Oil Finishes

[Nhgrants]

What are you opinions on the use of the following hardware store oil finishes
 On long rifle stocks?
Tung oil
Antique oil
Danish oil
Teak oil

Thanks

[rfd]

there's a can o' worms right there.  oil finishes can be anything from real, raw oil that may take weeks or months to "cure" - if ever.  most, but surely not all commercial "oil finishes" are resin based with "dryers" so that the "cure" time is vastly shortened.  if hours or months later you can still smell the oil odor, it ain't fully "cured".  i've used a number of different types and brands of what are claimed to be "oil finishes" and i'll mostly stick with the "tru-oil" brand.  investigate whatever type/brand interests you before purchasing.   also, commercial names of oil finishes can be very misleading.

[Dennis Glazener]

I have used a lot of Watco Danish oil and have always liked it. One of the reasons is how fast it drys and how quick you can complete finishing a stock. When all the staining/smoothing has been complete a stock can be finished in less than 4 hrs. Follow the directions, soak the wood with oil rub in, wipe off surplus and let dry for 1/2 hr. Apply light second coat wipe off any surplus and let dry 15 minutes, repeat for third and directions say you are done but I may do a fourth coat. Then let the stock dry over night and reassemble gun. I have finished probably 20+ guns like this and have not had a problem with any of them but I never took them out in extreme  weather. Many say the finish will not hold up in wet weather and I can't argue since I never tried to test them. Have not had a complaint from a customer but most of them were like me, didn't venture out in rsin/snow. I have since been using Chambers oil finish and like it but I kinda doubt it is any better in inclement weather.

I have used Permalyn (used the thinner) on several rifles and I feel sure it is superior to any oil finish but I just never got the hang of properly applying it. Also used several different home brewed linseed oil finishes most of which worked well but I saw no advantage over Danish Oil and it was a lot more work to do the mixes and I didn't think it worthwhile.

Dennis

[rfd]

i used LMF permalyn on 3 long guns, it cures real fast because basically it's a resin based plastic finish.  whereas i raw tung oiled a guitar body that never fully cured months later, what a pain, but learned a valuable lesson when it comes to "oil finishes".  read the ingredients and even so, call the manufacturer so you know what yer getting yerself into. 

[Daryl]

I like the "Circa 1850" finishes in the Yellow Can, at the hardware store - the Tung Oil is very good.
Make sure it is hard before applying new coats. Very thin is the trick, as with most oil finishes.
Daryl

ps- I have done very nicely with True Oil and LinSpeed as well.  Whatever you want.  Using True Oil,
you can make a finish like on a Grande Piano, if that is what you want - totally filled, perfectly, then 3
thin coats and finely polished- or- whatever is desired. Pumice or Rotten Stone to cut to a dull shine, or
4-ought wool - they work very well - Your choice.

[Scota4570]

I guess I'll bite!  It depends on the piece of wood.  But often, I stain,  then fill the grain with tinted paste grain filler.  I then seal with Deft sanding sealer lacquer.  I sand between coats until it look level. I then apply several coats of  BLO until it stops absorbing.  I then cut it back to take that sticky off.  I then wax.

Or you could just use spar varnish. Apply thin coats

In truth there is no magic juice, it is how you use it.  Please avoid polyurethane.

[dogcatcher]

In the past 50 years I have bought and used every manufactured version of oil finishes known to mankind, I have even concocted a few of the secret ingredient versions.  But in the end, I always revert back to Watco Teak or a 1:1:1 mix of BLO, Spar and Mineral Spirits.  When I do the first coat I dilute it with an extra 50% with mineral spirits, and apply liberally.  Wait 24 hours, then do the same but this time I sand with 600 grit to knock back the whiskers and make a little mud to fill the wood pores.  Wait 24 hours and decide if I need more sanding mud, if I do I use a 75/25 mix of Teak and mineral spirits, sand and make mud to fill pores.  Then wait 24 hours and go after with 100% teak or secret mixture. 

[BOB HILL]

I have used Danish oil on most of the guns I’ve made over the years. I mix my own version most of the time. It is one part varnish, one part blo and three parts turpentine or mineral spirits. I have used Chambers oil finish and like the results I got with it.
Bob

[smart dog]

What are you opinions on the use of the following hardware store oil finishes
 On long rifle stocks?
Tung oil
Antique oil
Danish oil
Teak oil

Thanks

Hi,
You will get a lot of different responses simply because there are a lot of different finishes that serve the purpose.  However, I'll address your question directly.  All of the finishes you listed will work fine but it is good to understand what they are.  None you listed are actual oil finishes.  They all contain some oil and oil derivatives mixed with a varnish of some sort.  Antique, Danish, and Teak oil are linseed oil and varnish mixes. The differences between them are trivial and mostly marketing ploys.  The tung oil finishes found in hardware stores actually contain no real tung oil but rather compounds derived from tung oil. Formby's, for example, is not an oil-based finish at all but a wiping varnish. All the finishes you listed will work well, dry fairly fast, and can be built up to a gloss or left with a low sheen. A real oil finish, like actual tung and linseed oils dry very slowly and are not particularly very weather resistant.  Boiled linseed oil you get in hardware stores is not boiled at all.  It is a poor grade of linseed oil mixed with driers to speed up drying time.  Anytime you find an "oil" finish that advertises it dries fast, you can be assured it is some mix containing a varnish, with 2 major exceptions.  Polymerized (or heat treated) oil finishes contain real oil and dry fast, and can produce in the wood "oil" looking finishes and built up "on the surface" looking finishes.  The two polymerized oil products most commonly sold are linseed oil based (Tru-Oil) and polymerized tung oil (Behr, Sutherland-Welles).

dave     

[deepcreekdale]

In years past I have used all the finishes you mention at some time or other. I did use a lot of Min-Wax Antigue oil finish, which I believe is the same as Tru-Oil, just a lot cheaper because you get a quart for about the same price as two of the small bottles from Birchwood Casey.  As others have posted, they all will work, and are really pretty similar. However, for that past several years, I have used Chambers finish and have no plans on ever using anything else. It seems to be fool proof if a minimum of care is used in the application, does not tend to leave drips or runs, gives you a wide range of levels of gloss, if that is important to you and is extremely durable. In short, if you are looking for a good finish, I think you are just making your life difficult it you use anything else. I understand and respect that some people want to use as traditional a finish as possible, although, I don't think anything available today is close to what was used in the old days.

[wmrike]

I have had good results with all of them.  However, I have arrived at the opinion that nothing works quite as well as a freshly opened container of product.  I typically try to get my money's worth out of every can, but successive projects always seem to require more work and corrective measures.

All that said, I'm a Permalyn fan, wiped or sprayed.  Just bought some Waterlox I want to try, and I really need to use some Chambers oil.