Linseed Oil All Created Equal?

Zee705

Zee705

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From what I've read on other milsurp forums, the BLO sold at hardware stores by the quart has additive dryer agents and is not the stuff you want for gun stocks.

I picked up these 2 small bottle at Michael's (arts and crafts store).

You nutz that collect or restore/build milsurps, what do you use?

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I haven't done gun stock work, but i'm a cabinet maker by trade and do most of my own finishing.
Yes, many commercially available products are simply not what they say they are on the can. The laws are very loose in this regard.
Many of the oils you can buy off the shelf are mixed with thinners or additives.
Sometimes this is because the manufacturer is pulling a fast one on you - passing off diluted product - but other times it's quite proper and normal. Take, for example, the tung oil sold by lee valley. Actual pure tung oil takes forever to cure and can be tacky. By heat treating it they polymerise the oil so that it cures faster and leaves a smooth result. But that heat process also thickens the oil to the point that you'd have trouble applying it. So then the thin it with some mineral spirits - not to dilute it and rip you off, but simply so that you can actually use it.

Speaking of tung oil, you might consider using it instead of BLO. BLO is popular, but that's just because it has traditionally been cheap. Tung oil is a much better product. I use it all the time, mixed with some bee's wax - makes a beautiful and durable finish.

A book you might find helpful is "understanding wood finishing" by bob flexner. He has a whole chapter on oils and what is actually in the can versus what is on the label. Flexner is really considered the bible of wood finishing today.
 
Zee705 said:
From what I've read on other milsurp forums, the BLO sold at hardware stores by the quart has additive dryer agents and is not the stuff you want for gun stocks.

I picked up these 2 small bottle at Michael's (arts and crafts store).

You nutz that collect or restore/build milsurps, what do you use?

grnKxCNm.jpg
Click to expand...


You bought Linseed oil (raw) which can also be bought at hardware stores. Hardware stores also sell Boiled linseed oil, which has additives as mentioned, which accelerate cure times. Raw linseed will achieve the same results as BLO but in a longer time frame.
 
Back in the wooden stock days we used big cans of RAW Linseed oil to recondition FN stocks after time in the field. RLO was specified in EMEI's for the No4 rifle. Personally, I like thin applications of pure tung oil without a drying agent. Thin applications are important. You want the oil to dry inside the wood, not on top of it where it will produce an accumulation of gummy finish.

I've also refinished MILSURP stocks with Minwax Tung Oil Finish which contains a drying agent. If multiple thin coats are used with excess wiped off the wood surface it produces a dull sheen on the wood, not unlike that seen on many military stocks.

Safety tip: dispose of all rags used with linseed or tung oil in a sealed container to avoid spontaneous combustion.
 
purple said:
Back in the wooden stock days we used big cans of RAW Linseed oil to recondition FN stocks after time in the field. RLO was specified in EMEI's for the No4 rifle. Personally, I like thin applications of pure tung oil without a drying agent. Thin applications are important. You want the oil to dry inside the wood, not on top of it where it will produce an accumulation of gummy finish.

I've also refinished MILSURP stocks with Minwax Tung Oil Finish which contains a drying agent. If multiple thin coats are used with excess wiped off the wood surface it produces a dull sheen on the wood, not unlike that seen on many military stocks.

Safety tip: dispose of all rags used with linseed or tung oil in a sealed container to avoid spontaneous combustion.
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Good advice. Mine go in the wood stove when I am done with them.
 
i use the circa 1850 rlo from home hardware..No drying agents in that. Working well on garand stock. i feel its a year long process to get it where i want it though. slow go.. Couple years down the road ill finish with a paste wax i feel.
i get shellac flakes from lee valley and mix my own for milsurps that have that finish for touchups. i dont like putting poly or other finishes that require heavy chemicals and stripping to remove on milsurps.
 
"Safety tip: dispose of all rags used with linseed or tung oil in a sealed container to avoid spontaneous combustion."

This....not a cardboard box or inside. I like to throw em in the gravel and hose them down and leave them outside when Im done. Heard too many stories of houses burning down beacause the cabinet guy left his rag at the jobsite.
 
I'll give that book a read, thanks.

I'm restoring a No.5 (I'll make a separate thread about my progress) using a new wood set from Prestigious Wood Stocks. I have all the parts on order so I'm reading as much as I can about the process. I've collected quite a few documents such as:

Canadian Marksman - Bedding 7.62 Lee-Enfield
Peter Laidler's series of PDFs
Maj. Reynolds' The Lee Enfield Book

In manufacturing LEs over the years they used BLO and RLO interchangeably due to availability. Would there be any difference in absorption and swelling between tung and linseed or is it six of one, half dozen of the other?
 
100% Tung oil is what I use on my wood ;) Similar properties of linseed only better. You can mix with a citric solvent the thin out and penetrant better as well.
 
I'm not sure about swelling, i've never compared.
Here's a website with a helpful comparison of the two:
https://vermontwoodsstudios.com/blo... oil carries a slight,cure than pure tung oil



Here are some key differences between linseed oil and tung oil:

Linseed oil carries a slight yellow tint, whereas tung oil dries to a clear finish
Tung oil creates a harder, more durable finish than linseed oil
Tung oil is more water-resistant than linseed oil
Raw linseed oil takes significantly longer to cure than pure tung oil
Tung oil is generally more expensive than linseed oil
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The artists' linseed oils are refined/cold pressed so as to contain less impurities that cause the yellowing and darkening over time as the oils dry/oxidize.

Unless you are wanting to stabilize the colour and not have the oils darken the wood over time, using that product is a waste of the extra cost at minimum and the wrong product to use at its worst (depending on your view and use of course).

Raw linseed oils (and raw tung oil) sold as such will contain no dryers and no carriers (like turpentine or mineral spirits), whereas BLO will. These are becoming harder to find, because very few people are looking for the 100% raw product, but specialty places like Lee Valley and other wood finishing shops carry them if you look.

The benefit is that you can always add a dryer (like Japan Dryer) and carriers to various levels to raw linseed or raw tung oil, but you cannot take them out of BLO or oils sold as 'polymerizing oils.'

Almost all mineral spirits are petroleum based and should in my opinion be avoided as the petroleum will attack the wood fibre over time.
Instead, try to source and use all natural turpentine instead - (in the case of your expensive milsurps you are trying to preserve of course).

The CMP has a decent article here:
https://thecmp.org/wood-cleaning-article/

Edit to add: I started typing this with only one reply in the thread, so obviously much of what I wrote was already covered.

I will add that both tung and linseed oils do 'yellow' or darken over time as they oxidize, and the use of both on a firearm stock is to ensure that the oils that penetrate into the wood fibre never really cure and 'dry' completely, so I disagree with some of what has been written in the Vermont Studio's article above (even if it is written from the perspective of a furniture maker).
 
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Lee valley sells the 100% pure stuff.....and you can buy a 1/2 & 1/2 mixture of tung oil and citrus solvent (made by real milk paint co.) there is a place in Canada that sells it called rustic design Canada. I use it on my wood carvings and it is excellent stuff.
 
Browsing all the different "Tung Oils" out there, the ones with the just the fire hazard symbol seem to be the pure tung oils and the ones with both fire and poison or just poison are the ones with additives.

I have a Lowes nearby so this looks like a good option. (I'll read the fine print when I'm at the store) If that doesn't pan out then I'll just bite the bullet and order from Lee Valley or Rusty Design.

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