock (always use a block) with progressively finer grades of sandpaper. If the stock is already pretty smooth I just give it a good once over with 220 grit, and finish it with superfine 0000 steel wool. Now when it comes to applying your BLO, apply it either by hand or with more superfine steel wool. It's what I call and "oil scrub" finish. Just apply a decent amount of oil to your steel wool and begin buffing it into the wood, keep it as wet as you can because with this method the stock will take in a little more oil. After your scrub, let it sit 20 minutes and then completely wipe off any standing oil. When you have applied your last coat of oil, let it dry 48 hours. Now here's the last secret to getting that butter smooth oil finished stock, apply your choice of wax. For a softer feel you can use tom's 1/3 mix www.thegunstockdoctor.com Tom makes a great product. But if you want a harder looking shine just rub on a coat of Johnson's Paste Wax, let this dry for 3 hours and then thoroughly buff it off.

Here's a copy and paste of my original post on giving a stock a BLO scrub and wax finish over at my HQ.....

My very first shotgun was a New England Firearms single shot 12 guage. I think it was $80 when Walmart used to sell guns here. I decided the poly had to go, as I do not like poly.
It's very tough to remove so I thought i'd post how I do it.

Here's the stock with the factory poly finish.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3286.jpg

Here is the tools. StripX, a plastic scraper (solvent proof), plastic tray, and the only brush I could find laying around.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3290.jpg

After applying the stripper (nice and thick, don't skimp) this is what it looks like after just a couple minutes of sitting.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3292.jpg

After sitting 15 minutes, I used my plastic scraper to scrap off the loosened and melted polyurethane.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3294.jpg

After scraping off the melted polyurethane, I ran the stock under a little hot running water from our big sink, you can use a nylon brush to remove the stripper and finish from the stock, or you can use a light abbrasive pad like those green scotchbrites, or a brilo pad with the soap rinsed out of it. I used a brillo pad. As you can see I left the top portion of the stock unstripped, this gives me a place to hold onto the stock as i'm removing the poly from the rest of it. I go back and strip the rest off later. It's what works for me.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3295.jpg

This stock needed a second stripping, so I gobbed the StripX back on, and let it work for another 15 minutes.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3296.jpg

Here it is after washing it off in the sink again, and 30 minutes dry time.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3298.jpg


2 days later after drying at room temperature (74 degrees), I used 150 grit paper to give the stock a light once over. I made sure to keep the plastic/rubberish buttplate attached during this sanding, to keep from rounding the edges of the stock and to make sure the buttplate does not overhang the stock afterwards. It's very ugly when that happens. You'll want to wrap some masking tape around the edges of the buttplate during the sanding, so you don't scratch it.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3299.jpg

continued......

[Gunfreak25]

Here's the stock many days later after 2 oil scrubs and 1 hand rubbed coat. After the last coat of oil was applied I let the stock dry 2 days before waxing. When waxing I buff on 1 coat, let it dry 2 hours, then buff it off, I also did a second coat of wax for added gloss.
If you do this step correctly, the wax will give the stock a hard glossy feel and will not smudge off or leave fingerprints on your stock.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3308.jpg

Another picture to show the shine.
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa270/Gunfreak25/Shotgun%20refinish/100_3309.jpg


And here's the link to the original post on the forum.

http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=504597#p504597

I took my shotgun hunting last year, spend 2 days out in the field. Haven't had to rewax the stock yet, and that was a year ago. If done right, the shine will last many years, though you will want to occasionally add a thin coat of wax. :thumbs:

[leftiye]

If anyone might like to know, those western maple (also called birch, often from box elder trees) stocks will take an aqua fortis stain, and it ain't too bad.

[cappaletti]

Brownell's makes a product called Lin-speed oil. Talk about shine. I used it on a pair of 1911
grips I made out of desert ironwood..knock ur eyes out. Tung oil I believe will do u a better
job though that is if ur dead set on an oil finish.

[Gunfreak25]

Remember, Linspeed and Tru Oil are NOT oil finishes. They are VARNISHES and will dry as such, hard and shiny. Not bashing the stuff, just be sure of what you are buying before you do.

95% of your "Tung Oils" you'll find at places like Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart are NOT real tung oils. They are wipe on type varnishes and polyurethanes that contain little to no tung oil.

