Tung Oil Question

DennisCA · May 24, 2015

I am finishing up a stock using one part tung oil and one part mineral spirits.
Before I reassemble it, do I put anything on the stock as top coat or am I'm GTG?

outrider58 · May 24, 2015

I may be talking through my arse but, if the finish feels dry, give it a good buffing and you should be GTG. I'd give it over night.

Crab Bait · May 24, 2015

I'd say GTG. But I'm no expert.

You are doing multiple coats and sanding with really really fine grit sandpaper between, right? I used 600 grit if memory serves.

Neutron · May 24, 2015

Why are you cutting the tung oil with minerial spirits? Pure tung oil should be fine. Several coats with a light sanding in between coats should be fine.

Threeband · May 24, 2015

I would give it multiple coats of tung oil.

"Once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year forever." After a few coats, you can use it straight, without the mineral spirits.

I confess, I've never actually put that many coats on. But do give it 6 or 8 anyway.

Just a little bit, rubbed in briskly.

Threeband · May 24, 2015

Beemer606 said:
Why are you cutting the tung oil with minerial spirits? Pure tung oil should be fine. Several coats with a light sanding in between coats should be fine.

Thinning the oil helps the first few coats penetrate.

Many do apply the oil with fine steel wool. I just rub it in by hand, briskly, to generate heat. Other people warm the oil. Some do apply it with ultra-fine wet-dry sandpaper.

Please do not sand the stock of a C&R firearm. Just don't. Please.

DennisCA · May 24, 2015

Threeband said:
Thinning the oil helps the first few coats penetrate.

Many do apply the oil with fine steel wool. I just rub it in by hand, briskly, to generate heat. Other people warm the oil. Some do apply it with ultra-fine wet-dry sandpaper.

Please do not sand the stock of a C&R firearm. Just don't. Please.

It's a replacement stock: unstained stock.

Machodoc · May 25, 2015

Beemer606 said:
Why are you cutting the tung oil with minerial spirits? Pure tung oil should be fine. Several coats with a light sanding in between coats should be fine.

I agree that you don't need to cut the tung oil with mineral spirits--unless you are starting with bare wood and you want the first coat to penetrate a bit more.

As for the rest, it's not bad advice if you're building furniture, but usually not what you want for a military firearm stock. As a general rule, we stay away from sanding, unless you really know what you are doing, and the look that you are after. Next, "several coats" of tung oil will give you a very pretty finish, but it's going to be a bit too "deep" and shiny to look right on most military rifles. Most American and many European military rifles were finished pretty much just enough to seal up the wood and protect it from water. (This will vary, of course, by firearm type, period, and country of origin.)

For the unfinished stock, you'll just have to play it by ear and see how it looks as you go along. Once you get a little build-up of very dry tung oil, you can take the slight bumps (in the finish--not the wood) down with a light brushing using 0000 ultra-fine steel wool, being sure to then wipe off any steel wool residue before doing more.

Some people like to put a coat of hard wax over the finished stock, and that's a good way to knock down the shine if it gets to be too glossy, but I prefer not to use wax. It can make it difficult to later touch up the stock with another oil rub if you need to do that a year or two down the road.

fred333 · May 25, 2015

Threeband said:
"Once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year forever." After a few coats, you can use it straight, without the mineral spirits.

That's the formula I followed when I replaced the stock, but used boiled linseed oil instead of tung oil. Came out just fine.

BeltBuckle · May 26, 2015

I've used BLO and Tung oil, and prefer the latter. BLO tends to darken more with time, esp. if exposed to sunlight. Tung oil not so much.

Some folks say to avoid the use of steel wool, as that can lead to metal fragments getting impregnated in the stock that produce rust spots. I have used brass wool (000 or 0000) between coats to smooth the finish with excellent results, and never needed more than ~3 coats. YMMV depending on the starting condition/history of your stock.

Most important advice - don't try to rush anything. Put on a coat and let it sit for at least 24h, rub it out, see what you think. Rinse & repeat ad libitum.

Good luck.

Machodoc · May 26, 2015

BeltBuckle said:
I've used BLO and Tung oil, and prefer the latter. BLO tends to darken more with time, esp. if exposed to sunlight. Tung oil not so much.

Some folks say to avoid the use of steel wool, as that can lead to metal fragments getting impregnated in the stock that produce rust spots. I have used brass wool (000 or 0000) between coats to smooth the finish with excellent results, and never needed more than ~3 coats. YMMV depending on the starting condition/history of your stock.

Most important advice - don't try to rush anything. Put on a coat and let it sit for at least 24h, rub it out, see what you think. Rinse & repeat ad libitum.

There's an argument for using BLO for just that reason. The darkening is desired by guys who want original-looking stocks, and BLO is what was used on 1903s and M1s.

As for using steel wool ... yep! That's why I said to only use it when it's very dry and to wipe it down carefully. A microfiber cloth does a great job. Steel wool is very unlikely to leave fragments in a hard-dried finish.

Good advice on not rushing anything!

noahhh · May 29, 2015

Another vote to not add mineral spirits to the oil. What'll happen is the solvent will penetrate deeply but not the oil- it doesn't "carry" the oil into the wood with it. Just use the (pure) tung oil or BLO as-is and be done with it. (The "tung oil finish" you find at the hardware store is nothing more than a thinned wiping varnish.)

I always give it a coat of paste wax when done, not for the bit of shine it produces but rather to actually give the wood a modicum of water protection. If oil touchup needs done at a later date, just wash the wax off with mineral spirits and re-wax again when done. Straight oil finishes are a notoriously poor water vapor barrier, but are necessary for authenticity. The reason the gov't arsenals used oil finishes was because they were quick and cheap, not because they were the very best finishes possible.

I once finished a repro Springfield stock with nothing but paste wax and "boned" it with a polished rib bone. It turned out looking like a stock that a pre-war GI sat and boned whiled sitting on his bunk.

smdub · May 29, 2015

noahhh said:
Another vote to not add mineral spirits to the oil. What'll happen is the solvent will penetrate deeply but not the oil- it doesn't "carry" the oil into the wood with it.

You have data to back this up? Its in solution not suspension. The solvent will help carry it to anywhere the molecule will fit since it is lowering surface tension. As a long time woodworker I know that if you section a finished sample you can tell the finish went deeper.

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