What oil do you use for your wooden stocks?

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UKWildcatFan

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Also, do you use something different for your barrels? I'm wanting to care for my guns which are in a nice, big safe in my garage. Also, how often do you oil them?

Thx,
Alex
 
Break-Free CLP for wiping down the barrels and for lubrication - along with Tetra Grease (be sure to knead the tube first, as any separation of Tetra will cause rusting).

Break-Free also to 'annoint' the barrel interior after cleaning.
 
I use paste wax on wooden stocks. The only time I oil them is if it's to refinish them, in which case it's usually BLO.

For metal besides the bore, I'll sometimes also use paste wax. Usually it's RemOil or CLP. The bore gets a patch of Rem or CLP followed by a dry patch.

I clean and wax/oil them after every range trip and once or twice a month that they spend sitting in the safe.

FWIW, all of mine are kept inside. If yours are in the garage, you might wanna do it more often.
 
If it is an oil finish like my M1. M1 Carbine, or my Yugo SKS Model 59, I used raw linseed oil. I use it on my pine table that has an oil finish. It really is great stuff. It has a little odor for a day or two but I really like that smell. For varnish or polyurethene finished such as my Marlin lever actions or my Mac90 I use a damp cloth to clean then I use a little Pledge or some Johnson and Johnson paste wax. Just a little. I don't want the wood slippery. I am open to other ideas, for sure.
 
If the wood stock has no poly finish, I can clean it with Murphy's wood soap and then use Howard's Feed N Wax - same stuff I use on good furniture
 
For a light grease I like and use the Tetra Grease. For light oil I like Rem Oil.

For refinishing a stock I like Birchwood Casey True Oil which I believe is linseed oil with a drying agent.

Ron
 
For barrels any old oil will do nicely, CLP or Mobil 1 as examples. For stocks I like, believe it or not, Lemon Pledge furniture polish. What's the difference between fine furniture and good rifle stocks?
 
For metal I use either Rem oil or Strike Hold (I prefer Strike Hold). For wood I like either Canuba (sp?) wax or Tung Oil. If your using any oils other than Tung, give it a try you won't go back it has great penetration, seals and pulls out the color and grain.
 
To: SouthernYankee post#10

When you reference "tung oil" are you referring to 100% Tung Oil or the Varnish/Tung Oil mixture often sold as Tung Oil finish?

I have used both, and both give a nice finish. The Varnish/Tung oil mix is easier to use than the 100% tung oil. The 100% is more traditional and probably not as durable, however I like the looks of it better.
 
I use "Pure Tung Oil" from Woodcraft. I've finished a number of stocks with this, so it's easy to reapply & blend if the wood gets scuffed. (No varnish, but I do add just a little Japan drier.)

For metal, I mostly use CLP where oil is called for, Tetra where grease is called for.
 
I prefer 100% Tung Oil. It requires elbow grease, but it can make a crappy stock look good and a good piece...wait until you try it. As for an All In One try Watcos Antique Oil Finish, it can be a little dark but it still is an easy finish and great for the hard use yard gun. Got a simple scuff on your stock, Almond Oil Extract is a miracle worker, now you see it...now you don't ( it's used in the high end furniture repair business).
 
Don't put regular 'gun' oils on stocks. It will ruin them if it penetrates the existing finish. Stocks that are already 'oil' finished with linseed or tung oil, just add more. Few commercial stocks are oil finished anymore and haven't been for decades. Most commercial wood stocks now come with some type of synthetic finish or varnish. A good wax is just fine for them.
 
Howard Feed N Wax, not only on the wood, but for the entire firearm where the wax is a great rust preventative.
 
Seriously no one uses this? I have been using this for years on wood. Accept no substitutes Ballistol http://www.ballistol.com/ many other uses. It works well to remove lead inside barrels too. It kinda smells funky but goes away quick. I used this on an old weather beaten car dash (Suzuki Samurai), made it look like new, you really need to try this.
 