The only place that I am aware of right now that sells real, pure 100% non toxic tung oil is www.realmilkpaint.com They have two kinds, pure tung oil and the dark raw tung oil. The raw tung oil is just as it sounds, it has been squeezed from the nut of the tung tree, filtered and bottled. For gunstocks, ALWAYS use the lighter tung oil which has been treated with heat (boiled really) so that it will dry much quicker than raw tung oil. Pure tung oil is in all respects, just like BLO. The difference being the types of plants the oils come from and the fact that BLO has had other additives added to it that make it toxic if consumed.

[Char-Gar]

I have been working with Tru-oil for 50 years and dozens of stocks. I slather on two or three coats and let it dry for a couple of days. I don't want any runs, but other than that I pay too much attention. I am interested in getting a build up quickly that fills the pores of the wood. When the grain in filled I take 000 steel wool and cut it back down to wood.

YOu now have a dull oil finish and if you like you can apply a coat or two of Johnson Paste Wax and be happy.

However, I like a high gloss finish so I add one coat per day and rub it in with my hand making a drop of oil go far as possible. When each coat is throughly dry I rub it with a clean cotton cloth with pretty hard hand pressure.

After about 10 or 12 coats, I give it a sanding with 1,200 grit emery paper available from an auto paint supply store. I repeat this three or four times.

For a finial finish I rub the stock with very, very find rubbing compound from Brownells.

What you end up with after a months work is a good finish with a smooth satin finish that has a good gloss and shows off the grain of the wood every well. It is as durable as any other finish and can be repaired easy.

[johnlaw484]

Being an old sailor where spar varnish is king. I have used it on gun stocks and achieved a beautiful, durable finish quickly.
I have hand rubbed it and even used an air brush to apply the final coat.

[honus]

I shouldn't be giving away my secrets but I retired from full time Smithing years ago.
Rule #1: Never use steel wool.
Rule #2: Never use steel wool.
Steel wool snags and pulls the finish from the pores.
Rule #3: Use Naptha, never paint thinner.

Use refined Linseed or Tung oil, never raw. Thin it with Naptha; 25/75 Oil/Naptha. It will soak deep into the wood and it does fill the pores.
Once the pores are 90% filled, add additional thinned coats using 600 or finer scotchbrite dipped in the 25/75 solution. You do not want a buildup on the surface of the wood.
When the oil finish feels totally dry, apply a Carnuba Wax and buff dry with a cotton cloth. Add a fresh coat of Wax every year. This finish will last for decades and will not scratch white.

[deerslayer]

Knowing nothing about how to finish a gustock I embarked on refinishing a single shot, shot gun my father had given me when I first started deer hunting. I simply sanded it down to raw wood. (sanding them down is a bad idea I later realized it changes the final fit when reassembling). After sanding with progressivaly finer paper down to about 400 grit I then done my normal wood working trick which is a gluewash. Take some regular elmers white glue and mix it 50/50 with water in a dixie cup, brush on a thin coat and let dry. After it has dried hit it with some fine sand paper and the glue wash will de-wisker, seal and fill all in one step. After that I just used minwax polyshades in a color I prefered and the gun still looks great today and is as smooth as a babies but.

I know its not an oil finish but the gluewash is what I really wanted to highlight how to do.

[Wayne Smith]

I shouldn't be giving away my secrets but I retired from full time Smithing years ago.
Rule #1: Never use steel wool.
Rule #2: Never use steel wool.
Steel wool snags and pulls the finish from the pores.
Rule #3: Use Naptha, never paint thinner.

Use refined Linseed or Tung oil, never raw. Thin it with Naptha; 25/75 Oil/Naptha. It will soak deep into the wood and it does fill the pores.
Once the pores are 90% filled, add additional thinned coats using 600 or finer scotchbrite dipped in the 25/75 solution. You do not want a buildup on the surface of the wood.
When the oil finish feels totally dry, apply a Carnuba Wax and buff dry with a cotton cloth. Add a fresh coat of Wax every year. This finish will last for decades and will not scratch white.

Not only will steel wool pull the finish, it will also leave little bits of itself behind in the wood. These are then prone to rust, leaving little brown spots.