Hi all, I have question for the experts. I have had a Galazan "Period Correct" pad installed on a rifle. The instruction say to polish with vasaline to " impart a sheen, then coat with varnish,tru-oil or shellac to protect"

Sounds dubious to me. Any recommendations on anything needed to finish off the pad.

Thank you for any assistance.
Larry

Well, putting grease on it and then trying to get a finish to stick to it would seem rather counter productive. Are you sure they didn't mean one, or the other?

The English do talk kinda funny.

Hi chucker, thanks for your reply.went back and it seems like 2 steps, Vasaline then finish. Made no sense to me either, hence my question.

They're not Brits, rather New England, but some of them talk funny too.

Maybe just buff with silicon on the sides, not the back?

I just use Armor All on rubber pads. Same stuff you put on the dash of your car. It seems to work.

The vasoline polish is a time-tested technique however I've never heard of applying finish afterwards.

A bit of Vasaline dotted around on the pad then a light buffing overall. It puts a burnished, even color look to the pad. Takes away that 'just sanded and fitted' look.

The vasaline doesn't penetrate the pad material to any extent. But I wipe it off anyway with nothing more than a dry cloth.
Then a coating of thinned shellac (orange in my case) to give it an even more aged and used look of dried oil. This thin coating will wear from contact surfaces at the rear and edges and lightly crack/craze on the sides with some use if that's a look you're after.

Skip this coating step if you're not restoring an older rifle or desire that older used look.

Very interesting. Thanks for the additional info.
Not a classic, so think I'll go with Armor All
Thanks!
Larry

Tire shine works well too