I had a new stock to finish, and thought I'd take a look some of the options other than our old stand by's. I cane across something called the "Old English Stock Finishing kit" that claims to provide a finish that looks just like the hand rubbed oil finishes found on older British rifles.

I am by no means a pro at this, having probably finished or refinished about a dozen of my own stocks over the years. But I am not exactly a novice to woodworking. In addition to gun stocks, I have finished and refinished a fair amount of furniture and antiques my better half drug home over the years. Therefore, I have a good understand and appreciation for a good hand rubbed finish, and the time it takes to achieve that result.

Checking a little more in depth, I found that an outfit called African Express in South African manufactures the kits and components, and Brownells distributes the kits here in the US.

The African Express site is pretty limited in its information:

http://www.gunstockblanks.com/oldafrican/

quote:

This collection of finest quality finishing & maintenance products has been meticulously manufactured using only the finest ingredients, developed to create an Old English Best Quality London Gun Finish.

There are many products available that produce a good looking finish in 2-3 days, but later become dull, fade, lose colour and depth, and darken. The African Express finish, which, through regular routine maintenance, can be maintained indefinitely.

Included in the kit are one of each kind of the following products:

STOCK FINISHING OIL
This unique blend contains modified linseed oil, waxes, the famous alkanet root and hardeners creates the base for this ultimate in old english stock finishes.

PORE AND GRAIN FILLER
This combination of natural oils, resins and hardeners has been formulated to fill the grain and open pores often encountered on stock woods like Claro and American Black Walnut.

ANTIQUE CONDITIONING WAX
A blend of soft waxes formulated to keep a finished stock in pristine condition.

CLEANING & MAINTENANCE OIL
A liquid oil/wax combination for keeping the finished product clean and free of dirt. Also removes blood and other stains that often blemish the finish of a stock.

Brownells has a bit more information to add to the mix:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/...CK%20FINISHING%20KIT

Kit includes everything you need to finish an exhibition-grade stock in as little as three weeks. Specially formulated Old English Stock Finishing Oil lays the foundation for a truly beautiful finish. Grain & Pore Filler contains natural oils and resins to fill imperfections; Polishing Compound is a soft paste of waxes and mild abrasives to remove excess oil buildup between applications. Use the Antique Conditioning Wax with 0000 steel wool to cut the sheen for a satin look. Cleaning & Maintenance Oil combines oil and wax to keep the final wood finish free of blemishes. Depending on wood density, Single Gun Kit finishes one to two rifle stocks, Shop Kit completes three to four rifle stocks.

SPECS: Single Gun Kit - Includes 3 oz. (90 ml) Stock Finishing Oil and 1.5 oz. (45 ml) each of Grain & Pore Filler, Polishing Compound, Cleaning & Maintenance Oil, and Antique Conditioning Wax. Shop Kit - Includes 9.5 oz. (280 ml) Stock Finishing Oil and 4.7 oz. (140 ml) each of Grain & Pore Filler, Polishing Compound, Cleaning & Maintenance Oil, and Antique Conditioning Wax.

What convinced me to take the leap was the Brownells write up in their "How To" section on stock refinishing:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/...e.aspx?p=0&t=1&i=553

quote:

Stock Refinishing - Part III
By Dave Bennetts

Now that the stain job has dried properly, it's time for the fun part - applying the finish. This is the most rewarding part of the job to me, and is when you see the results of all your hard work. It's always a thrill when your firearm begins to take on that warm glow that sets it apart from other guns. Having been a professional stock maker and refinisher for more years than I want to admit, I have used probably every commercially available stock finish on the market. They've all worked, some with good results, some excellent, and some that were just okay.

