linspeed

[Topknot]

Has anyone ever tried linspeed for a longrifle finnish? what kind of results
did you have?
                                   thanks in advance.

                                                       topknot

[smallpatch]

dries way to fast, and way to shiny.  My opinion, others may vary.

[HIB]

Gentlemen,  Linspeed has been around for a number of years. I used it in 1967!! Once!!

Linspeed provides a tough finish but you have to have discipline once you have applied it to your stock. Human nature demands that we touch the finish to see if it is dry. Can't do that with Linspeed as it will leave an impression you will have a bear of a time correcting.  I have proof. And a finger print right in the middle of the cheek rest side carving to prove it.

Good product but if you intend on using it wait three or four extra days beyond the instructions before you get curious as to how fast it has dried or if it has dried. Suggest a side board sample.

If the finish is too shinny you can mellow it down with a careful and slow application of steel wool and gun oil rubbed with the grain in the area you want a reduced shine. Check progress frequently as the oil will lay on top of the Linspeed finish and will need to be removed to see progression. Final finish is hard as a rock. Same today as it was 45 years ago. Regards, HIB

[bonron]

Topnot: I've used Linspeed for years with very satisfactory results. Stain the wood then a heavy coat of mixture of Linspeed and turp 50 - 50. Let dry for three days. Steel wool lightly and put on three more LIGHT but well rubbed in coats. Wait three days between coats. Too glossy? Steel wool  .   

[wmrike]

This business of steel wool to knock down the gloss - it came up on another site and I wondered how a person gets by with it unless they are using 0.  If I were to use something that minimizes the scratches, like four- or five-ought, it will just polish out again with a little handling.  Does it really work for the rest of you?

[Hungry Horse]

 Linspeed is a lot like Tru-oil in that it is way too shiny, and is not compatible with a lot of blackpowder cleaning products. I like linseed oil, turp., and bee's wax. JMO.


                      Hungry Horse

[Acer Saccharum]

If you Linspeed and steel wool on a walnut stock, you may find, as you put the final coats on, little bright flecks of steel in the pores.

I have used 400 grit wet/dry paper and thinned Linspeed to wetsand the finish down to the wood. Get the pores filled, THEN go for final coats. looks like glass.


 This is a great finish for a CTG gun, but not appropriate for traditional longrifle. Too glossy.

[Robby]

Pumice and paraffin oil works pretty good.
Robby

[Hungry Horse]

 I did find that if you are building a revolver kit, of the Colt pattern, and want it to look like the high end finish Colt applied to the grips. I think it was called a French polish. All you need to do is apply either Linspeed, or Tru-oil in several heavy coats letting each dry properly between coats, and then rub it out with Birchwood Casey's rubbing compound. Now all you have to do is find someone to put apply that beautiful light clear blue, Colt used on it upper grade revolvers.

                   Hungry Horse

[Acer Saccharum]

French polish is typically a shellac finish, applied with olive oil or other oil for a lube. You can oil finish over this.

[Habu]

Done right, a french polish is faster than even one coat of Linspeed (due to the drying time of the Linspeed). 

Linspeed doesn't seem to work well on carvings and mouldings, it is hard to polish the "shine" from the corners.  I do like it for modern guns, over a sealer coat of tung oil, and polished back to kill the gloss. 

[Mike Brooks]

dries way to fast, and way to shiny.  My opinion, others may vary.

DITTO

[bonron]

Is linspeed similar to the old 3-2-1 that has been around for years?  I've heard somewhere that it is a good finish especially after being rubbeddown with rottenstone and linseed oil.

[Topknot]

Thanks guys for letting me know what not to use. I really want a oil type finnish that turns out great and looks traditional. Can you VERY TALENTED guys steer me
in the right direction? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

                                                                                                  topknot

[Habu]

Topknot, I don't know if there has ever been a gunfight over the best finish for a gunstock, but it wouldn't surprise me.  I don't think any three people agree, and two of those three probably don't even use the same finish on any two stocks! 

I've got umpteen brothers and sister, an awful lot of in-laws, an undetermined number of nieces and nephews, and I think most of them have asked me your question at least once.  The answer I came up with had to be passable, else I'd have to finish their stocks--and with my family it would be a full-time job!  Here's what I tell them:

Seal the stock with pure tung oil (I usually recommend "Hope's 100% Tung oil"), NOT a "tung oil finish," "Danish oil," etc.  Slop it on, let it soak in, then wipe off the surface every few hours for a day.  When it dries, fill the grain with multiple coats of  "Tried and True's Varnish Oil" rubbed in thin.  Maybe rotten-stone it down to the surface, maybe not--depends on the wood.  Maybe put on a few more coats after filling the grain, maybe not--it is up to the person doing the finishing. 

Generally speaking, they've been happy with that IF THEY FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS.  The one who wasn't happy wanted a high-gloss finish like on the Weatherby's from the '70s.  (I'm not sure where he came from--maybe he's adopted.) 

It isn't a perfect finish, or a perfect solution, but it will work.  Folks are generally happy with it, it looks the way they think it should look. 

But I'll bet a nickel almost everyone who replies will have different suggestions!

[Topknot]

Thanks HABU for the info.

                                     topknot

[smallpatch]

Topknot,

IMHO, I've tried everything you can think of in the last few years, and here's where I've landed for now.

Chamber's Oil Finish.  Easy, convenient, very forgiving, and looks great when it's done.  I don't like "plastic" shiny finishes.  This one is IN the wood, not ON the wood.

[Daryl]

Topknot,

IMHO, I've tried everything you can think of in the last few years, and here's where I've landed for now.

Chamber's Oil Finish.  Easy, convenient, very forgiving, and looks great when it's done.  I don't like "plastic" shiny finishes.  This one is IN the wood, not ON the wood.

Which is the way properly applied Linspeed and True Oil are - soaked into the wood, not layered on it.  I use Pumice for rubbing it back to a satin, dull finish. Works perfectly for me, but then, 1850 series Tung/Danish oil is nice too.