Renewing/caring for finish of 60+ yr old rifle

[Jgjgjg]

I have a 1940/1950’s era rifle: top end European Mauser sporter. It’s been well cared for but also frequently used. The stock could use some tlc.

It’s an “in the wood” finish and not some 70’s era high polish polyurethaning. But...I don’t known what it really is.

In general, when experienced gentlemen see this, do you find it’s something easily repairable like tung oil or boiled lindseed oil, or something not-so-much?

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Sounds like an oil based finish, boiled linseed oil is an old term for something like spar varnish. No boiling involved. My personal thoughts would be strip it and go with an oil based finish like Tru Oil.

 

[boom boom]

Boiled linseed oil (BLO) used to be actually boiled in order to make it dry faster than plain linseed oil. Nowadays it has other chemicals, often heavy metals, to aid in drying time.

Spar varnish is something different as it is a polymerized coating which sometimes has a stain included--it has an oil, resin of some sort, and a solvent to help it dry after application and spar varnish is designed for outdoor use with natural uv protections which indoor type varnish does not. It is designed to seal the wood from moisture damage, protect it from UV rays to some extent, and be flexible enough to handle outdoor weather extremes.

The term and product originated with sail boats. In its original formulation, small amounts of BLO was added to spar varnish to add flexibility in sailboat applications. A spar is more or less poles that retain the sails including the masts and booms.

Varnish was used on stocks for awhile and usually it was spar varnish as it could handle extremes better than an indoor varnish and had a bit more weatherproofing/permanence than a simple oil finishes which have to be reapplied at regular intervals.

Also, there is a technique known as french polish that was sometimes used on heirloom quality firearms that relies on shellac and oil. https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/french-polish-your-woodworking-project-3536489

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Boiling straight linseed oil will simply make hot linseed oil. Just kinda curious if anyone has actually used linseed oil? It might look real good on a stock but get the temperature up above 90ish degrees and you end up with a sticky nasty mess. I do know of someone that had that exact problem on a muzzleloader stock.

 

[Ifishsum]

My BLO-finished stocks do not get sticky in hot weather. Whomever applied the oil to your friend's stock either applied it too thickly or didn't wait long enough between coats. Straight BLO is a beautiful and classic finish but it takes A LOT of patience to apply if starting with bare wood. I think the saying goes one coat a day for a week, one coat a week for a month, one coat a month for a year and then one coat a year to maintain (maybe a slight exaggeration but not too far off) and any spots that still look wet an hour after application should be wiped. It needs to dry in the wood and not so much on the surface. And you buy it 'boiled' as opposed to raw (although as Boom Boom said they don't actually boil it anymore). Tru-Oil is just linseed oil with extra additives to speed up drying. It does tend to come out glossier than I like because it will dry on the surface, but it's definitely faster with less risk of staying sticky. Lin-Speed is a similar product from Brownell's.

For the OPs rifle, it's pretty safe to clean the stock and rub on a light coat of linseed oil with your fingers and see if you like the result. I've done that to several myself, just use a little at a time. Like barely enough to spread around. Some worn areas will soak up the oil more quickly, and you can redistrubute the oil from other areas of the stock to those dry looking areas after setting a few minutes but resist the urge to keep adding more. then give it a a few days to dry. May only take 2-3 applications, maybe more but the key is thin coats and enough drying time between them.

 

[1KPerDay]

Boiling straight linseed oil will simply make hot linseed oil. Just kinda curious if anyone has actually used linseed oil? It might look real good on a stock but get the temperature up above 90ish degrees and you end up with a sticky nasty mess. I do know of someone that had that exact problem on a muzzleloader stock.

My garands have properly applied, hand rubbed BLO finishes and I shoot them regularly in 100 degree temps. No sticky, no mess.

 

[Slamfire]

Boiling straight linseed oil will simply make hot linseed oil. Just kinda curious if anyone has actually used linseed oil?

