Beeswax stock finish?

Anyone here ever use just plain beeswax? How did you do it? Does it make a god gunstock finish? My concern is getting caught in the rain while hunting. I'd want to treat all of the inletting as well.

Hi,
First, if your gun is properly finished with any of the usual products, you need not worry about your gun in rain. Just dry it off and oil the metal when finished for the day. Beeswax is a very good finish and very water resistant. It can be applied alone by melting it and rubbing it on with a rag, fingers, or brush, then buffing it. It produces a very low gloss. You can also mixed melted wax with turpentine. Be careful if you heat the mixture because it may be flammable. However, a warm bees wax-turpentine mix will penetrate the wood pretty well and then is buffed off. You can also mix melted wax with linseed or tung oil and apply in the same manner.

dave

What Dave said is great advice. But do experiment with your b'wax mixtures on scrap wood before applying to the rifle. I have messed up a couple things with wrong b'wax mix.

N.Y. Yankee said:

Anyone here ever use just plain beeswax? How did you do it? Does it make a god gunstock finish? My concern is getting caught in the rain while hunting. I'd want to treat all of the inletting as well.

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I use bees wax frequently. The advice given above is pretty much spot on.

I use beeswax dissolved in a 50-50 blend of blo and turpentine. It can be applied like any other liquid finish. I also use the wax blended with tupentine to get a soft past wax. I think you will find this type wax easier to use than straight beeswax. It must be rubbed until all tackyness is removed.

Beeswax is a polymer. Rubbing the wax on causes its chemical structure to change making it harder. It goes from one polymer structure to another.

Bee's finishes are easy to touch up if needed. You can put a layer of soft paste in the barrel channel them install the barrel to sqeeze out any excess you will then have a waterproof bottom of the barrel. Rub paste beeswax on the top flats to complete the job.

I think you will be quite happy with a bees wax finish.

Any risk of it running or turning gummy in hot sunny weather?

N.Y. Yankee said:

Anyone here ever use just plain beeswax? How did you do it? Does it make a god gunstock finish? My concern is getting caught in the rain while hunting. I'd want to treat all of the inletting as well.

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N.Y. Yankee said:

Anyone here ever use just plain beeswax? How did you do it? Does it make a god gunstock finish? My concern is getting caught in the rain while hunting. I'd want to treat all of the inletting as well.

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Nice. Thanks for the input.

N.Y. Yankee said:

Anyone here ever use just plain beeswax?

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Yank, when I first bought my lathe I turned a mallet from Osage Orange. While still on the lathe I rubbed with straight beeswax. Got a just awful mess. Sticky and blotchy. I do not recommend. But do use b'wax as suggested above with turpentine or whatever.

Hi,
Beeswax is a good finish and it won't goop up in hot weather if applied such that it is rubbed into the wood, not a layer on top of it. The problem is that original guns finished with beeswax are few and far between. The vast majority of 18th and early 19th century firearms were finished with some sort of oil-varnish. Of course none of that matters if you just want a good protective finish. Another thought, you could just coat the barrel channel and mortices with bees wax. I routinely rub the bottoms of my barrels with bees wax to resist rusting in humid weather.

dave

I made my own finish by mixin’ beeswax and Watco Danish Oil finish in a small crockpot from Goodwill. Hafta apply while still liquid and helps if ya warm the stock with a hair dryer or heat gun as it gets tacky. Takes a mite of rubbin’ and buffin’ but makes a nice finish and if yer stock gets ratty lookin’ just rub on another coat.

bubba.50 said:

I made my own finish by mixin’ beeswax and Watco Danish Oil finish in a small crockpot from Goodwill. Hafta apply while still liquid and helps if ya warm the stock with a hair dryer or heat gun as it gets tacky. Takes a mite of rubbin’ and buffin’ but makes a nice finish and if yer stock gets ratty lookin’ just rub on another coat.

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Sounds good!

I received this formula from a Master Gun Maker: 2 parts beeswax, 2 parts linseed, and 1 part turpentine. Rub in a light coat and polish.

I might mention that he told me to rub in three to four coats of 1/2 linseed and 1/2 turpentine on a new stock before using the above formula.

