Tung oil

[A2theK]

Wow thanks guys. I just finished an axe handle on an axe that I "rebuilt". I found the axe at Mom's house with a broken handle in the corner of the garage on Father's Day. Still had the same weird midnight blue color on the head that I refinished, the best a kid can do, for my Dad on Fathers Day 30 years before.
I was 10 and I didn't have any money to buy him a real present.

Dad passed away two weeks before I found it. Really strange to find it given the timing and circumstance.

I took the old axe home, gave it a grind, stamped Dad's initials into it, mine, and my 6 yr old daughter's, who helped me grind and then paint it. The Tung oil worked great on the new ash handle I had laying around. 5-6 coats but I "hand" rubbed it with no sanding. I always heard guns could be done the same way, but needed a sanding type wipe in between coats. It turned out great. Smooth, but still grippy.

Sorry for the long story.


Thanks for the info. I will give it a try on a gunstock.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

I used TrueOil back when I refinished a mosin stock. I think it came out pretty good for a quick and easy job. Sanded to 400 and used steel wool between coats. Make sure its completely dry (mine took 2 days between coats) or the steel wool likes to stick to the wood.

 

[Member 34319]

I too prefer Tru Oil. Tried that and Linseed Oil. Now I'll just use Tru Oil.

 

[Spitpatch]

Some guns came factory with a real oil finish. Most of later manufacture have a varnish/oil mixture finish and others epoxy/polyurethane.

When refinishing, I try to stay with what the gun came with. Boiled linseed for the oiled stocks, Tru Oil for the varnished ones.

 

[thorborg]

I've use much Tung oil, It painful when I was young and impatient. Humidity will slow things to a crawl so usually I would settle for less coats than i would like to have out of frustration. One project I started the finish in October, 1979 I believe, for a Christmas present, and on its fourth coat still hadn't fully cured when Christmas came. Boiled Linseed is similar in drying but some faster albeit only satin finishes to be expected. A drying chamber made out of an old refrigerator with some vent added. with a 60 watt light bulb sped things considerably. Both finishes are not something the wife will appreciate in the house so having an out building of some sort will make life better. I prefer steel wool to wet'n dry except for flat stuff with the highest of shine wanted. deepest penetration for both oils should be thinned by half the first couple coats. I like to warm both oils in warm water before use, and the wood too if you can find a warm dry spot, especially for the first coats.
After many decades, some where in the 80's actually, my Uncle showed me his high figured sporter 300 mag Mauser he had finished with just his fingers and Birchwoos Casey's Tru-Oil gunstock finish. Took him a about two weeks to put seven coats of the stuff on it and it was winter, and was Beautiful, for an shine finish. The figured wood rich and bold.
The best part may have been when he showed me where he had scraped the side whilst hunting mules in the Steens. I could not tell where. The darn stuff is great at spot repairs after a little sanding blending the edges of the area, he started rubbing a little finish on the spots each night after dinner till it literally disappeared. Plus it comes in little bottles that reduce mess and seem to go a long way.
Now I'm in the @Spitpatch camp, Oil when I have to, Tru-oil for the rest.

 

[bolus]

I prefer boiled linseed oil. Tung oil takes a lot longer to dry and in my area in high humidity if the bottle says "dries in 4 hours" in reality it is more like a week here. Waiting a week to sand between coats isnt going to work for me.

Boiled linseed oil is not boiled and it actually flax oil. But at least it is an oil. Not sure why they needed to give it a fake adjective and give it a brand new name as well. It does have drying agents which they decided was the reason to call it "boiled." I'd call if "faster drying flax oil" but I'm and idiot. Why not call it "singing beer oil of pain" if you are going to make up a completely fake name for a product. But I digress...

only problem with BLO is this is what causes the piles of oily rags to catch fire. It gives off heat when drying so a pile of rags may catch fire. Despite my attempts, I cant reproduce this though, very disappointed.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I built a "Hot Box" years ago for stock finishing with the oils, and it really helps the process and gives you a really nice finish with out all the extra work and waiting! All this box is is two large halves that are hinged on one side with wire supports to hang the stock inside, on the top is a bare 100 watt light bulb to provide the heat, you mount your freshly oiled/tinted stock, turn on the light and let the temps come up, you want to use an old towel to cover the opening of the box, and you can vary the temps by opening or closing the box. pretty simple but takes some experimenting to get the cure just right! Basically, the heat will help draw the oils into the wood, and help speed the curing up! I find this gives me a very "Hard" finish that I can leave as satin or polish to what ever level of shine I wish!

 

[ma96782]

I use BLO because that is what I have.

Aloha, Mark

 

[P7M13]

Didn't have a problem with this stuff drying. But, as I wrote earlier, it was still quite wet 24 hours after applying.

 

[Medic!]

I think I'll let you guess what I use.
Don't want to hurt any feelings.

 

[JuglansRegia]

Tung oil is a great finish if you want something that is durable, weather proof and easy to touch up. If you want a high gloss finish then Tru-oil is the way to go. BLO is garbage unless you are using it for a deck or siding, then I still think its garbage. I did find good use for it, lighting the burn pile.

Tung oil is like honey, the colder it gets the thicker it gets, so I cut mine with turpentine or mineral spirits. You can build it up for a gloss finish but it takes forever. I also buff and wax Tung Oil finished wood for a satin smooth to the touch shine.

 

[Gbirk]

I took these basic hand guards down to bare wood and then applied several coats of Tung Oil. I am not sure what wood they are, but they turned out a nice blond color. I used Hope's 100% pure diluted about 50% with mineral spirits.

 

[JuglansRegia]

I took these basic hand guards down to bare wood and then applied several coats of Tung Oil. I am not sure what wood they are, but they turned out a nice blond color. I used Hope's 100% pure diluted about 50% with mineral spirits.

View attachment 779177

Looks like beech wood, its a common hardwood in europe

 

[Gbirk]

I have an M1 Garand with the new stock from CMP. I have been wanting to redo it with Tung Oil, but I have not gotten up the guts to try it. The AK above was my trial and it turned out OK, but I would hate to mess up the Garand.

 

[Gbirk]

Looks like beech wood, its a common hardwood in europe

That sounds right. When I 1st oiled them they almost looked like pine they were so light, but they have darkened up a bit over time to a nice dishwater blond.

 

[JuglansRegia]

I have an M1 Garand with the new stock from CMP. I have been wanting to redo it with Tung Oil, but I have not gotten up the guts to try it. The AK above was my trial and it turned out OK, but I would hate to mess up the Garand.

I believe USGI wood stocks were dipped in hot Tung Oil or BLO or a combination of the two, obviously it will penetrate the wood deeper and faster if its nice and hot but probably not practical for us home armory types. It would be pretty hard to screw up one of those Boyd stocks the CMP is using. If it was a nice Wenig or something I would be more worried.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

I have an M1 Garand with the new stock from CMP. I have been wanting to redo it with Tung Oil, but I have not gotten up the guts to try it. The AK above was my trial and it turned out OK, but I would hate to mess up the Garand.

If you have a CMP rifle then why not go for a CMP finish? https://thecmp.org/wood-cleaning-article/

 

[Gbirk]

If you have a CMP rifle then why not go for a CMP finish? https://thecmp.org/wood-cleaning-article/

Hey, that's cool. Thanks.

 

[Phantom Man]

Tung oil is revered as a moisture rot prevention solution on wood. It prevents also prevents fungus on wet wood.
I can't speak about the athletics of the finish as others can.

 

[P7M13]

I think I'll let you guess what I use.
Don't want to hurt any feelings.

The blood of slaves?