Good oil finish?

[Dphariss]

PS I would not move slowly from tru-oil. In its as sold state I would drop it like a hot rock.

Dan

[Dphariss]

I have also used a fair amount of walnut oil . It is a drying oil , as is linseed oil.

Linseed oil will not "dry" unless dryers are added. Raw oil will ooze out of stocks at least 73 years later.  It protects the wood and never gets very shiny it was used on M1 Garands in WW-II.

Dan

[Turtle]

 have any of you tried linseed over the stain with a finish like permalyn on top. I have read that a thin layer of linseed excentuates the figure. I wonder if it would reduce the adhesion of the Permalyn?
                                                     Thanks,Turtle

[Dphariss]

I would also point out that there are people here who seem to spend more time putting on finish than making the rifle.  If the proper finish is used and the proper technique finish takes far less time than the users of modern, 80% solvent finishes would believe. And from comment I have seen here they WON'T believe it.
A few guidelines.
1. Newer is seldom better in the context of finishing a curly Maple gunstock.
2. Plastic is not a good finish for gunstocks no matter what name the maker slaps on it or who used it.
3. Furniture finishes are not gunstock finishes. Different qualities required.
4 Putting 12 or 20 or 30 coats on a stock indicates the use of the wrong finish for the application.
5. I NEVER sand a stained stock once its stained and oiled. No reason to. (I did do this once with 1500 or 2000 grit to color match a buttstock to a forend. Afer I screwed up the barrel channel and had to make one from a different piece of maple, boy was that stock shiny)
6. Never, never, wet sand with a solvent based "varnish". Its akin to spraying rattle can paint in a bag and huffing the fumes.
7. If the maker wants to gun to look like an original one must use similar stock finish. The old time smiths used "fat" Linseed oil varnishes (for the most part) that they invariably made in the shop. I suspect this is why JP Beck's estate inventory had a "paint pot"  this was what he heated his oil in to make varnish. These  varnish finishes, generally Linseed oil with some driers and a little resin, unless worn away or cut through by a ding, are still protecting stocks hundreds of years after being applied.  
Dan

[Robby]

have any of you tried linseed over the stain with a finish like permalyn on top. I have read that a thin layer of linseed excentuates the figure. I wonder if it would reduce the adhesion of the Permalyn?
                                                     Thanks,Turtle

Turtle, The first few guns I made, I slathered the boiled linseed oil on to the stock while it was still hot from blushing out the aquafortis, let it sit for about twenty minutes and wiped it down, let it sit for a day and applied Permalyn sealer then permalyn top coat. That was over ten years ago and the finish looks pretty good to me, even with hard use.
Today I use more traditional finishes based on either linseed oil or Tung oil.
Robby

[ShutEyeHunter]

Just tried a new method to me & very pleased with the refinish on a mostly straight grain walnut stock.  Original finish was from the birchwood Casey kit. The filler and pigment stain left it looking like a 2x4 sprayed with brown Rustoleum.  Zero figure.

Thought I'd try filling and staining with no pigments or particles

Sealer
De-waxed shellac from a spray can. Zinnser's bulls,eye clear.  Has really good shelf life.  Spray is pretty dilute.  Not sure of the equivalent pound cut

Sanded to 320 & re coated,with shellac till glass smooth. Shellac seems to eliminate the need for dewhiskering

Stain-Muzzleloader supply spirit based dark cherry & dark walnut. No sanding after stain, ever...

Alcohol in stain pulled out the shellac from a,few of the pores. Covered quickly,with first coats of oil

Permalyn had dried up in the can.

So, Used Tru-oil

Mixed Tru oil 1:1 with art store drying linseed oil & rubbed in a,drop at a time..  Tiny areas of film buildup buffed back with 0000 steel wool.   Rubbed down carving areas with an old t-shirt while still tacky. Zero buildup there

Tru Oil is 3 parts modified soybean oil varnish to 1 part linseed (when dry). Diluting it with the drying linseed oil gives a beautiful soft luster without any need to rub with rotten stone

Repeated every time I walked by the stock. Took about 3 hours for a coat to dry.  It's a,relaxing hobby so I didn't count coats.

Probably used about 2 tablespoons total of the Tru oil mix.

Couldn't believe the chatoyance (grain pop). It just dances in the sunlight.  Shows off the subtle color streaks in the straight grain as well.  Effects were too subtle to catch as still pix, so you'll have to take my,word for it.