Thinking of trying to darken the stock on the yellowish looking wood of my type 81 SR. Would applying linseed oil be a good idea, I imagine there is already some sort of finish on the wood not sure if that would require stripping it off or what. Im also not sure what type of wood that the guns furniture is made from. I gave it the Ballistol treatment and it brought a little of the grain out, thinking I could get it nicer. Thoughts?
Linseed oil on Chinese wood good or bad idea
- Thread starter JohnAsmith
- Start date
if you can see the pores in the finish it's oiled. One trick is to try rubbing in oil in an inconspicuous spot - if it soaks it in, you're good to go. If it just stays on the surface, you're going to have to strip. I'd guess those have a sprayed on stain that was cut with an accelerant to aid in drying. I'd do a chemical strip first, then either tung oil (which will darken it, and will continue to darken over time), or mix in a tint to help it along. You could sand or not.
Applying Tung or Linseed oil (always used boiled linseed oil) is a bit of a process. You put VERY VERY little on at a time. Wear gloves and just rub it in with your fingers or palm, then use a soft cloth - generate some heat and work it in. repeat as needed / desired.
This is just what I'd do ... if you're worried about mucking it up, take a piece of the wood to a GOOD finishing store (not CT or HD). Let them know what you want to accomplish and they'll sort you out.
Applying Tung or Linseed oil (always used boiled linseed oil) is a bit of a process. You put VERY VERY little on at a time. Wear gloves and just rub it in with your fingers or palm, then use a soft cloth - generate some heat and work it in. repeat as needed / desired.
This is just what I'd do ... if you're worried about mucking it up, take a piece of the wood to a GOOD finishing store (not CT or HD). Let them know what you want to accomplish and they'll sort you out.
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-Stripped furniture with Klean Strip
Let dry over night
-Espresso Stain let stand for 20-30 mins. wipe off.
Let dry for 24 hrs.
- Seal with multi coats of Minwax Antique Oil.
Thank thing looks crazy, I may go those rout. Might try ting oil first and see if I get the colour I want. Right now I’ve got a coat of Ballistol on it should this be wiped off first will it effect the tung oil?
-Stripped furniture with Klean Strip
Let dry over night
-Espresso Stain let stand for 20-30 mins. wipe off.
Let dry for 24 hrs.
- Seal with multi coats of Minwax Antique Oil.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
In my one or two times go around with linseed oil - it does not reliably "darken" the wood when applied - seems more like "clear" - makes the wood look like when it is wet. Over time (decades?) it darkens with interaction with air - is some WWI P14 and M1917 stocks here that are just about black - were not made that way - I believe a combination of decades, plus likely hand sweat, dirt, grunge, etc. I was taught to use a stain to get the colour that you want - I prefer a reddish hue like in 1950's Winchester rifles - so I use Minwax Red Mahogany stain - first coats are "cut" 50-50 with boiled linseed oil - seems that subsequent colouring coats go right through the first coat. Then multiple plain boiled linseed oil coats over top of that - a few drops to cover the entire stock - rubbed in hard and any liquid excess wiped / scrubbed off - allowed to dry over night before next coat.
With stain and oil - not like paint or varnish - you likely do not want anything applied and left "on top" of the wood - you want what will soak into the wood fibres, and then rub hard to get liquid residue gone. I was shown that it was important that first coat be totally dry and hard, before applying next coat.
With stain and oil - not like paint or varnish - you likely do not want anything applied and left "on top" of the wood - you want what will soak into the wood fibres, and then rub hard to get liquid residue gone. I was shown that it was important that first coat be totally dry and hard, before applying next coat.
BLO will colour more then tung ime, mix BLO with tru oil 50/50, you’ll get a better dry time.
Iv used Alkanet root a bunch for darkening, works good if you have the time to steep some. I prefer to steep in mineral spirits then add spirits to my first coat.
A lot different wood probably, but same idea.
Iv used Alkanet root a bunch for darkening, works good if you have the time to steep some. I prefer to steep in mineral spirits then add spirits to my first coat.
A lot different wood probably, but same idea.
steamy teabag
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Inside Carneys Reich
I redid an sks stock with linseed before selling it right after they killed the LGR. Not sure if it helped in the sale but it looked better than the lacquer imo.