I have and it takes about 20 years for raw lindseed oil to "cure". I think it oxidizes. It does look good till then, and as it ages it darkens. The stock will change color.

It might look real good on a stock but get the temperature up above 90ish degrees and you end up with a sticky nasty mess. I do know of someone that had that exact problem on a muzzleloader stock.

I have experienced this in hot weather. The raw lindseed oil comes out of the stock in tiny drops.

 

[boom boom]

No, actual boiled linseed oil (which is a pain and somewhat dangerous to make as linseed oil has a high vaporization rate and can self combust if you do not have great ventilation and/or have an open flame source), causes chemical changes via oxidation reaction--the heating of the linseed oil speeds up the natural process of raw linseed oil to oxidize but that very process releases heat so it is a trifle dangerous absent proper precautions.

The stuff you get now has drying agents, usually metal compounds (cobalt is common for example) and petroleum solvents, added to raw linseed oil to partially oxidize so as to decrease drying time which also thickens the product. The last is a more modern invention which is polymerized linseed oil that is done by subjecting the raw oil to high heat in the absence of oxygen for several days. You will also see the reference of double boiled linseed oil (this is used in paints for example) that is both polymerized and may have drying agents added depending on the maker. Given there is not an overall standards board for what to call natural oils, you will see all sorts of misleading terms by sellers.

Tung oil has similar variations. The main difference between something like linseed or tung oil versus something like olive oil is that linseed and tung will eventually oxidize and harden the surface somewhat while something like olive oil won't.

 

[boom boom]

Boiling straight linseed oil will simply make hot linseed oil. Just kinda curious if anyone has actually used linseed oil? It might look real good on a stock but get the temperature up above 90ish degrees and you end up with a sticky nasty mess. I do know of someone that had that exact problem on a muzzleloader stock.

No, it takes time for the oxidation reaction and that is why it is dangerous as you keep the oil near its flashpoint for awhile to cause oxidation. Artists and a few woodcrafters make their own so that it does not have the toxins introduced by petroleum and metal compound drying agents. The woodcrafters use it to make short oil aka varnish by adding a resin to the blo.

The newer polymerized stuff is made heating the oil in the absence of air so that a spontaneous combustion cannot occur.

Here is a short six minute video of the process and pretty good explanation of the differences. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...DF17EB9DE52EA6B0299FDF17EB9DE52EA6B&FORM=VIRE

That being said, the guy really does not talk about the risks which are spontaneous combustion and the dangers from splashing hot liquid as a result when making the stuff without being very careful of safety. It is definitely not something you would want to do indoors or around any flammable sources.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Was talking about straight linseed oil no additives.

 

[boom boom]

Was talking about straight linseed oil no additives.

That is the original linseed oil--aka raw linseed oil aka flax oil that when boiled becomes partially polymerized/oxidized which makes it thicker and makes it dry more quickly (the original BLO). This product is also the original spar varnish base when combined with some resin and a solvent such as mineral spirits or turpentine. Boiling, as in the video above, is a relatively simple process but can be dangerous due to the flammable nature of linseed during the oxidation reaction which is sped up by heat.

The BLO today at mass merchandisers is usually linseed oil plus other stuff is including solvents such as mineral spirits/turpentine/naptha, etc. plus some metal compounds like cobalt/etc. in order to cause drying to be sped up. The polymerized is boiled without air so that it can be heated higher and longer to polymerize the linseed oil fairly completely so that it dries quickly.

 

[Obturation]

I've used BLO (regular hardware store stuff )for wood finishes for years, if properly applied it is in no way sticky, drippy or heat sensitive.while i don't know specifically the finish the OP is refering to i don't think a little linseed oil would harm anything- test in a discrete area. I mainly use it for tool handles that will be exposed to the elements, it helps prevent the wood from shrinking and keeps it from soaking up water and swelling. A little off topic but linseed oil is good stuff - never used any other variation or any that was intended specifically for firearms.