Taking care of the wood.

[Artie Peltier]

Ok thanks for that info!

 

[FlinterNick]

Ok thanks for that info!

One day after a coating.

 

[BEP]

A lot of good ideas here. I use a home-made concoction called "gunny paste". It's 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 mineral spirits and 1/3 beeswax, all measured by volume, then melted together in a double boiler set-up on the kitchen stove and poured into small containers that seal well like baby food jars and allowed to cool. I rub it onto and into the wood with a clean rag. That rag has to be dealt with just like any cloth that has come into contact with linseed oil. And I'm sure that many if not most of the products mentioned in previous posts will do a fine job but I enjoy making stuff that I use. Almost forgot to mention - make this up when the weather is warm enough for the windows to be open or when your wife is going to be gone for a while. It isn't a terrible smell but it doesn't smell like a candy shop either.

 

[Gene L]

If you keep the gun inside most of the time, you don't need to worry about moisture. If you don't keep it inside, it's going to gain moisture anyway.

When I was making wooden bows, I was intensely interested in moisture content. So I got in touch with the dean of the forestry school at the UGA. He advised me of what I posted in paragraph one.

For a research project, UGA took one inch block of maple and put them all over GA in dry but unheated spaces. One block they coated with polyurethane, one with no finish. They started at the same moisture content. One year later, they tested the blocks and the moisture content was the same. They'd both rehydrated the same amount.

He said that moisture molecules were so small, they'd infiltrate past the finish, so if you lived in the woods in an unheated cabin, you're going to have trouble. If you live in a heated space, you don't need to worry about it, except for looks. Water will bead off a finish, but if you wipe it off and put it in your house, you're probably good. The infiltration of moisture in an unheated but dry space is inevitable and very slow, but drying wood with warmth is quick.

Despite this, I like wax over the finish...for looks, if nothing else.

 

[FlinterNick]

If you keep the gun inside most of the time, you don't need to worry about moisture. If you don't keep it inside, it's going to gain moisture anyway.

When I was making wooden bows, I was intensely interested in moisture content. So I got in touch with the dean of the forestry school at the UGA. He advised me of what I posted in paragraph one.

For a research project, UGA took one inch block of maple and put them all over GA in dry but unheated spaces. One block they coated with polyurethane, one with no finish. They started at the same moisture content. One year later, they tested the blocks and the moisture content was the same. They'd both rehydrated the same amount.

He said that moisture molecules were so small, they'd infiltrate past the finish, so if you lived in the woods in an unheated cabin, you're going to have trouble. If you live in a heated space, you don't need to worry about it, except for looks. Water will bead off a finish, but if you wipe it off and put it in your house, you're probably good. The infiltration of moisture in an unheated but dry space is inevitable and very slow, but drying wood with warmth is quick.

Despite this, I like wax over the finish...for looks, if nothing else.

Yup.... if you keep your guns in a dry environment rust isn't generally a major issue.

Many reinactors take their guns in the field, rain, snow or summer heat, they're the hardest on their muzzle loaders. I've seen some reinactor muskets that looked like they were dug out of the ground.

Lots of folks are very concerned about it and will apply the thickest coat of gunstock finish which is almost never really necessary. Unless you're near salt water or in a very cold damp environment, wood generally likes to delicate oils such as linseed and Tung and mineral oils.

 

[N.Y. Yankee]

I like Minwax Paste Wax the best and have also used carnauba paste wax. I rub it in gently with 4/0 steel wool and lightly buff it. rain water beads up and runs off the stock. With boiled linseed oil, I would get water spots that took days to dry out and go away. I generally do all my oil finished stocks with wax in the spring and fall.

 

[FlinterNick]

I like Minwax Paste Wax the best and have also used carnauba paste wax. I rub it in gently with 4/0 steel wool and lightly buff it. rain water beads up and runs off the stock. With boiled linseed oil, I would get water spots that took days to dry out and go away. I generally do all my oil finished stocks with wax in the spring and fall.

I’d use tung oil.... it’s much more durable water resistant and it’s sheen is much like linseed