Refinishing with BLO

mmattockx

mmattockx

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Just a few questions before I refinish a stock for the first time with BLO. The stock will be stripped of its old finish, scrubbed smooth with fine steel wool, then stained to my desired colour.

1) I plan to apply the BLO with clean cotton rags. Is this the best option or is there another?

2) I have read that some like to put the first 2-3 coats on with the BLO cut 50/50 with turpentine to thin it some and really get it into the grain of the wood. Yes/no?

3) How long do I wait between coats? Do I rub down with steel wool between coats?

4) How long do I let it sit after the final coat before it is dry and non-tacky? Does it need a final rubdown with steel wool or a rough cloth?


Thanks,
Mark
 
1. Use your bare hands, the heat of your hands will help the BLO flow into the pores better
2.i do more 30/70 and the last couple coats I use straight BLO.
3.i generally wait 24hrs, using steel wool before the next coat opens up the pore of the wood.
4. Again I use steel wool, but last coats are a beeswax BLO paste
 
I forgot too mention I keep my mixed BLO in a glass jar, and before using I warm it up by putting it a sinkfull of hot water.
 
Linseed oil is natural occurring, and BLO has just been heat treated. I wash my hand immediately after not like I bathe in it.

Forgot about the turpentine but though. However the stuff I use again is natural extracts too
 
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Dyspnea said:
1. Use your bare hands, the heat of your hands will help the BLO flow into the pores better
2.i do more 30/70 and the last couple coats I use straight BLO.
3.i generally wait 24hrs, using steel wool before the next coat opens up the pore of the wood.
4. Again I use steel wool, but last coats are a beeswax BLO paste
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Thanks for the reply. Got any details on your paste mix? I have access to beeswax and can mix some up for the final coat.


davemccarthy707 said:
BLO is full of chemicals such as arsenic etc. Use some gloves.
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Gloves it is, thanks for the warning.


Mark
 
1:1:1 beeswax linseed oil and turpentine, melt the wax in a double boiler and mix the other bits stir well. Let cool over night
 
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davemccarthy707 said:
Yes, however, Boiled Linseed Oil is not actually boiled. It is mixed with many chemicals to reduce drying time.

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/inflin.html
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It depends on the brand of BLO that you get. Look for the MSDS for your brand. It will tell you what is in it. There is a lot of them out there that do have a bunch of chemicals, but there is a bunch that don't either.

The stuff I use is the Home Hardware brand, and it is true BLO. However, I still wear gloves, it helps a lot with cleanup (especially when you have to go take a leak).

The original stuff that the military would use was true BLO. I remember reading over on milsurps.com about either armourers, or factory works, up to their biceps, fishing stock parts out of vats of the stuff.

EDIT: What are you finishing? I assume an Enfield. I see Dyspnea's recipe there. Some other good ones are 1:1:1 BLO, Pine Tar, Beeswax or 1:1:1 BLO, pine tar, turpentine. (these are not traditional Enfield finishes, but Finnish army ones)
 
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mmattockx said:
Just a few questions before I refinish a stock for the first time with BLO. The stock will be stripped of its old finish, scrubbed smooth with fine steel wool, then stained to my desired colour.

1) I plan to apply the BLO with clean cotton rags. Is this the best option or is there another?

2) I have read that some like to put the first 2-3 coats on with the BLO cut 50/50 with turpentine to thin it some and really get it into the grain of the wood. Yes/no?

3) How long do I wait between coats? Do I rub down with steel wool between coats?

4) How long do I let it sit after the final coat before it is dry and non-tacky? Does it need a final rubdown with steel wool or a rough cloth?


Thanks,
Mark
Click to expand...

1) Paper towel for the first couple of coats is fine. Apply it with one piece, let stand to soak in for a couple of minutes then rub off vigoursly with a couple of clean ones.

2) thinning the first couple of coats with either turpentine or Low Odor Paint Thinner (AKA Mineral Spirits) can aid penetration nicely. No need for it after the first couple of coats.

