How to preserve old wood?
- Thread starter Jericho
- Start date
It sort of depends on what it was finished with originally. If it's shiney and "lacquered" looking then you'll need to find out what was on it before and repair any spots with the same stuff. Or you can experiment on a small spot with polyurethane.
If it's one of the "natural wood" looking stocks it is finished with a drying oil such as danish oil or teak oil or the gunstock equivalent. The key part being a DRYING oil that "cures" up from contact with the air over a few days to a week. If it's that type of finish then you can freely coat it with a similar product to restore any worn areas and bring back the overall finish. Follow the instructions which should run something like "apply, let soak for some time, then wipe off briskly". Such stocks will benifit from such a rejuvination about once a year or every second year if they don't see much bad weather. If it gets really ugly in your area once every 8'ish months wouldn't be out of the question.
Applying such oil with a wad of steel wool (obviously not an SOS soap pad) works great for cleaning out the pores of dirt but avoid dulling down any checkering. In fact a washup with steel wool and some mineral spirits then wipe dry and let dry overnight is a great prep clean to get ready for the finishing oil.
If it's one of the "natural wood" looking stocks it is finished with a drying oil such as danish oil or teak oil or the gunstock equivalent. The key part being a DRYING oil that "cures" up from contact with the air over a few days to a week. If it's that type of finish then you can freely coat it with a similar product to restore any worn areas and bring back the overall finish. Follow the instructions which should run something like "apply, let soak for some time, then wipe off briskly". Such stocks will benifit from such a rejuvination about once a year or every second year if they don't see much bad weather. If it gets really ugly in your area once every 8'ish months wouldn't be out of the question.
Applying such oil with a wad of steel wool (obviously not an SOS soap pad) works great for cleaning out the pores of dirt but avoid dulling down any checkering. In fact a washup with steel wool and some mineral spirits then wipe dry and let dry overnight is a great prep clean to get ready for the finishing oil.
#1bcshooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- North Of The DMZ (US border)
I use double boiled linseed oil on my open grain wood stocks .
Funny I just finished doing 5 old Mod 12's before reading this post still wiping my hands .
Funny I just finished doing 5 old Mod 12's before reading this post still wiping my hands .
- Location
- Thunder Bay ON Canada
Epoxy.
Thats funny
1.Remove old finish with oven cleaner.Leave it on for 5-10 minutes then wash it off with really hot water and a srcubbing pad.Repeat if needed.Wood should turn kinda whiteish.
2.Sand stock with 320 grit to get desired finish OR steam to take out dings then sand.Sand off all wood fuzz left by oven cleaning.
3.Sand again lightly with 400 grit.
4.Apply Birchwood-Casey Try-Oil and rub in using the warmth of your hands and fingers to sink oil into wood.You can assist this by warming the wood before hand with a heater.
5.Let dry until dry to the touch.You can expedite this again with a heater.
6.Buff dry stock with 0000 steel wool lightly and wipe stock off.
7.Reapply Tru-oil and steel wool as many times as needed until desired finish is achieved.
2.Sand stock with 320 grit to get desired finish OR steam to take out dings then sand.Sand off all wood fuzz left by oven cleaning.
3.Sand again lightly with 400 grit.
4.Apply Birchwood-Casey Try-Oil and rub in using the warmth of your hands and fingers to sink oil into wood.You can assist this by warming the wood before hand with a heater.
5.Let dry until dry to the touch.You can expedite this again with a heater.
6.Buff dry stock with 0000 steel wool lightly and wipe stock off.
7.Reapply Tru-oil and steel wool as many times as needed until desired finish is achieved.
wood Preserver
This is great information, but if you like to avoid some of these steps go to Home Depot and buy a product called Howards Feed N Wax, a combo of Beeswax and orange oil, a great product for gun stocks. FS
This is great information, but if you like to avoid some of these steps go to Home Depot and buy a product called Howards Feed N Wax, a combo of Beeswax and orange oil, a great product for gun stocks. FS
I use Circa1850 furniture stripper on wood I refinish. Prepares the wood perfectly and does not affect it chemically.
Refinishing substance can depend on what the firearm is (i.e. does it need to be the same stuff as when the rifle was issued new?).
Refinishing substance can depend on what the firearm is (i.e. does it need to be the same stuff as when the rifle was issued new?).
Feed n wax
Long
if you go over to Rimfire Central , go to Winchester and search Howards there is a pile of info about this great product.
What you do is apply it with a soft cloth , wait 20 mins and take another soft cloth and start buffing, and the whole house smells nice and orangie.
Really hepls bring out the grain in wood stocks, which I have a bunch of, FS
Cool does it dry hard?Does your gun smell nice after?
Long
if you go over to Rimfire Central , go to Winchester and search Howards there is a pile of info about this great product.
What you do is apply it with a soft cloth , wait 20 mins and take another soft cloth and start buffing, and the whole house smells nice and orangie.
Really hepls bring out the grain in wood stocks, which I have a bunch of, FS
The wax and orange oil sounds more like something to be applied to an existing finish to clean and wax the surface rather than as a finish on its own. Unless it dries to a hard finish it'll be damaged by a lot of external contact and will hold dirt really well. Wax just isn't all that hard a finish. Unlike much of the other stuff mentioned here it won't "dry" to a hard finish that hardens the wood and protects against stains that would soak into the wood.
Seal it with something that'll dry to a hard finish first and then use things like furnitur oil or some oil and wax mixtures as a final "polish" to bring out the shine without looking all plastic'y.
Seal it with something that'll dry to a hard finish first and then use things like furnitur oil or some oil and wax mixtures as a final "polish" to bring out the shine without looking all plastic'y.
buy yourself a spray bottle. purchase a bottle of ammonia. put ammonia or a 50% water/50% ammonia into it. Then spray the stock.....all the dirt and old finish will run down the stock into the sink. rinse in hot water/see if it needs more spraying. wash with soap and hot water/rinse and let dry for few days. Then apply shoe dye to stock and finish with marine grade teak oil.