I have see a few bows with a beeswax finish. Us bowyers do it differently, rub on raw beeswax, heat with a heat gun until it is absorbed by the wood, add another coat and repeat. It will get to the point that the wood won't absorb any more, buff and you have a nice smooth satin finish that is as waterproof as any finish can be.

Eric Krewson said:

I have see a few bows with a beeswax finish. Us bowyers do it differently, rub on raw beeswax, heat with a heat gun until it is absorbed by the wood, add another coat and repeat. It will get to the point that the wood won't absorb any more, buff and you have a nice smooth satin finish that is as waterproof as any finish can be.

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That might work with some woods. I doubt Osage Orang/Bois'd Arc/etc. will absorb the b'wax.

All the beeswax finished bows I have seen were osage.

I know my osage, I have a little put back, this is a fraction of the total amount.

A few tips on using beeswax and or a beeswax mixture as a gun stock finish.

First, you heat the beeswax in either a double boiler (original method) or in a PYREX or other microwave safe container in a microwave oven.

I got a large block of beeswax from a beekeeper some time ago. It had all sorts of "refuse stuff" in it. I broke off chunks and heated them in a Pyrex Glass measuring cup. Run it on high for NO MORE THAN about a minute at a time and do that multiple times until the wax melts. May take two or three one minute melts or more, depending on how much wax you are melting. Then dip out the refuse/dross/impurities with a teaspoon. Of course you can pay more for clean beeswax and don't have to do that.

Please, PLEASE DON'T add turpentine or other solvents to the wax and put it in the microwave to melt. VERY DANGEROUS FIRE HAZARD!!!!! Mix turpentine in only AFTER the wax is already melted and then whatever oil you are going to use. BTW, "Turpenol" and other turpentine substitutes do NOT work well as a solvent. Easy to get real turpentine in a hardware store by the pint or quart.

The formula ratio used for many years by National Match Shooters was beeswax, turpentine, BLO in a 1:1:1 ratio by volume. HOWEVER, I carefully measured using tablespoons and that ratio turned out very "goopy." The stuff looked like something that came out from the under side of a jaundice infected bull.

BTW, I would NOT use the common BLO you find in hardware stores. Artist Grade BLO is a little more difficult to find, if you really must use any BLO, but you can find it in many craft/artist stores and is much purer with no petroleum or other distillates in it. Personally I would use REAL/PURE Tung Oil or one of the polymerized oils available today, after using even the Artist Grade BLO and being a bit disappointed by it.

I settled on a ratio of Two parts Beeswax, ONE part oil and One Part Turpentine. If it is still a bit too goopy, set it aside for a few days until it stiffens up a little, before use. For each "part," I'd suggest one teaspoon as that will cover most stocks when the mixture is made, though at most a tablespoon for each part will be sure to cover any long rifle stock and you will have some left over.

I agree with Eric on using the Heat Gun after rubbing in the mixture on the stock and hard rubbing off the excess.

One word of caution IF you use modern stains to stain before using beeswax or a beeswax mixture. When you scratch or abrade the surface of the wood, you have to STRIP off all the old finish before repairing the surface. Not a problem if you don't stain the wood before using the wax, though.

Gus

OK, Eric. How do I show a blush here? I have worked with what I thought was a lot of OO (by any other of many names). But, can't come close to your level. I have some with unfortunate beeswax finishes that led me to my conclusion and comments. I'll try the heat gun on them.

I never cease to be amazed at people who tell me that beeswax is such a wonderful stock finish. My attempts at wax for a wood finish have all been less than satisfactory, to say the least.

Stophel said:

I never cease to be amazed at people who tell me that beeswax is such a wonderful stock finish. My attempts at wax for a wood finish have all been less than satisfactory, to say the least.

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I believe the beeswax/oil/turpentine mixture I wrote about above was originally used on Wood Planes and going back to the 17th/18th century. Then later on it became "the thing" to use in the early to mid 20th century by NM shooters on their stocks.

HOWEVER, I use Tru Oil because it is an Oil/Varnish finish and has great water repellent properties that I've seen proven on Okinawa, Hawaii, and many points between California and Virginia.

I almost never use any wax on a stock, even over the Tru Oil, because I've found it is not necessary and it is a PITA to strip when refinishing all or parts of a stock.

Gus