Help please oh more experienced colleagues.
I am getting very close to the point of making up my mind. I have a Fajun thumbhole stock with beautiful woodgrain tiger stripes and am not sure weather to stain it with Birchwood Casey stain before I TruOil it or go with the natrul look of just TruOil. I have a worked unfired Magnum Research S/S with a carbon fibre barrrel waiting to sit in a new home?
All opinions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you
KIWI,
Is it possible to post a pic of your project?
If not, I assume the stock is walnut? Natural walnut tiger strip is best left alone in terms of staining. You can rub mineral spirits on the stock to get an idea of how it will look with tru oil alone. You can then enhance it with the desired stain if you want more depth.
On a birch laminate stock it's best to apply only a finish as birch doesn't stain well.
Suggestion: Consider using tung oil rather than Tru Oil. It's easier to apply and more cost effective.
It also provides excellent protection and a beautiful finish. The gloss can be controlled by the amount of applications.
Hi ZOBO. it's not a laminated stock so I'm hoping it's walnut. I'll get the camera out on the weekend. also try and find a supplier for tung oil. What wood is your stock? That is a GREAT finish. KIWI
I am a big believer in boiled linseed oil, smoothing with untra fine steel wool, boiled linseed oil, and on and on until you have a beautiful finish showing all the grain that is smooth as silk plus waterproof.
I's start with a sanding with very fine sandpaper, wipe it clean, then go with tung oil. Allow to completely dry, wipe down with clean cloth, lightly sand with 0000 steel wool, wipe down again, then polish with tung oil. Repeat as needed until desired finish is achieved. I simply prefer tung oil to boiled linseed oil because I've never had good luck with boiled linseed oil. BLO always comes out sticky no matter how careful I am with it.
BLO is for military stocks, it well bleed out and it well darken the wood a lot with age. I used tung oil on my Fajen 10/22 stock. The more coats the better the gloss. I did about twenty coats with steel wool betwen coats, came out like glass. Be sure and get real "tung oil" not "tung oil finish"
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I've always used Tru-oil on stocks. It darkens the wood very little, but pretty evenly. A very light stain before the Tru-oil should help bring out the grain in your stock without making it too dark. You don't need to use Birchwood-Casey stain. Any stain that works with the polyester resin furniture or floor finishes should work with Tru-oil.
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BLO sounds like a bit of a dangerous way for me to go. I'll try and find some tung oil. The other stocks that I have refinished I used TruOil as it was easly available. Thanks for the input
BLO is for military stocks, it well bleed out and it well darken the wood a lot with age. I used tung oil on my Fajen 10/22 stock. The more coats the better the gloss. I did about twenty coats with steel wool betwen coats, came out like glass. Be sure and get real "tung oil" not "tung oil finish"
Did you use a stain before the tung oil? Thanks. KIWI.
KIWI, Thanks for the compliment! I've done several stocks of various woods. It's a hobby that is very satisfying! However, if you're new to stock finishing then the Tung Oil makes even more sense. As madcratebuilder mentions there is pure tung oil and tung oil combination blend finishes. Pure tung oil can get rather hard to find and expensive. Blends can be ideal for newbies. It contains dryers and other ingredients which take much of the hard work out of it.
Minwax is very good and maybe more available, at least in the USA. McCloskey's is excellent and contains a higher % of pure tung oil.
Regardless of brand , be sure to follow the manufacturers directions closely. Try to post a pic! There's plenty of help here for ya!
Hi ZOBO.
I'm heading into town tomorrow and will be meeting with my friendly firearms dealer (who does very well at making me leave with a new weapon of some sort on every visit) I hope to find a source of tung oil otherwise I have friends in the USA coming down here next month so may have to get details off people for suppliers in Illinois.
Google will be my next step.
Cheers Mate. Great help.
Did you use a stain before the tung oil? Thanks. KIWI.
No stain. Tung oil well darken the wood when applied. To get an idea of what Tung oil well look like, wipe part of the stock with a wet cloth. Tung oil well look the same as wet wood when applied and lighten just a bit as it dries.
If you want to go darker, try applying some stain, then Tung oil to the barrel channel of the stock, it is not seen when it's all together. It well give you a place to try different colors with the same piece of wood.
One nice thing about Tung oil is if you get a scratch in your stock, just a wipe of fresh oil well cover it. Touch up is quick and easy.
Take photo's as your doing it and post them. Great project, good luck.
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Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.
No stain. Tung oil well darken the wood when applied. To get an idea of what Tung oil well look like, wipe part of the stock with a wet cloth. Tung oil well look the same as wet wood when applied and lighten just a bit as it dries.
If you want to go darker, try applying some stain, then Tung oil to the barrel channel of the stock, it is not seen when it's all together. It well give you a place to try different colors with the same piece of wood.
One nice thing about Tung oil is if you get a scratch in your stock, just a wipe of fresh oil well cover it. Touch up is quick and easy.
Take photo's as your doing it and post them. Great project, good luck.
I got some Tung oil. The instructions say to dilute the tung oil by up to 50% with citrus turpentine, I can't locate any citrus turpentine. Can mineral turpentine be used instead?
here is a picture with no finish, then tru oil, about 5 coats with a simple gun stock wax over it. Very easy to use and turned out pretty good. I thought.
I got some Tung oil. The instructions say to dilute the tung oil by up to 50% with citrus turpentine, I can't locate any citrus turpentine. Can mineral turpentine be used instead?
I don't know why not. The turp is just a carrier to help the tung oil penetrate in to the wood. The turp well evaporate leaving just the tung oil behind.
Try two or three coats, one day apart, then buff with some 0000 steel wool and see if you like the results. The more coats the smoother and deeper looking the finish.
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Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.
This is the sort of finish and colouring i'm after. The last stock i refinished with just tru oil came out a lot lighter with a yellow tinge to it. Thats why I started this thread. I picked up a piece of pine today and am experimenting with tru oil, tung oil, stains of verious shades, and a home designed blend. I'll update this tread with my findings when I have some results.
I've thinned both Tru Oil and Tung Oil with modest amounts of Terp but only when absolutely necessary.
Remember that pine, birch and walnut will all present differently when a final finish is applied. That's why I suggest wiping down the stock with a thinner to simulate the final tone.
Here's an example of 2 coats vs 15 coats in terms of depth and gloss as MCB mentioned.
This is the sort of finish and colouring i'm after. The last stock i refinished with just tru oil came out a lot lighter with a yellow tinge to it. Thats why I started this thread. I picked up a piece of pine today and am experimenting with tru oil, tung oil, stains of verious shades, and a home designed blend. I'll update this tread with my findings when I have some results.
If you want to try different colors, get some leather dye that is alcohol based. Tandy Leather is a good source. Thins with rubbing alcohol and can be removed with rubbing alcohol. If you want it darker just do more coats of dye, if you want to lighten it just use straight alcohol. Plus the colors choices are great.
ZOBO
that's some nice wood.
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