BLO Jobs

STR8 Shot

STR8 Shot

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Super GunNutz
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Somewhere in Ontario
Good day to all!

Its my first time finishing wood with boiled linseed oil, I generally use tung oil or some sort of laquer clear coat - depending on the project.

I'm 4 coats into finishing the stock with BLO and don't seem to be building any sort of layer's. Maybe this is normal, but wanted to hear your experiences.

I made the mistake of using tung oil on my first attempt, and it looked great....too good for a Lee Enfield, so I stripped it in favor of doing a traditional BLO job.

I'd be interested to hear of others experience.
 
I do not think Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) is supposed to "build layers" on top of the wood - I think it is supposed to soak into the wood and do it's thing in there. I think subsequent layers simply soak through pre-existing layers - so not likely to "cover" or "fill in" any blemishes, either.

Unlike a varnish or paint that lays on top of the wood.

I have used BLO a couple times - first was on some NOS beech stocks from WWII - I did not have guts to heat up a vat of that oil, as was done by British in the World Wars, so I cut it with about 50% turpentine, and made up a "soaker tube" out of 4" ABS pipe - glued a cap on one end, set the various wood in there, filled it with the 50-50 mix, put a temporary cap on top end and promptly forgot about it - I think 4 or 5 days later I noticed it - pulled wood out and "drip dried" and tried to rub as much off surface as possible with a piece of terry rag - did not want any left on the surface - only what would soak into the wood - pieces were suspended on wires in garage overnight - totally hard and dry the next day - I think that one got a few more coatings - maybe a couple drops of BLO each coat - rubbed in hard with bare palm of hand.

The second one was a re-build M1917 from WWII - the stocks were three different colours - three different purchases - so first was 50-50 mix of a MinWax wood dye and BLO - that got two of the three pieces looking similar - sloshed it on thickly - dripping wet - left it like that maybe 5 minutes, then rubbed hard to get as much off the wood surface as I could. The third piece took a second coat of that dye-mix to get to similar colour as the first two - same process used. Then, once to my satisfaction for colour - went to straight BLO and a few drops at a time - hand rubbed in hard onto the wood stocks - was four (?) coats done like that - was hung to dry overnight between coats.

I think original linseed oil was RLO - Raw Linseed Oil - you can buy it in Health Food stores - it is just flax seed oil. There was a process to "boil" it - however, I think "modern" BLO is no longer boiled - it likely has chemicals added to speed up the drying process. I was advised to NOT attempt to build layers with Linseed Oil - at most, perhaps molecule or two thick on top of the wood - is how I was doing it. You might find that linseed oil will interact with oxygen in the air and go darker over the years. There are some WWI P14 and M1917 stocks here that are nearly black coloured - were not made that way - I am pretty sure that is the linseed oil, plus oxygen from air, plus sweat from hands, plus grime from combat.
 
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Like other oil finishes, BLO is insanely easy to apply: Hand-sand the piece you’re finishing to at least 220-grit. Wipe on the oil with a cotton rag and wipe off the excess. Wait a day, lightly burnish the surfaces with a gray nonabrasive pad, and apply another coat of oil. Repeat until you get the feel and sheen you want. Just don’t expect an oil finish to build like shellac or wipe-on poly. The oil penetrates the wood instead of sitting on top of it.
 
Keep going and it will look fantastic, it might take 20-30 applications to get the result you wish! I would want to 400 then apply a generous amount of blo then use a 400 grit to rub it in, this will create a slurry and fill the pores of the wood, let sit for a bit and wipe off excess! Repeat 24hrs later with 600grit! After that no need for sand paper anymore just oil, rub, let sit for a few minutes and wipe the excess!
 
The method I was taught and use is a light application, just enough to make it wet, but not drip excessively, with multiple applications. I don't do additional sanding before hand or between applications. Once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year. I've never done a gun stock with it though. I use it on bush axe handles or similar, and LOVE it.
 
trebor2880 said:
"BLO Jobs"

OK, now that y'all got my attention!
Click to expand...

I figured a catchy title would get some responses lol.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I will keep it going.

I saw a video where they show a rifle with 8 coats versus 3 or 4 coats and you can certainly notice a difference in luster. One thing I have taken a liking to with this specific oil finish is the 'feel' of the wood. You can actually feel the wood in your hand as opposed to a thick laquer finish.

I might post some pics of the progress.
 
Did you soak the stock first and let it saturate? I’ll drench it and add more where the wood keeps soaking it in, after it’s then wipe it off 20-30 minutes later, then a 3-4 week dry period, then, I start adding the layers.

If you don’t saturate the stock first, your bunch of first coats will disappear into the wood pretty quick usually.

Lately Iv been adding 10-20% tru oil or spar to my BLO to get a little harder of a finish.

Jme
 
I usually use artist's linseed oil, like you find at Micheals for thinning oil paints. I have found that some brands build up a lot quicker than others. With one brand I just sort of gave up after about 20 coats. No noticeable build up at all.
Raw linseed oil pretty much doesn't dry within any reasonable time period.

I'll get flamed for this, I'm sure, but linseed oil, or any oil, for that matter, makes a horrible gunstock finish.
Almost zero protection against atmospheric moisture, and not much better against liquid water. Soft and easily damaged.
Most "oil" finishes out there(Tru-oil, Arrowwood oil, Timberluxe, most commercial "tung oils") have only small amounts of oil. Let's be real, they're wiping varnish.
 
I prefer blo to any other oil finish, use it on gun stocks, axe handles or any other wooden handled tool I own. For the first couple coats I mix it 50/50 with varsol to help it thin out and absorbed quicker, then it’s straight blo till I get the desired finish.

For what it’s worth you can get it to build layers but you don’t want to put it on thick while doing it, you just end up with a thick sticky layer that takes forever to dry.

I leave a bottle of it on my work bench with the cap off all year, I use the cap to pour oil into and dip from when I oil axe handles/heads. After it’s the bottle has been sitting for a year the oil gets thicker, if you put thin layers of the thicker oil after the initial thinned out coats it will build a finish to some degree. If you put it on too thick it’s a mess, I have a double bit axe and the handle has a lustre to it and it’s fully soaked in and dry to the touch.
 
I have never understood the appeal of a boiled linseed oil finish. It was taught to me, and I experimented with it...long long ago... But considerably better finishes were invented over 50 years ago.
 
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