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What's the finish you use?.......

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Peter LeRay

40 Cal.
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I've used Permayln, but now am using Formbys low gloss "tung" oil. It's cheap,and doesn't go bad after opening the container like Permalyn. Whatya use??
 
Permayln, been using it for years and on quite a few rifles. I also do not like the fact that it dries out in the can quickly.

Fleener
 
I like the tung oil finish myself. I suspect it is really a modified varnish, which also makes it historically correct if you are concerned about such. It doesn't leave the modern plastic looking finish that some many of the other finishes do.
 
Seeing a glossy stock doesn't appeal to me and also that I don't like to use various means to "dull" a stock, I've found that these 2 products, Permalyn Sealer used first and the Wahkon Bay Trucoat as the top coat eliminate any further work when dry. The result is a low sheen surface that requires a brisk rubbing w/ a fluffy towel to bring out some shine......Fred

 
Hi Peter,
Formby's tung oil finish is a wiping varnish. It is a pretty good finish, easy to use, but it usually does not penetrate very deeply. Contrary to its label, it does not contain actual tung oil, just derivitives of tung oil converted into a varnish. I use Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil medium sheen. The polymerization process dramatically speeds up drying but you do have to take care to remove as much air from the can as you can to prevent it from solidifying. I do that by adding marbles to raise the level of the oil in the can. I thin the oil 50% with mineral spirits or turpentine for the first few coats. That allows deep penetration and creates a good sealer. Then I just rub on small amounts of the unthinned oil until I get the desired result. Coats are dry within 4 hours.

dave
 
I use a pure tung oil since as a furniture builder I always have it on hand. :idunno:
 
I'm a firm believer of old fashioned linseed oil. I've used Tru oil and I do like it, however handrubbing the stuff, forget it. I thoroughly enjoy the slow process of a true handrubbed oil finish. Again, as finishes go you'll get as many answers as there are stars in the sky. Choose what's right for you! :hatsoff:
 
Peter,

I have tried almost every kind of oil finish in the last 42 years and keep coming back to Tru Oil. I have personally seen how it does not allow much water vapor into rifle stocks that were finished in Virginia and then shipped to Okinawa, Hawaii, California, North Carolina and Ohio to be shot. Now I know the average muzzle loader won't be shipped up to half way around the world, but the ability to keep most water vapor out is valuable if you hunt in wet climates or if there are large seasonal changes in the temperature where you shoot or hunt. (Nothing but an epoxy finish will keep all water vapor out.)

BTW, I really like the low gloss finish Fred showed on his rifle. This can be easily achieved with Tru Oil by using the Grey scratch pads that are in the big box hardware stores, and supposedly equal 000 Steel wool, to take the shine off. OH, like Fred, I use a terry cloth towel or wash cloth to final rub the finish out. Just don't use your Lady's good ones because the smell won't hardly wash out - as I have heard...... :redface:

Dave Person is the second person from the forum who I have seen recommending Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil medium sheen. So I am intrigued about that. That is one of the few finishes I have not tried.

Tru Oil will also get a "skin" on top when left a while in between stock finishing. The good news is all you have to do is store an opened bottle upside down so the "skin" forms at what will be the bottom, when you turn it right side up. Might be able to do that with the Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil as well?

Gus
 
Artificer is right about Tru-oil: it's pretty darned good stuff. If you decide to go with Permalyn, you should resign yourself to using the whole can at one go: once opened, it has a very short 'shelf life.' (About a week or ten days in my experience ... as an aside, I've had the same problem with CA glue finishes on lathe turned pens, but that's a tirade for another day).

Having said that, Permalyn is just about bulletproof: I made myself a shaving brush three or four years ago (more like four, maybe 4 1/2) and put three coats of the P on it ... never had a problem, and I use it every other day or more.

Tru-oil is, however, easier to control, since you put it on in many more coats, and you use small dabs of the stuff.

There you go: one guys opinion - free and no doubt well worth the price!

Good luck with your project :grin:
 
I may give the Wahkon Bay a shot. Also may try Chambers, however it appears Chambers is made by LMF.
 
Hi Gus,
Tru-Oil and Sutherland-Welles tung oil are kindred products in the sense that one is polymerized linseed oil and the other polymerized tung oil. Tung oil is more weather resistant than linseed so theoretically at least the polymerized tung oil should be more water resistant than Tru-Oil. I have no data to support that although several of my guns are successfully used in SE Alaska where they get 160-200 inches of rain annually and the rifles are exposed to sea spray. I used to turn my cans upside down like you suggest until once, a can did not seal properly (gunked finish around the lip) and boy did I have a mess. If I transfer the oil to small glass containers with screw caps, I turn those upside down. I use the S-W polymerized tung oil because it is a fine product, easy to use, and is made right here in Vermont. I like that idea. A finish that I am anxious to try is Tried and True's linseed oil-beeswax mix. I may experiment with that. As you are painfully aware, a lot of re-enactors don't take care of their guns so when I work over one, I secretly coat the barrel channel with beeswax melted in turps. That protects the stock if they don't remove the barrel after the gun gets wet. By the way Gus, in addition to a marine and militia musket, it looks like I'll be making a long land Bess, a committee of safety musket and an English fowler during the next year. The fowler will be in trade for a suit of well-tailored 18th century clothing. It should be a good year.

dave
 
Don't like "built up", shiny surfaces...the finish should be in the wood and not on it. The following procedure and 2 different finishes yield a surface that looks like there's nothing on it.