The finishes that I felt were the true English style oil finishes were generally quite good, but were difficult to use even by a person who had spent a number of years doing stock work. Being a member of Brownells technical staff gives me the opportunity to test quite a number of finishes that would like to make it into the market place. Again, some work okay but are no better than an existing finish that it would have to compete against. Early this spring, we received samples of an English style oil finish from a company in South Africa by the name of African Express. Well, I like the neat name, and the labels were pretty, but, I thought, "Here we go with another finish that no one wants, or will complain that it won't work right, or the skill level required is beyond the average person." I started reading the instructions, and everything sounded quite simple, but always being a skeptic, I figured I'd test it. Well surprise, surprise, surprise! This stuff was absolutely the easiest oil finish to apply that I have ever seen. I followed the instructions to the letter and it worked perfectly. Now, you have to understand that this type of finish requires a lot of patience to apply, due to drying time between coats. It's not a put it on today, shoot tomorrow type of finish, but done correctly, you won't find one more beautiful once you're all done. The total time involved will vary from 3 to 4 weeks, but what else have you got to do in the middle of winter? All it takes is about an hour a day, so let's get started.

Basically, the only supplies you will need will be the Stock Finishing Kit, a supply of 0000 Steel Wool, a soft throw away bristle brush, some T-Shirt Squares, and some 1200 Grit Wet or Dry Sand Paper. Before you begin, it's a good idea to keep the stock in a warm area of the house to get it dried out properly. This will also allow the first coat to penetrate much better. Pour a small amount of the stock finish in a small dish then dip the brush in the finish and apply it liberally to the entire stock, except the checkering. If you're careful, and work around the checkered areas, you'll avoid having to go back and clean the finish out of it later on. You'll see that the oil will soak in some areas quicker than others, so keep brushing the finish on these areas until the finish starts to build on the surface. This is a sign the wood will accept no more finish, so take a T-shirt square and wipe all the excess off the surface. Now, set the stock aside in a warm place to dry for 24 hours.

Once it's dried thoroughly, you'll begin to see shiny areas on the surface. Taking some 0000 steel wool, rub down the entire stock, which will remove any of the old finish that's left on the surface. You want to take great care not to build up any surface finish at this time. Repeat the same cycle of oiling, wiping, drying, and steel wooling the surface, 6 more times.

At this point, we need to decide if we're going to use the pore and grain filler that came with the finish kit. This is not a filler with silica as we discussed before, it's a modified version of the same oil you were using that is thicker, and dries more quickly. If the wood is porous and the grain is still open, you'll definitely want to use the filler. It goes on the same way you applied the oil, only the drying time is approximately 12 hours instead of 24. Once again, you want to apply the oil, wipe off the excess, and allow it to dry, then steel wool the surface to remove any surface buildup. Four applications should be enough, but if your wood surface is not dead flat at this point, take some Dry Sand Paper and lightly flatten the surface. You're not trying to sand the wood, just flatten out the surface finish. Once that is done, usually one or two more coats of the filler will give you that perfect, flat surface, with no visible pores or grain showing.

Now comes the best part. We're going to apply that beautiful surface finish that is so prized on firearms. To do this, take another 3 in. square of T-shirt fabric, and again fold it into a 1 in. pad. Put it over the top of the bottle, and tip the bottle up to apply some finish to the pad. Apply a thin layer of the finish to the stock with the pad, and continue rubbing with the pad until both the stock and pad are dry to the touch. At this time, set the stock aside to dry for between 12 and 16 hours. Continue to apply a new coat every 12 to 16 hours about 12 times. If you want even more depth, you can keep applying the finish with the same method for another week if so desired. Let your eyes be the judge as to when it finished to your satisfaction. Now, set it aside for 4 or 5 days to completely cure and admire what you have accomplished!

Sounds like a winner! So I ordered the "shop kit" versus the single gun (Mr. Murphy always seems to be afoot for such endeavors) and got ready to go.

It Arrives

The box arrived and I was anxious to get started. Everything appeared to be there, so I pulled out the instructions and began to read. The instructions come on a brown parchment paper to give the feel of a fine old English Document. The look and feel was superb. Unfortunately, that's where the positive impression stopped.

I don't know if something, or better a few somethings, were lost in translation from Afrikaans. More of a marketing piece than instructions. So back to the Brownells site, where it was recommended to use the Finishing Oil as a first "soak in" application, then wipe off the excess. The bottle was shaken, and shaken, and shaken. About 15 minutes worth. I wanted to make sure that the ingredients were thoroughly mixed. Applied the "soak" and wiped. Nothing to it. This was done 3 more times per the guidance given, with a light steel wool before the application of the new layer.