3) I like to let my nose be my guide. The curing time (the BLO doesn't really "dry" since there's no solvents in the oil) will vary from brand to brand but the odor from the oil will change slightly when it's cured. And given enough time the cured oil will become all but odorless. But you only need to wait for the next coat until you can sense a change in the odor. Generally when I've used the BLO's I've had this is about a week if you leave it indoors. If you can set it out where the sun can shine on it the warmth and UV will speed this up a little.... Yeah, yeah, I know it's a bad time of the year for that.... :D

4) Sort of a continuation of 3)

I find that as the oil cures it raises some fuzz from the wood. So after the first couple of coats I like to rub the next coats on with a small "brussel sprout" size wad of medium steel wool to rub the wood down at the same time I'm adding the next coat of oil. This has worked out VERY nicely and the wood looks and feels great with this method. Just be sure you rub ONLY along the grain and not cross grain. For these later coats rubbing the excess off after the soak in time with paper towels is still OK.

And be sure you rub off the excess with vigour and firm pressure. You are only shooting yourself in the foot if you try to leave more than a minimum on the wood. THAT is when it gets ugly with shiney spots and tackiness. So rub on a wet coat, let soak for up to 5 minutes then WIPE 'ER DOWN HARD!

As you can see a BLO finish is a long time commitment. But the results are well worth the work. A pretty decent finish will be had with 4 to 5 coats with a week to 10 days between coats. If this is too much time then look into faster drying options.

The good news is that once the basic finish is done right you can spruce up the finish with yearly or slightly more frequent rubs of the same oil. The bad news is that an oil finish is NEVER finished. If the stock sees lots of hard weather then you'll likely want to add a feeder coat every 6 to 8 months. If it's a fair weather only sort of deal then yearly or a little longer is fine. But wax or not it will still need that feeder coat now and then.
 
No matter how many times I've BLO'd my stocks , I always end up getting the stuff on my hands and finally use my bare hands anyway.
There is some BLO with chemical additives and some that is pure.
Pure BLO may also be used as cattle laxitive. :rolleyes:
The BLO bottle will say wether and what chemicals are in it , .
Pure BLO will have no other chem's listed , so read the label
 
I have been doing this for some time now and it works very well and is wayyyy too easy to oil a lot of your wood at the same time.

I have found another great use for that food vacuum bagger that is sitting in your pantry or on your kitchen counter. I use it for oiling old milsurp wood stocks and handguards! Mix up some linseed oil 50/50 with pure turpentine to thin it out so it really soaks in and apply it liberally to the wood with a paint brush. Then seal one end of the long bag roll and place wooden stock parts into the bag. Cut the other end extra long so that you can keep re-using it when you cut it open after a few days/week or so. Place a good wad of paper towel just above the stock parts to catch any oil that tries to escape when you vacuum seal it so that it doesn't get into the machine. Then you can place it in a warm spot for as long as you want so the oil can really soak in without risk of it drying on the wood during the extended contact time.

I have actually oil-expanded dryed out wood this way on my M14 walnut stock. The fit between the receiver and stock had become loose and very easy to take apart. After a couple of treatments this way, it was really tight again!!! Not only does thinning out the oil work, but the vacuum pressure forces the oil into the wood without any effort on your part. The best thing about it is if you have a bunch of rolls of the bag material, you can do a whole bunch at the same time without having to worry when you get around to opening all of the bags and wiping the residual oil off as there is minimal air left in the bag to cause any kind of premature drying.

When you get most of the oil off with paper towels after you remove it from the bag, just continue on like normal with a lot of really good rubbing with an old sock or whatever you normally use to buff it in before final air drying and storage. You can also give it a really good buff with pure linseed oil or BLO for the final coat before you let it dry for a while and then store it in the safe.

Cheers,

Ian
 
Dyspnea said:
1:1:1 beeswax linseed oil and turpentine, melt the wax in a double boiler and mix the other bits stir well. Let cool over night
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Excellent, I will whip up a batch for the final finishing.


Cdn303 said:
EDIT: What are you finishing? I assume an Enfield. I see Dyspnea's recipe there. Some other good ones are 1:1:1 BLO, Pine Tar, Beeswax or 1:1:1 BLO, pine tar, turpentine. (these are not traditional Enfield finishes, but Finnish army ones)
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It is a 10/22 stock. I am making a mini SOCOM replica and want to have a dark walnut looking stock with the matte finish only BLO gives so nicely.

Thanks to all for the info, it is most appreciated.


Mark
 
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