BLO and wax

[ilcop22]

Howdy,

I've decided to finish one of my military stocks proper with BLO using the "old" method of application: once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year.

My question then comes to this: When applying gun stock wax to preserve/protect the stock and finish, how do you go about continuing the process? Do you simply forgo using wax or is there a method for removal before reapply the BLO? This is presuming I want to use the gun in the year it takes to completely finish it.

Thanks for the help.

[zxcvbob]

I think you use a mixture of beeswax, BLO, and turpentine instead of just wax -- maybe even switch to that at the "once a week" stage.

[Beekeeper]

If you follow those directions your gunstock will drip BLO forever.
Try using BLO for several coats or until you get the stock color you want.
Be sure to let the stock dry ( no longer be shiney) between coats and after a couple of coats rub it down with "0000" steel wool.
Basicly it is put 3 coats on, wipe 2 off.
After a couple of rounds it will start to take on a dull sheen.
That is the original military finish.
Then if you want you can put a coat of JPW or bees wax on it.

I do basically the same except I use a mixture of amber shellac and BLO and it fills the pores and seals the wood.
Gives the same finish tho and I have one stock I finished 50 years ago and have never touched it since except to clean it up a little after a day of shooting.


Jim

[Bill*]

PM Gunfreak25. He made some posts about refinishing and his results looked nice. I'm sure he'd give you good advice. Not that the above posts aren't...just thought another input can't hurt. In fact, he's got a stickie at the top of this category

[gnoahhh]

An old guy who was an artificer (battalion-level gunsmith) in WWII gave me this formula years ago that he swore was in common usage in his bailiwick for gunstock maintenance: melt beeswax/BLO together (about 2:1) and thin with enough turpentine to give it the consistency of shoe polish. Do it outside as it's extremely combustible when it's over the heat. Application: wipe on , buff off. Do it as often as the mood hits you. The bare oil-finished stock will take on a pleasant soft luster and will be better protected against moisture. I've found that nuking it in the microwave just long enough to make it warm seems to give a little better result- probably a figment of my imagination. Besides, they didn't have microwaves in France in 1944 (and truth be known not much inclination to spend time prettying their M1 stocks either). He said the guys used it more for waterproofing their combat boots, which makes me wonder what the turpentine did to shoe leather over time.

Anyway, using it for it's intended purpose really does make a difference.

[Char-Gar]

I wonder... would tung oil, wax and turpentine do the same thing?

[357maximum]

I use gnoahhh's method&recipe AFTER a few coats of BLO have been completely penetrated/dried/buffed and am very tickled with the way it works. Just be sure SWMBO'ed is not in the same zipcode when you use it. :holysheep

This method really brings out the colors in a fancy maple stock in a short period of time.

[ilcop22]

Thanks for all the tips, guys. Up to this point, I've done a week's worth of coats, wiping off the excess before drying. I'm gonna pick up some terpentine (does Mineral Spirits work as well?) and fix me a batch of the wax/BLO recipe.

[357maximum]

You need real turpentine IMHO.

[gnoahhh]

Min spirits will work, but you'll miss out on that "vintage" smell you get with turpentine. Don't se why you couldn't use tung oil also, as long as it's the real McCoy. Pure, that is.

[ilcop22]

I made a small batch with turpentine tonight. About 2 tbsp beeswax to 1 tbsp BLO, terp as neeeded. One last question regarding this process:

In regards to application, do I treat this like any other wax? For example, I apply, buff, then repeat until desired luster? It's already lookin' damn good after 2 coats.

[gnoahhh]

Sounds like you got it down. I wipe it on starting low on the butt. By the time I get to the forearm tip the first bit is ready to buff off. Perhaps letting it dry a bit more would be better. If the gun then goes back to setting in the cabinet I don't bother with it for a while. If the gun makes a trip to the range or goes hunting, I re-wax it again after cleaning. If I know it'll be exposed to adverse weather I give it another good waxing in advance. I suspect the solvent in the solution dissolves a bit of the existing old wax, so I don't know how much accumulated buildup actually takes place with multiple coats. It seems to build a bit, but who knows. The enduring luster speaks for itself though.