The next step called for a build up of the oil with six more oil applications. Product instructions note that the polishing compound is to be used between coats. Actually, the product instructions do not say to apply the oil after each of the six polishes. That fact was revealed after an email went out to first African Express and then to Brownells.

In addition to trying to reconcile the African Express instructions with the Brownell web site write up, I noticed some rather significant inconsistencies and omissions. Questions and requests for clarifications were sent via email to both AE and Brownells. To this day, I have yet to receive any response from AE. Brownells, thankfully and true to form, did respond quickly.

It was confirmed that the finishing oil was applied after each polishing, and to dry for 24 hours. Ready for phase two.

Phase Two



Upon applying the polishing compound, it seemed to me to be highly abrasive. Much more than the 0000 Steel wool or rotten stone used in the past. Maybe just my imagination. SO polish I did, and oil I did. Six times.



Upon completion of the six additional coats, I noticed that the scratches that should have filled by now were more prominent. So much so that they appeared to run through most of the new and some of the old coats. If you are counting at this point, that is a total of 10 light coats.

Back to the AE magna carta. If you still need to fill in some places at this point, you go to the filling compound, which is nothing more (so it says) than a faster drying version of the finishing oil. Where the finishing oil takes 24 hours to set, the filler oil cures in 12.

After each application of the filler, you steel wool the shine off the older layer. But before the first coat of the filler, you must wipe the entire stock down with turpentine. Huh? That's can't be right. Read it again. Yes that was right.

At this time I escalated the matter to a phone call to Brownells. Within 5 minutes, I had the guy on the phone who did the How To write up. Great service. His take was that sounded odd, and that turpentine and linseed oil generally did not go hand in the finiching process. No joke.

What also came out of the call was that the instructions with my kit were obviously different from the ones Brownells had to do the test. In fact, several new components (polishing compound and the filler, to name two) were NOT in the kit Brownells originally tested.

Pushing On

I decided to add a few more layers of the finishing oil and forego the filler for the time being to see if the oil would fill the scratches. After four more coats, it was getting nowhere.

I pulled out the AE instructions again. It looked like the filler would need to be applied here, but that damn turpentine thing bothered me. I figured that they must know what they were talking about, seeing as how this was about the only product they sold. That sealing oil is supposed to fill in scratches and imperfections. I then thought maybe these guys in SA have much more experience than I do in stock finishing, and certainly they wouldn't recommend anything in written instructions that was not a tried and true method. Taking a leap of faith, I reached for the turpentine.

Out comes the turpentine. Do the entire stock to insure the sealing coat can get a good bond.

After wiping the stock down with the turpentine, to create the surface AE states the filler needs to adhere properly, I reached for the filler. Remember, this is nothing more than a faster drying version of the oil.

On goes the sealing coat. Oh, my. This stuff is literally the consistency of a very thick molasses or hot tar. And the 12 hour dry time turned into a 2 minute dry time in my shop (I must live in some warp in the time space continuum). And that over top of a softened 10 coat base turned out looking like a drunken chimp on crack had taken a stab at the stock. I took great care in insuring that the bottle was shaken very hard for a full 15 minutes before using it.

Check. I waited 12 hours, though, to make a final assessment. If I was going for a modern Braille art masterpiece, I would have been pleased. But I was not, and I was not.

I spent the next several hours meticulously using steel wool to remove the shine, the swirls, the color differences from the too fast drying time, and the ridges and bumps that were all over the stock. For anyone that was counting, that was 14 prior thin applications down the tubes.

Just to make sure that it was not the interaction of the turpentine and the filler, I again applied filler to a small spot on the the now bare wood. Same issues. On like hot tar, dried in minutes. Removed that with 0000 Steel Wool.

Back to square one

The shop kit is supposed to have enough oil to refinish several rifles. It comes with 2 bottles of the finishing oil. I had about a third of the first bottle left at this point. Since I would not have to repeat the "soak", maybe the one bottle would complete this stock.

