Oiling milsurp stocks?
- Thread starter Lucite
- Start date
I have been told and use raw linseed oil. It sets up kind of sticky but with some heat/friction from the palm of the hand the stickyness disappears. Soaks in to "thirsty" wood very nicely, I never thin it with petroleum distillates for fear of fu<king up 100yr old stocks.
X2. Raw for me. Works great, feels awesome once dry.
Raw linseed is what both the Cdn and US Armies specified for reconditioning stocks. I remember getting the big gallon tins of it to use on FN stocks after a spell in the field. The poly oils contain a drying agent so you need to wipe them off after application otherwise you get a finish on top of the stock, rather than in it. Pure tung oil works great too.
Here is the 'recipe', that I've been using. It calls for boiled linseed oil, and its been working for me.
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=85775
Another very important rule is NO SANDPAPER. It's expained in the link.
http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=120&t=85775
Another very important rule is NO SANDPAPER. It's expained in the link.
As the article points out, BLO contains a drying agent as opposed to raw linseed which does not. BLO will produce a lovely sheen on a riflestock, which can be a little unmilitary looking unless it is toned down a bit with a rubbing compound.
Whether using BLO, raw linseed, or pure tung oil, excess oil should be wiped off the surface of the wood. Excess BLO will dry to a gooey coating if left to accumulate and dry on top of the wood. The original military finish for stocks was either dipping in raw linseed, or in the case of US WW2 production and thereafter, pure tung oil. Personally I like pure tung oil.
Winchester-1897
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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- Newmarket,Ontario
I haven't gotten into any of the upper oils, I just give my stocks a wipe down with a light coat of Hoppes 9 oil. It says on that bottle that it's safe for wood, and I've only had extremely positive results. It treats dry stocks extremely well, and brings out a beautiful look in the grain!
I don't know of any oils which will hurt any wood. But there's some that won't protect as well as others.
Hoppes #9 is more for protecting metal than for weather proofing wood. It won't hurt the wood but it's not ideal for actually giving the wood the sort of weather resistance that raw or boiled linseed oil will provide.
Also the tung and linseed oils mentioned will cure/dry over time with exposure to air and sun. The Hoppes #9 won't. So it'll tend to act as a glue to dust and hand dirt. The only good thing is that the next application will flood away some of the earlier application.
So all in all you won't "hurt" the wood if some gets on the wood. But a better option is to go with the other oils mentioned already.
The same thing applies to Ballistol which also never cures or dries. It makes the wood shiney but it'll act like a dust magnet over time.
Thanks for the reply! I've never actually had a stock not "soak up" the light coat that's on it.
Never really considered "weather proofing" my milsurp rifles, more just applying something to keep them from drying over time. I'll have to read further into the mentioned oil options.