The correct answer is Kikkoman soy sauce and peanut oil for a Chinese stock
LOL! Well done!
Dunno what the near current state of affairs is, but many years ago, the big story on Chinese stocks was the guys sanding the finish off, and having the stocks essentially explode, as they expanded due to moisture that they were otherwise sealed off from.
IIRC, the wood was called "Chu", and despite looking really good, it apparently was not very stable!
-Stripped furniture with Klean Strip
Let dry over night
-Espresso Stain let stand for 20-30 mins. wipe off.
Let dry for 24 hrs.
- Seal with multi coats of Minwax Antique Oil.
That looks fantastic.
Subbed for later. Pretty sure I'll do this with at least my fixed stock, thanks
A real mix of good advice and bad in this thread.
Wood finishing is one of those hard subjects, partly because everyone has their own experience and their own opinion about what worked for them, but mostly because there is so much BS by big companies in the marketing of these products. Wood finishing products are often given all kinds of misleading names - from stains that are actually polyurethanes, to oils that are not oils, to clear-coats with incorrect instructions, to random exotic sounding names given to what are actually common, mundane products.
Linseed oil is a cost-friendly budget oil of limited durability. Boiling it causes polymerization which speeds up cure times. Boiled Linseed Oil is therefore the budget go-to. It will look great at first, but long term it won't hold up. Use it on stuff you plan to sell!
tung oil is much more durable and much better quality, but it's also much more expensive. Get polymerised tung oil (lee valley sells it) so that you don't have to wait a week between coats.
Millions of products have tung oil in the name but have little to no tung oil in the bottle. Tung oil is expensive. If the product is cheap, then it's not really tung oil. If it says "minwax" , then it's not tung oil either.
A stain can make the wood a more pleasing colour, but be warned that stain doesn't actually penetrate very deep, so minor scratches will be very visible as they reveal the wood's true colour underneath the stain. Stains also merely colour the wood by depositing pigment in the grain - they do not actually do anything to seal or protect the wood, so a stain always must be topped by some sort of protective finish - either a film finish like a varnish or polyurethane or an oil finish. Oil finishes are also sometimes blended with wax - like the popular osmo brand finish - and in my opinion that does give increased durability.
If you want to understand wood finishing, there is absolutely only one place to start, the book "understanding wood finishing" by bob flexner. He sorts through all the marketing BS and gives the scientific facts on each question. He debunks all the myths and leaves you with just the truth of the matter. Can't recommend it more.
Wood finishing is one of those hard subjects, partly because everyone has their own experience and their own opinion about what worked for them, but mostly because there is so much BS by big companies in the marketing of these products. Wood finishing products are often given all kinds of misleading names - from stains that are actually polyurethanes, to oils that are not oils, to clear-coats with incorrect instructions, to random exotic sounding names given to what are actually common, mundane products.
Linseed oil is a cost-friendly budget oil of limited durability. Boiling it causes polymerization which speeds up cure times. Boiled Linseed Oil is therefore the budget go-to. It will look great at first, but long term it won't hold up. Use it on stuff you plan to sell!
tung oil is much more durable and much better quality, but it's also much more expensive. Get polymerised tung oil (lee valley sells it) so that you don't have to wait a week between coats.
Millions of products have tung oil in the name but have little to no tung oil in the bottle. Tung oil is expensive. If the product is cheap, then it's not really tung oil. If it says "minwax" , then it's not tung oil either.
A stain can make the wood a more pleasing colour, but be warned that stain doesn't actually penetrate very deep, so minor scratches will be very visible as they reveal the wood's true colour underneath the stain. Stains also merely colour the wood by depositing pigment in the grain - they do not actually do anything to seal or protect the wood, so a stain always must be topped by some sort of protective finish - either a film finish like a varnish or polyurethane or an oil finish. Oil finishes are also sometimes blended with wax - like the popular osmo brand finish - and in my opinion that does give increased durability.
If you want to understand wood finishing, there is absolutely only one place to start, the book "understanding wood finishing" by bob flexner. He sorts through all the marketing BS and gives the scientific facts on each question. He debunks all the myths and leaves you with just the truth of the matter. Can't recommend it more.