Applied coat one. Let dry. No issues. Here comes coat 2. About halfway through applying coat 2, I noticed something I had not noticed before. The finishing oil was thickening. Also, looking down inside the now almost empty bottle, there was a quarter inch of hardened candy-like pieces that together had broken up off of the bottom of the bottle. All the shaking in the world would not have gotten this to mix back together. The bottles are dark amber in color, making it impossible to notice this with a full bottle of oil.

Of course, the thicker oil was also darker. And now had small and large specks of fused impregnable glass like matter mixing in with the oil.

At this stage, the remains of oil bottle one were discarded, and bottle 2 was in the batters box.

Impressions

My take on this kit:

1. The finishing oil itself is a decent product, but only if not used with anything else in the kit.

2. The instructions are totally useless. Whoever writes these needs to step away from the crack pipe if a revision is published in the future.

3. The polishing compound is highly abrasive. Those deep scratches I was trying to fill were caused by the deep cuts of the polishing compound. I would peg it at something in the neighborhood of wet 100 grit sandpaper. I suppose it would be a decent corn removal product for a podiatrist, but it has no business in a stock finishing kit.

4. The sealing "oil" should not even be in the same room with a stock being finished. More like a tar than an oil, it would be great for sealing pavement cracks in roadways or for sealing an asphalt roof. Not sure if something evaporated in the shipping from SA (the bottle looked full to me). In any case, this product should not be used on any wood with the possible exception of old wooden ships.

5. Based on my experience with the sealer and the polish, the touch up and the wax will join their buddies in the dumpster. Why take the chance?

6. The kit does come with two bottles of the oil, but at this rate I will end up using the better part of both on one stock. Both Ae and Brownells might want to change their representations on their websites of the large kit (the one I bought) being able to finish many stocks. Even without the polish/sealer setback, one bottle applied in thin coats seems to be enough for one large stock. In my case, this wood was never finished before, so maybe it sucked up more than normal. On the other hand this is a tight grained tiger maple, that was laminated from 3 different pieces (all of them stunning, by the way), so it should not have taken that much impregnation.

7. Out of the six bottles in the kit, only two are useful for stock finishing. The other 4 are just additional postage, and should be treated as the other packing material and discarded. Unfortunately, I bought two of these kits (or maybe that is fortunate, since the oil does not go as far as I thought).

8. The finishing oil was obviously subject to some condition that initiated the drying process inside of the bottle. I have no idea when this was made, or how long it sat in the bottle. Also, if there is a technique for this finishing oil (putting the bottle in hot water, heat gun, etc) that can melt the compounds back together, that needs to be published. Since it is impossible to see this through the bottle itself, there is really no way of knowing whether the kit you receive has an issue or not.

I won't be buying any more of this, especially given the similar and less expensive alternatives to the finishing oil. I realize that some folks here have used this product and are happy with it, but that was not my experience. Not that they asked, but if Brownells continues to offer this product, I would scrap the kit and just offer the oil, making sure that the oil has not started to crystallize and harden.

Just FYI - I sent Brownells an abbreviated version of this report and so far have not had a response. I'll keep you posted.

where the pictures?

This is truly an amazing experience! When I was younger and even dumber, I wrote to Holland & Holland and asked "How do you finish your stocks?"

Guess what? they answered with fairly detailed instructions, which I will pass on;

After sanding to 320 grit (or so) Make a solution of oxolic acid and warm water, apply, dry to raise the grain, repeat to about 500 grit.

Stock is ready for finish! Apply liberal amount of boiled linseed oil, allow to "set up"..maybe overnight? then grind off with a mixture of linseed oil and fine pumice or rottenstone to the wood...this acts as a filler...repeat as often as you want.

I have used this basic idea for years when a REAL linseed oil finish is wanted..takes time but sure makes a beautiful finish.

If you want to speed it up, a little cobalt dryer can make the linseed into a rock hard varnish..so check it often.

