I have started putting linseed on a laminated stock and noticed a few things. First, it turned the color of the stock quite dark and second, after 2 weeks and 7 coats it still seems somewhat "sticky" to the touch. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? Will it ever dry completely and leave a shiny protective surface, or will it remain this matte dull sticky finish? Thanks

Was it boilded linseed oil. If it is it should dry to a dull shine. takes time. I use to use boilded linseed oil on a few stocks before I went syt. Now I use it to touch up my oiled finished stocks.

scott

If you're using plain old linseed oil out of the can you can wait until the cows come home and it still won't be dry. It has to have some kind of drier added. You can buy it already mixed. It's called Linspeed or Tru Oil. There are more old-wives tales about a linseed oil finish than any other gun product ever made.

Boiled linseed oil is not boiled by the way. It is oil that has been treated with acid to remove impurities and then mixed with a little drier. It is OK for stocks but the Linspeed and Tru Oil mixtures are a lot better because they contain more driers and result in a shiney finish.

BTW, if the oil you have been using is a synthetic, it will just keep soaking in the stock until it turns black. Synthetic linseed oil is for mixing with paint.

Ray

quote:

Will it ever dry completely and leave a shiny protective surface,

No........

The linseed oil myth lives on.

It is not suitable for stock finishing. Strip off as much as you can with solvent. Clean the stock with acetone. Re-sand and start again with a real finish. Fill the grain with a wood grain filler. Apply a good finish, spar varnish is good stuff, easy to use, relativly non toxic and easy to come by.

I once, and repeat once and only once, used boiled linseed oil to refinish a stock. I ran into the same problem, never seemed to dry. Also, if the sun hit it, it would "bleed"....stripped and refinished with another finish, but can't remember which.

Well, looks like Ill have another project ahead of me in stripping this boiled linseed off. If this stuff is so bad then why do people sell it and advertise it for stock finishing? Hopefully Ill get most of my color back on the stock as well.

Scott,
TRY this, if you are dead set on stripping it...

first, get a can of japan drier, and your raw linseed oil... put just a LITTLE oil in a jar, and then about 5 times as much jap drier in the jar, and wipe on a test area, let sit for a day.. btw, the stuff in the jar will be totally hard by then.

next, there's a $10 heatgun from harbour freight... use it on the low setting, and just warm the stock,,, then come over it with straight (get the heat gun OUT of the room) jap drier, and see if it wont catylize the rest

jeffe

As a side note, laminated stocks already have some sort of glue in them, holding the layers of wood together. They don't absorb oil or varnish the way standard wood does.

quote:

Originally posted by Scott:
Well, looks like Ill have another project ahead of me in stripping this boiled linseed off. If this stuff is so bad then why do people sell it and advertise it for stock finishing? Hopefully Ill get most of my color back on the stock as well.

Scott

The stuff that is sold for stock finishes is linseed oil AND driers. It works and gives a good finish but it's not a labor-free project. And it's time consuming. Applying a coat, let it dry, then rubbing it all off. Then repeating and repeating until the pores are filled. The a few final applications for looks. A lot different than what you've been led to believe by the magazine hype.

Ray

Linseed oil is getting a bum rap: When I was younger and even stupider, I wrote to the English Gun Companies and asked "How do you finish with linseed oil?" They answered! First cleanse and whisker with oxalic acid. Soak in linseed oil in which a little Japan drier is added. When it's not QUITE set up, scrub off across grain with a mixture of linseed oil and rottonstone..repeat and repeat. As time went on, I modified the formula a bit. I now cleanse and whisker as mentioned, then soak with "Ship and Shore" sealer...keep applying until the wood will take no more. A week later repeat. Now I apply linseed oil and add COBALT drier (Grumbacher sells this to artists) Use just a little of the drier, a couple drops to a teaspoon or so. It will set up pretty fast, so keep an eye on it. When sticky, scrub off as mentioned with the rottenstone. This is not a quickie, but you'll end up with a dry, hard finish that is the envy of gun nuts and it's easily patched up. I used this on my 338 that went to Africa twice..no bleeding, no tacky..no nuthin, except a beautiful finish. A word of caution: Both Japan and Cobalt driers must be used with caution, since the lead or cobalt will pass thru skin pores and find it's way to the liver. Use rubber gloves...when dry, there is nothing to worry about. Also...look at the labels on some of these prepared "stock finishes"...If you see Xylene or Toluene, throw it out..this stuff is about as bad as it gets...have fun!

Duane

Linseed Oil finishes are great if you take the time to do them right. And you use the correct combination of oil and driers. Where the "bum rap" comes in is when shooters are led down the rosey path to a great looking finish by simply rubbing in a few coats of oil. If you take a can of oil from your local Ace Hardware, and simply rub on a coat or two, you can rub until your hands are worn off up to your elbows and you still wont have a finish that you'd be willing to show anyone.

You can mix your own finish, such as you described, but I've found that good old Tru Oil right out of the bottle works as well, or better, than any I can mix myself. It helps to live in a nice warm, low-humidity climate BTW. Like Tacoma.

Ray

When I was in gunsmith school, which I admit was over 50 years ago, we made a stock finish they called 'French Polish'. It was made of boiled linseed oil,shellac,and O'Cedar cream furniture polish. Don't remember the quantities but it made a beautiful durable finish at the time. I saw a couple of rifles built by a friend Dave Stout several years ago and the finish was still looking pretty good. These were maple stocks which was popular when I went to school. It was cheaper than walnut and far cheaper than French or English walnut. Worked well on the walnut/maple laminate they made there at school. This was before the days of pressure laminates. These were just clamped together and the glue used was Fossco from M.L.Foss lumber in Denver where we bought a lot of exotic woods then.

Linseed oil can produce a beautiful finish. BUT, it requires saring use, and LOTS of time & elbow grease-more rubbing than oil! MOST people who try using linseed use way too much, and if they do, it won't dry!

Plain linseed oil penetrates the wood somewhat, and does indeed darken it as well. It is also very slow drying, particularly if you did not rub it in completely or used too much, resulting in the tacky surface you noted.

It would be best to take your stock, get an old wool sock, and rub all the tacky excess off. Rub across the grain, leaving oil IN, but not ON, the wood! Next, let the stock dry again for a month or so, depending on the humidity where you live, until it is no longer sticky.

Then complete your finishing job with some TRU-OIL, applied according to the directions! TRU-OIL is a linseed oil product, but has driers added so it will not remain tacky like the plain old linseed oil did. It results in a good shiny finish in a relatively short time. You can rub it down to a dull "London oil" sheen if you desire by using an old wool sock with rottenstone on it if it is too shiny for your tastes.

I have gotten some good results with plain boiled linseed oil, but used very little oil, and rubbed the oil into the wood with my bare hands until it was REALLY HOT from rubbing, and let it sit for two weeks after every coat. After ten coats applied this way, I let the stock sit to dry for at least a month before reinstalling the barreled action.

Finishing this way results in a finish that's IN the wood, which is pretty tough. But a linseed oil finish is very porous, and gives hardly any protection at all against moisture! In addition, a true linseed oil finish takes a long time to complete - it is not for people in a hurry or who are adverse to physical labor!