oils for wooden stocks...questions!

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RickR1100

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Ok, so I stripped off whatever coating was on my old wooden stock. Bare, it looks pretty good. However, I need to somehow do something with the stock to protect it, some sort of finish. The bare wood is quite light colored, and I would prefer to make that quite a lot darker.

I'm considering Tung Oil, but I don't know if that will actually darken the color of the stock. Or if I can just keep applying more coats for a deeper darker color?

I'm not interested in a glossy coat, I'd prefer something nice, that will really last, and have a somewhat matte or dull reflectivity. Any suggestions? Maybe a different oil product? Or something else entirely?

Thanks!
 
Tru-oil is a nice product to work with. It's made by Birchwood casey and sells at gun stores (try bass pro, Cabelas, wholesale sports, etc). It will darken the wood about 2 or 3 shades (if you want it any darker you'll need to stain it first before adding the oil). If you rub tru-oil on and work it into the stock with your hands until it's nearly dry, it will leave a semi-dull finish. 3 or 4 coats usually fills the open grains, and if you wanted a gloss finish, you can buy Tru-oil in a small spray can that does a good job. Keep in mind that oil is a soft finish and can scratch easy, compared to a poly finish which is hard almost like glass, but much more difficult to apply on your stock. I tried tung oil a couple times, and found it long to dry. Tru-oil dries fast (over night). If you choose tung oil, you might want to stain the wood first, as I remember tung oil did'nt darken the wood much on it's own.

All the best.,
scanner.
 
Did a couple with Tru-oil, worked well. First couple coats madding as not see much difference then madding as dont want to stop as keeps getting nicer. Whether you want gloss or matte is a matter of scuffing. Provides pretty good protection and easy enough to touch up (found one drip, sanded it down, then filled it back in, no issues). Found 600 grit sand paper to work better than 0000 / extra fine steel wool between coats. A micro fibre cloth works well to pick up the dust. If rubbed the coat on you're done, resist the temptation to continue to work the coat as becomes difficult to work, just let it dry, then scuff, wipe, apply other coat.

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I prefer staining to the desired color, and then finishing with boiled linseed oil. Boiled Linseed oil is cheap, easy to apply and gives a matte finish. I find that it makes the wood look "natural". Here is a picture of a stock set I just refinished using stain and then finished with linseed oil. The BLO will darken the wood a bit, but not a lot.

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EDIT: see post below, I have changed my terminology.
 
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BLO in fact does not seal at all. It used to be applied onto wooden siding, which helped the paint to breathe. Tung Oil is the best for sealing, and it hardens the surface of the wood.
 
unfortunately too, looks like Birchwood Casey products may no longer be available in Canada as they are unwilling to re format their labels to comply with official languages requirements.

tb
 
RickR1100 said:
Ok, so I stripped off whatever coating was on my old wooden stock. Bare, it looks pretty good. However, I need to somehow do something with the stock to protect it, some sort of finish. The bare wood is quite light colored, and I would prefer to make that quite a lot darker.

I'm considering Tung Oil, but I don't know if that will actually darken the color of the stock. Or if I can just keep applying more coats for a deeper darker color?

I'm not interested in a glossy coat, I'd prefer something nice, that will really last, and have a somewhat matte or dull reflectivity. Any suggestions? Maybe a different oil product? Or something else entirely?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I am a huge fan of tung oil. it is so water proof that I use it on kayak paddles. it does darken slightly but not too much. I use behr scandanavian tung oil "natural clear" 600. I bought this one at home depot,
 
I really like the Birchwood tru oil, very easy to apply, and the final results are great. I have used it on a couple stocks, and I do not remember the stock changing color with added coats as scanner mentioned. I stained mine the color I wanted, then applied the Tru Oil. Its very hard to mess it, so even someone who has never done this kind of work before can do a great job, thats how easy using Tru oil is.
 
I have a stock that was tru oiled at one point. probably a couple dozen coats, as it appears about a mm thick and is SUPER high gloss. I don't much like it, as it has a kind of sticky, tacky feeling to it. Someday, i'll probably strip it off and refinish with BLO.
 
mwjones said:
I have a stock that was tru oiled at one point. probably a couple dozen coats, as it appears about a mm thick and is SUPER high gloss. I don't much like it, as it has a kind of sticky, tacky feeling to it. Someday, i'll probably strip it off and refinish with BLO.
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You can control the gloss of tru oil by wet sanding with 1200 grit after a few coats have been applied. After you wet sand it takes a few coats to get that real glossy look back.

Lots of guys are using Tung oil, it's easy to apply and not near as glossy as tru oil.
 
I used a Minwax stain (American Walnut) and then Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil. The Tru-Oil has a dull sheen which I think is right for a gun. (I got the Tru-Oil from Wal-Mart - the ones that carry any gun stuff may have it.)
 
When finishing stocks I apply a coat of clear epoxy (diluted for penetration). I then sand the stock back to the wood, finishing with 600 paper. The secret here is a very even finish with pores well filled.

Finally I apply about 6 very thin coats of tru-oil rubbed with 0000 steel wool between coats. Finally, I put a thin coat of wax after rubbing the last coat of tru-oil.

Here's what it looks like finished:

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Good catch on the wax Moosetracker, missed mentioning that. Found carnuba and the Birchwood Casey gun stock wax to work well (really like the gun stock wax).

Steelwool okay with a wood stock (as per OP) but if laminate steel wool may remove more wood (softer) than epoxy (harder).
 
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