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Posted: 6/3/2007 8:53:17 AM EDT
| I just recieved a new CMP stock set to replace the beat up Greek wood on my rack grade Garand. What should I use to "finish" the stock set off? |
| In that you have 3 different pieces of wood, you may need to do some staining to get a match. Sand with 220-320 sandpaper. Apply one thinned(paint thinner) coat of "Tung Oil Varnish". Then stain with your choice of a red to brown stain. Rag it on trying to match the pieces and get an even tone. Then apply more tung oil. Maybe 3-4 coats. Apply the tung oil with 0000 steel wool and wipe smooth with a rag. Another good finish is "Wiping Poly". Same process. |
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I use BLO but many people do not like the wait for it to fully cure. It takes about a week to cure to the touch and depending on the humidity where the wood is sitting it can take a month to fully dry. It is a good finish which darkens the wood a bit and is historically correct in most cases. This is what 30+ coats of hand-rubbed BLO looks like on a Wenig unfinished stock.  This is a post-war SA service grade from the CMP that went through arsenal rebuild in the 60s. I degreased and cleaned the stock with Dawn dishwashing liquid and Simple Green, then applied 5 coats of BLO. 
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Damn, that's beautiful. Nice work. |
Dumb question but what did you use to apply the BLO? |
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I like to stain first with Chestnut Ridge stain then use Pure Tung Oil. Tung oil is superior in all respects to BLO in my opinion. It's easier to use (more consistant results), cures faster, doesn't change color over time, is more water resistant, doesn't require re-application all the time and won't smoke under rapidfire. It's also correct for M1's built mid-war and on. Whichever way you go, make sure it's dry before you add more coats (which if you use BLO, will take quite a while to dry and many coats). Ty |
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After sanding until as smooth as you want, I suggest using a sanding "sponge" with 220 to 320 grit. Rub the entire stock until the grain is very clear and starts to reflect light slightly. Make sure you get all outer surfaces to look like this for a consistent finish. Thin your pure tung oil, I get mine from "the real milk paint company" online and buy there citrus thinner which is nice on your skin and non-toxic. Your wife will let you work on the coffee table. It smells good. It only takes a couple ounces of thinned oil. First coat use 1/3 tung oil to 2/3 solvent. You can use mineral spirits instead of citrus solvent in a well ventilated area. Use a small piece of absorbent cotton cloth from an old towel or washcloth. A t-shirt would do. For the next couple to 30 coats  , add some more oil to the rest of the thinned solution. Unthinned oil can be applied sparingly and with fingers alone but thinned is easier and applies a thinner coat. Thin coats are better. All coats should wait one day before reapplication for best result. You may experience cloudiness on all surfaces or patches if applied too heavily. This is easily remedied by using a cotton ball sized piece of 0000 steel wool dipped in very thinned oil and gently rub down the patches or whole rifle and wipe off the excess with a clean old cotton rag. Wait 24 hours and reapply. The steel wool application can be used to repair the stock from small abrasions, scrapes and scratches or to just repair finish at any time. I do not use stain. I did for the first 30 stocks but my results without stain have been fabulous and you can ALWAYS quickly repair the finish.Here is a sanded stock that has no finish, it has been rubbed with a fine sanding sponge until it shines...  Some with an oil only military finish...  Oil only here...   This shows an evolution. Bottom stock was a cleaned beater stock (bad shape), the middle is sanded til "shiny" The top is oil only finish, one coat.  It's easy, go for it! ARDog |
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"what did you use to apply the BLO?" I use a 2x3in cotton cleaning patch to apply the BLO. I usually rub it down with my bare hands once it is applied. The warmth of my hands helps the BLO liquify a bit more so it soaks in well. It feels pretty good, too.  I give it a rub down with furniture grade steel wool every couple of coats while the BLO is still on it. After it sits for 15-20 minutes I wipe the excess off with a blue shop paper towel. It then sits in the corner and waits for the next day where I repeat the procedure. I put so many coats on this particular stock because I was waiting for the rifle to come back from Warbird, who was rebarreling and reparking it, and because it just kept soaking up the BLO.
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lol We were basically writing the same thing at the same time. It's all good. |
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