And..cobalt is not real good for your liver..use protective gloves and wash hands well after using

Duane,

Appreciate your comments. I am one of those who really admire your work - it is magnificent.

I like to use rottenstone with linseed oil. May take a little longer but it is worth the effort.

So you take the "shine" off after every application? Again, if I continued to follow the African Express instructions, it calls for the final hand rubbed coats to go one on top of the other.

Was always curious about that product. Thanks for taking the hit for us Jim.....don't think I need to mess with it now ...

I finished my long range prone stock with the African Express kit last year and was real pleased with the results, but I didn't take anything near the route you took. I used the finishing oil to fill and seal the wood sanding back down to the wood each time finishing with a "wet" sand using the finishing oil for the last couple of coats. After several coats of this I used the filler (which contains solids) to finish filling any grain pores that were left and continued to build up a finish using the finishing oil. The wax and other items are for restoring the finish afer a years usage in my opinion so I haven't really used anything out of the kit other than the oil and filler.

In retrospect if I were to use the kit again, and I probably will, I will first seal the stock with some Tung oil because it is much thinner and penetrates a lot better. After sealing I'll then use the filler followed by wet sanding with the oil until all the grain is filled and the surface is smooth. Then I'll use the oil to build up the finish and buff it out.

Jim, I bought the kit a couple of years ago to fininsh one of my rifles and had exactly the same experience! "Deja vu all over again", lol!

quote:

Originally posted by clowdis:
I finished my long range prone stock with the African Express kit last year and was real pleased with the results, but I didn't take anything near the route you took.

I followed the instructions that came with the kit.

Looking back, I think one of the issues hwre is how fresh the kit is. I noted that the oil istelf seemed like a decent product, but having it go to solid in the bottom of the bottle tells me that this stuff has a definite shelf life, unlike pure linseed oil.

The polishing compound and filler are garbage in my view. You can get the filling done by using a wet sand with the finishing oil or regular old linseed. As for the wax, based on my experience, I won't let it near my stocks. If I want to wax, I'll stick with carnuba flakes or Renaissance.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Manion:

quote:

Originally posted by clowdis:
I finished my long range prone stock with the African Express kit last year and was real pleased with the results, but I didn't take anything near the route you took.

I followed the instructions that came with the kit.

Looking back, I think one of the issues hwre is how fresh the kit is. I noted that the oil istelf seemed like a decent product, but having it go to solid in the bottom of the bottle tells me that this stuff has a definite shelf life, unlike pure linseed oil.

The polishing compound and filler are garbage in my view. You can get the filling done by using a wet sand with the finishing oil or regular old linseed. As for the wax, based on my experience, I won't let it near my stocks. If I want to wax, I'll stick with carnuba flakes or Renaissance.

Hi Jim,

Thank you for taking the time to write up your experiences with this stuff, i've been following the thread carefully as I am trying to re-finish my Tikka.

I have found a kit made by Napier which comes highly reccomended by my chap at William Evans.

Here is a link, you may be able to get this stuff if you can get VP90:

Napier of London

Regards,

GH

GH

Many thanks for that tip. Looks to be about the same price as the African Express kit. Plus, they sell separate refills on the finishing oil (something Brownells informed me they do not do or intend to do with the African Express kit).

An endorsement by the gentlemen at William Evans is certainly a solid recommendation.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Manion:
GH

Many thanks for that tip. Looks to be about the same price as the African Express kit. Plus, they sell separate refills on the finishing oil (something Brownells informed me they do not do or intend to do with the African Express kit).

An endorsement by the gentlemen at William Evans is certainly a solid recommendation.

Jim

Hi Jim,

Further to the Napier stuff above, this chap does and excellent kit with very good instructions.

Here's the link: Vintageguns.co.uk

The gentleman who owns the comapny specialises in Vintage guns of British extraction, the sale, repair and location whereof, so he knows a thing or two about finishing.
I am now using his kit and together with the instructions the finish being achieved is excellent. I have no hesitation in recommending him.

He also has an excellent book on british double guns if you are interested in that sort of thing.

Tell him the grandherbert sent you and i'm sure he'll see you right.

Regards,

GH