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Posted: 8/27/2006 12:05:47 PM EDT
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I've been trying (and failing) to put a good finish on my 1903 stock. I stripped it down to NOTHING with Easy Off, then let it dry overnight, then lightly sanded it with some 0000 steel wool. 4 coats of linseed oil later, the finish is uneven, blotchy and worst of all STICKY! Some places the wood seems really rough under the oil, like it hadnt been sanded, and it juts looks like crap! What's the deal? I've done my garand and M14 stocks the EXACT same way, with great results, but this 1903 just won't cooperate. Any hints on getting a BLO finish to work right? I'm this close to stripping it again and starting over, but i'd rather not put the old wood through that again if at all possible. This is a somewhat valuable stock (orginal finger groove stock with P stamp and semi-readable cartouche) so i would like to put as little abuse to it as possible. |
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Since you have already stripped the old finish off you must not be concerned the rifle being original. I recommend Birchwood Casey’s Tru Oil. If you decide to try Tru Oil you must first remove the boiled linseed oil you recently applied. The Tru Oil must be applied in very light coats. The way to apply it is to rub it in with your fingers. Tru Oil drives very fast with in a few hours it should be dry. You will need to apply six to ten light coats sanding with 600 grit sand paper between each coat. Use a small rectangle eraser and or sanding block to keep everything straight. Tru Oil when complete looks a lot like a tung oil finish the one problem with Tru Oil is that it has a tendency of being shiny the way to remedy this is on the final coat lightly wet sand it with 600 grit sand paper. Be careful that you do not burn thought the finish. Then use baby oil a felt pad and or soft cloth along with Rotterstone and rub the stock down. This process will lightly polish the sanding marks left by the 600 grit sand paper. If your wood has many open pores I would use Birchwood Casey’s Sealer & Filler prior to putting the Tru Oil on the stock. Good luck |
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I've had applications of BLO that didn't go on well--just get a rag with turpentine or mineral spirits and wipe off the goey stuff. Next time, make sure you wipe off all the excess oil before you set it aside. You might also want to thin the BLO a bit. Easy Off sort of kills the top layer of wood. I did one two weeks ago that came out looking ugly. Some areas looked fine, but others looked flat and dead with no depth of finish. I think you really need to sand through the dead layer to get back to good wood before you stain or oil the stock. I ended up using furniture stripper to get some of the oil and stain out, then sanded the heck out of it. Much happier with it now. It took me a fair amount of work with 80 grit (the oil in the stock will gum up the sandpaper immediately). |
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I refinished my SMLE stocks and lots of other stuff with linseed oil over the years. On the stocks, and cleanup with steel wool and finish remover, I just started applying oil, using fine steel wool and then wiping with paper towels... let dry, and repeat. Sounds like you're putting on too much oil in one coat. Using fine steel wool (or a kitchen potscrubber) to apply additional coats made sure to remove any surface buildup during the process as well. ETA: I stay away from Tung oil, as it's more hazardous to work with and I don't like the glossy finish. Edit 2: Heed the warnings about self-combustion of used rags with linseed or tung oil on them. I had a trash bin of the used paper towels start smoking and would have burst in to flames had I not intervened. (It was in a safe area outdoors though) |
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Tung oil doesn't have a shine to it by it's self,, if fact, the Mil used tung oil after they found out that BLO smoked a lot during rapid fire, whereas tung oil didn't. If you do use a tung oil with additives,, to cut the shine, just LIGHTLY steelwool it. As for stripping off old crap,, the best I've found is TSP. Found in the paint section at Home Depot. It doesn't raise the grain or feather the wood, and, with several applications, makes the wood look fresh. (just did 3 CMP Garands and 1 '03 stock) 'Borg |
| I have refinished a mauser and a 03a3 with a combo of BLO, tung oil, mineral spirits and japan drier. The results have been pretty good. I usually kill the uneven and sticky finish with 0000 steel wool. That also gives it a nice matte finish too. The mixture I used is 1 part each ingredient. |
| Sir, in my experience using BLO the trick is to get the surface of the wood as clean and oil free as possible and use only a very small amount of BLO. When I apply BLO to the stock I have only a small drop on the tip of my finger and rub the oil over the entire stock with my bare hand. I rub with enough pressure to feel the heat of friction as I rub the oil in. In a single application I never use more than three drops of oil spread over the entire stock. I repeat the application once a day for about two weeks and I could not be more pleased with the results. Perhaps this may sound a bit tedious, but it really works. BTW, I never sand the stock. I raise the grain with warm water, let it dry and smooth lightly with 0000 steel wool. HTH, 7zero1. |
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