+ 1 For Ballistol

I've been using it for several years now ever since I bought some at the gun show. Good stuff. Works great on waterproofing work boots too.
 
oil

I use boiled linseed oil on military stocks. I use paste finishing wax on the rest of the wooden stocks. When cleaning my muzzleloaders, the last step (from the manufacturer) is to wipe on a coating of Type A transmission fluid, let it set for a few and then wipe it off. The wood seems to like it...has stayed pretty for years.
Also have used Ballistol - on wood and on leather holsters/
Pete
 
You generally should not use oil on a wood stock. It soaks in. But I did for years (lightly) because I didn't know any better with my rifles. Any of the gun oils mentioned for the metal are just fine for me for guns I shoot or are not serious pieces. If I am trying to clean up a stock, I'll use carnauba based paste wax or Renaissance wax. I use the Renaissance wax on the metal too if I am not shooting them.
 
Balistol. It serves all my needs.

Smells like a combo of dirty napppys and licorice, but it is a really nice product. While they say it is digestible, I don't know how you could get that past your nose. It also serves in a slurry with water to clean corrosive ammo residue or black powder residue.
 
I like as light an oil as I can possibly get to wipe on my stock. I have some that came with my Benelli and it works well. Very light in color, no additives, etc.

For metal, I like M-Pro7, but pretty much anything works, as long as you make sure you use it. I've used Breakfree CLP, Slip 2000, Rem Oil, etc. One thing I found with Rem Oil, it will "varnish" up if it sits for too long. I had my bed side 1911 sit unused for close to 6 months. Pulled it out to check on it and the slide was very hard to move back. The Rem Oil had hardened. So I broke it down and cleaned it up and used M-Pro 7. Also, I will plan on shooting it more often too.
 
The British supposedly dipped their wooden stocks in raw linseed oil either during original production of Lee-Enfields in WW2, or during the FTR process after the war.
Some people report that the raw linseed oil won't trap moisture or block absorption, but the compound boiled linseed oil might hold any moisture, but offers better protection, even though it is not the original type used by the British.

With six Enfields (#4s, #5s), a dinged, dark Service Grade Garand (but excellent metal), two FR8s, and now a Romanian .22 Trainer, I'm still not sure what to use on them. I really want to preserve the dry wood and give it the original appearance. The yellow beech stock on one of the Enfield "Jungles" looks bone dry.
 
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You need to treat the wood according to the finish. If it's been varnished or laquered use wax. If the wood has been oiled for a finish, then you need to use the same type of oil used in finishing the stock. In oils, there are "raw" oils and modified oils like "boiled" linseed oil which may be heated as part of the modification or only had one or more driers added. Same with tung oil it may be raw or treated. You may also want to wax an oiled finish to protect it from water.

The difference is that raw oils will never dry, are always wet, and the oil finish stays soft. A "boiled" oil is one that has had a modifier added to it so the oil molecules will link together or "polymerize" and dry. As part of the drying process, the oil will heat up which is why you should not put oily rags in the trash - they can catch on fire. Oil rags are usually kept in a jar or closed container so they cannot combust. If you want to throw them away, wash them in detergent and water first to reduce the amount of oil in the rag.

In use, polymerized oils penetrate to a certain depth and then harden. As additional coats are added, the oil will build up in layers on the top of the first hardened oil layer so that, in the end, you end up with an oil varnish finish on the surface.

With an oil finish, if you wet sand the coats (with oil) it forms a slurry that acts as a grain filler and helps smooth out the finish. This is how "Danish oil" finishes are done. The nice thing about an oil finish is that if it is scratched, you can wet sand the finish using fine sandpaper (320 - 400 grit), smooth out the scratch and with a couple of applications of oil - the stock will be as good as the day it was first finished.

Pledge is one of the worst things you can use on furniture or wood. It contains silicone which is what gives it "shine." Plain wax is far better protectant than Pledge.

One of the best wood cleaners / polishes is Craftsman Furniture Polish as it is compatible with oil, shellac, varnish, and lacquer finishes.

For any type of finish, a plain paste wax (including a good automobile wax like Zymol or Pete's 53) is the best protection you can have. On oil finishes the wax is easily removed to apply another coat of oil by wiping the surface with mineral spirits or turpentine, and then oiling the stock again.

Most paste waxes (with the exception of Zymol and Pete's 53) use a petroleum distallate to liquify the carnuba wax. Directions for application usually include waiting for the wax to "dry" before buffing. What you're really doing is waiting for the petroleum distallate in the wax to evaporate.

In both Zymol and Pete's 53 the carnuba is liquified using banana oil and almond oil. With those type of waxes you wipe the wax on in a thin layer, and then buff it off immediately as the oils become part of the wax finish.
 
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