Finishing Boyds M1 Walnut stock

[purple]

thats exactly the answer Ive been looking for Purple! I wasnt planning on sanding the stock, I was more reffering to stocks that had been sanded and given a finer finish. Do you know if the RLO Ive got is still good, after going through so many winters and freezing temps? *edit* I did some digging and found some helpful instructions, looks pretty easy. And a big thanks to all who helped, I'm sure others will benefit from this as well

If your old can of RLO is still viscous and not congealed or gummy,it should still penetrate the stock wood. Just try some on a piece of scrap wood and see what happens. Remember to wipe off the excess so it can't dry and congeal on the surface.

A comment on staining. New Garand stocks were not stained, but you can stain to darken them to taste. A water based stain is OK on a new stock, but isn't the best on a used stock as it will not penetrate the residual oils in an old military stock that well. For a used stock the best stain is an alcohol based one. Fiebings leather dyes, light or medium brown, are excellent for this and will impart a reddish hue which replicates the look of a used military stock where the red tints come from old oxidized petroleum oils/cosmolene in the wood.

 

[supernova]

Thanks purple, I think I'm gonna go with first 1 coat of raw tung oil mixed 50/50 with turpentine for penetration, followed by successive coats of raw tung oil, then a few coats of RLO and see how it goes. The metal will be re-parkerized and the wood brand new, so it will look like a brand new WW2 issue M1 Garand. That thought alone excites me, and will motivate me through the process. Thanks again

 

[SoBored]

My gawd those are some nice looking battle implements.

I should really start saving for a Garand.

 

[Brocolt]

I used 10w40 Motor oil on my stock, Will My #### Fall Off?

 

[purple]

I used 10w40 Motor oil on my stock, Will My #### Fall Off?

It's your stock and your vehicle, but would you use BLO for your next oil change?

 

[supernova]

I knew a guy who put hydraulic oil in his old ford straight six... fixed the oil leaks, stopped burning oil and went on to live until the day it got towed

 

[supernova]

Well I finally got the stock oiled, went with PRLO as nobody locally had Tung oil that didnt have poisonous and flammable warnings all over the can. I didnt feel like paying triple the price for shipping either, but I'm glad I went with Linseed oil, its exactly the look I was after. Before pics:

And some after pics of the stock:

The pics really dont do it justice, its much more even and consistent in person. I wish I'd went for the slim WW2 pattern but meh, It still looks great. Next will be parkerizing, and rubbing in some linseed oil on the Springfield M1A NM sling to soften and darken it. A big thanks to all who helped out, I should be able to get her back out to the range as soon as the weather smartens up