Old school british stock oils

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brybenn

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Putting this here instead of gunsmithing as i think ill get a faster straighter answer here. What is the british stain or oil thats used to get the rich reddish british color that enhances the mineral lines so well. I want to think it started with an r but cant think of it.
Several members have had it done to there guns during refinishing.
Also if anyone can name it can they tell me if it would even out the natural color or the wood if a section of the natural wood was to be much lighter than the rest. I have a gun inbound but im not sure if ill like the wood in person. Looking for possible ideas to enhance the mineral lines while evening out the natural color
 
Results often depend on what you are starting with as far as the wood goes. It can be difficult to make “sapwood” blend into “heartwood” without using some kind of stain and perhaps a stain infused polyurethane.
As has been asked already, it would help to know the gun type and the type of wood.
 
brybenn, that stock looks like a good candidate for a "red oil" treatment. I got some dry alkanet root off the net and infused it in tung oil. Easy peasy.
 
Falconflyer said:
Seems like a really odd color change on that wood, are you sure it isn't just a shadow? I guess you'll find out when it arrives.
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I was thinking the same thing. Really looks like what happens when a leather pad is left on but of course that stock doesn't have the tell tail straight edge in the discolouration. Something is going on though.

While not typically a fan of the reddish result of alkanet use, when I was having my Lindner Daly restored this past spring, we went with it as it was original to the gun.

Here's are some pics of the stock prior to staining:



Here's a pic during and just after the liberal application of the alkanet oil:



And here is the final result:


It was just one coat of the alkanet oil, applied very liberally and then left to dry for 24 plus hours before he started the slacum oil finish. FWIW, he did mention to me that when possible, he likes the alkanet oil application to dry outside and in sunlight.
 
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Falconflyer said:
That's lovely canvasback, do you prefer the slacum finish to oil?
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Bob, I tend to go along with what my gunsmith wants to do. And that's based on which smith I am using for which project/gun. In a high quality restoration of a gun like the subject Diamond Quality Lindner Daly, I'm aiming for as near as original as makes sense. I'm not a stickler for originality but I'll certainly tip my hat in that direction. OTOH, in my restock/restoration of my Remington 1894 BE, I could have cared less what Remington did back in 1907. I have stocks done in Tru-Oil, which I like. But I have a couple done like this one, in a traditional hand rubbed slacum oil finish and there is a softer "feel" that I don't get from anything else. Now, it may not be as weather resistant as some other types of finishes but as you can imagine, these guns aren't to be found lying in the bottom of the duck boat.

Slacum is kind of a generic term for an oil finish that is primarily based on BLO but has other stuff added. Everyone has their secret recipe....Purdey's is different than Holland's...... and I haven't bothered asking my smith what's in his.

What I really don't like is the modern, high gloss, very hard finishes that get sprayed on in 10 min and ready to go the next day.
 
Thanks for that canvasback. I'm not a big fan of the modern varnishes or polyurethane finishes found on a lot of modern guns either and do prefer oil in just about any of it's variations. The way I understand it, Slacum was thought to have beeswax added in the beginning and then was changed to carnauba wax and eventually they dropped the wax additive altogether as it was thought to soften the finish, hence your softer feel! At least that's what I've read so I was just wondering what your thoughts were regarding it.
 
Bob

Here is Diggory Hadoke's recipe and as you can see, he's still using carnuba. As I understand it the biggest change in slacum has come not from the switch from beeswax to carnuba but from the change away from terebine dryers that contain lead (I don't believe you can get terebine dryers that still contain lead. Too much of a carcinogen). As an aside I just found out from Morris Halloway that "Slacum" is a propriety name belonging to Purdey. I always thought it was generic.

For the majority of my shooting, I would prefer a slacum oil finish, with that soft feel, over anything. It's not a huge preference but it's there. They just feel "righter" LOL, if you know what I mean. And shotguns and shotgunning are all about feel and confidence, IMHO


Stock oil - Put the following into a pan and simmer for 10 minutes, then allow to cool in the pan:

* 16oz boiled linseed oil

* 5 tsp spirit of turpentine* (www.jacksonsart.com)

* 1 tbsp carnauba wax (www.thorne.co.uk)

* 2 tsp Venice turpentine (www.jacksonsart.com)

* Terabine driers can be used instead of spirit of turpentine, if preferred.
 
James that stock color is exactly what id like if i find i dont like the discoloration in this stock. It could be just a shadow but having bought several guns from this sponsor the pictures are usually indicative of what i got. I like the grain in it but wasnt sure about the color. Im kinda loosing confidence in it as it nears lol. We shall see when it shows up
 
brybenn said:
James that stock color is exactly what id like if i find i dont like the discoloration in this stock. It could be just a shadow but having bought several guns from this sponsor the pictures are usually indicative of what i got. I like the grain in it but wasnt sure about the color. Im kinda loosing confidence in it as it nears lol. We shall see when it shows up
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Byron, if I were you I would send the pic to Chris Dawe (I can PM you his contact info if you don't have it) and ask him about the lighter coloured butt area. And how alkanet oil might affect it. I think it will diminish the contrast between that area and the rest but that's just an educated guess. I quite like the rest of the stock. Could look pretty great if that rear portion can be dealt with.
 
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