After the stain has completely dried, a hard rub w/ 0000 steel wool removes any unabsorbed stain and errant whiskers. This ensures a non-blurry color. Never had any steel wool strands embed into the wood.

2-3 generous wipe on/wipe off coats of LMF sealer are applied and are absorbed into the wood...... the first coat especially will require additional applications as the sealer is absorbed. Make sure w/ all the coats that the sealer doesn't set up. 5-10 minutes is the soak in time, but again, make sure the sealer doesn't set up. A complete dry of approx. 5 hrs between coats is necessary.

After the last coat of sealer is completely dry, a hard rub w/ 0000 steel wool removes any surface LMF sealer. A good vacuuming ensures a smooth finish for the Wahkon Bay Trucoat which is sparingly applied w/ the fingers....spread it out well. After a complete dry, the 2nd or 3rd sparse coats are applied, again w/ the fingers. After the final coat, the surface may look a little shiny, but will get duller. If some sheen is desired, rub w/ a fluffy towel when completely dry.

Many have their own "pet" finishes and they probably work well...this is just mine.....Fred


 
Has anyone ever used the tru oil in a spray can. That's what I've been using on the last 2 guns and it works really well. The gun shop that I get my tru oil from was out of the regular and only had the spray kind. I was a little skeptical at first but thought I'd give it a try. It lays down really well and builds up good. I still hand rub the finish in as that's the only way I know....and then I buff in between coats with 0000 steel wool. Seems like it doesn't take as many coats with this kind as it does with the regular. Used to use boiled linseed oil cut with turpentine. Makes a great finish but just not very moisture friendly I was told.
 
Dave Person said:
Hi Gus,
Tru-Oil and Sutherland-Welles tung oil are kindred products in the sense that one is polymerized linseed oil and the other polymerized tung oil. Tung oil is more weather resistant than linseed so theoretically at least the polymerized tung oil should be more water resistant than Tru-Oil. I have no data to support that although several of my guns are successfully used in SE Alaska where they get 160-200 inches of rain annually and the rifles are exposed to sea spray.

If I have this and can relay it straight, Tru Oil also has a percentage of proprietary varnish in the oil. Though I am no chemist, I think that is what keeps most water vapor out of the wood.

Dave Person said:
I used to turn my cans upside down like you suggest until once, a can did not seal properly (gunked finish around the lip) and boy did I have a mess. If I transfer the oil to small glass containers with screw caps, I turn those upside down.

A HA!!!! I KNEW the screw topped glass jars I have washed and kept were going to be useful for something good, besides occasionally making up custom blended leather dye Alchemy Concoctions. :grin:

Dave Person said:
I use the S-W polymerized tung oil because it is a fine product, easy to use, and is made right here in Vermont. I like that idea. A finish that I am anxious to try is Tried and True's linseed oil-beeswax mix. I may experiment with that.

Have you ever made up batches of beeswax, linseed stand oil and turpentine that are mixed in a ratio of 1:1:1 by volume for a finish? The oldest formula said linseed oil, but I found it was even better with linseed stand oil.

Dave Person said:
As you are painfully aware, a lot of re-enactors don't take care of their guns so when I work over one, I secretly coat the barrel channel with beeswax melted in turps. That protects the stock if they don't remove the barrel after the gun gets wet.

We are definitely of similar mind here. :grin: Yes, I used to do the same thing secretly with Tru Oil when I had to pull the barrel for something else.

Dave Person said:
By the way Gus, in addition to a marine and militia musket, it looks like I'll be making a long land Bess, a committee of safety musket and an English fowler during the next year. The fowler will be in trade for a suit of well-tailored 18th century clothing. It should be a good year.

dave

Oh, can’t wait to see pictures! I’m sure I will drooling over them. On the LLP Musket, are you going to go with the P1730 banana shaped lock plate or the P1756 straighter bottom lock plate?

Gus
 
Travis B said:
Has anyone ever used the tru oil in a spray can.

About a decade ago, I was refinishing so many modern stock and handguard sets that I used the LARGE Tru Oil Spay cans and bought them three at a time. Also had to buy replacement nozzles from Brownells to ensure the spray would be even after some oil hardened in the nozzles during use.

I have only gotten away from the spray cans because I don't have so many stock sets to do and find I have better control of the evenness of the coats by hand, probably because I have done it mostly that way for over 4 decades.

Gus
 
I love the LMF sealer too. I just may get some of the brown glass jars with screw tops from a local science store and store it upside down....
 
Another coat of linseed oil down... :grin:

Time consuming yes, but to add I've applied 10 coats of linseed oil, all handrubbed and I just love it. Simple as that, I've actually sprayed Tru oil through my HVLP gun and it really is great stuff, but I personally prefer the old ways I guess. Never had any issues with my BLSO finishes.
 
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