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Boiled Linseed Oil versus Tung Oil for the Winchester Stock

Which Finish for the Winchester M1 stock?

  • Boiled Linseed Oil

    Votes: 18 43.9%

  • Tung Oil

    Votes: 18 43.9%

  • Howard's Feed and Wax

    Votes: 2 4.9%

  • None; leave it alone!

    Votes: 3 7.3%
  • Total voters
    41
  • Poll closed .
majspud

majspud

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Looking at the stock, it seems to cry out for a coat of oil. I have BLO and Tung oil here at home. Let the punches fly - who says B.L.O. versus T.O.? There is also the option of using Howard's Feed and Wax, and the minimalist approach of leaving it alone.

T[popcorn]
 
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What about raw linseed oil? One of the guys on the CMP forum suggested RLO using cheesecloth for my Winchester M1 Carbine stock. Though I think it was more to clean up the stock rather than refinish. Still haven't got around to doing it yet. Got RLO and cheesecloth on hand lol.
 
Keep the wax away from it....save it for the card table.

I like 100% tung oil best for surplus stocks. You can apply one application or do a series of several.
You can continue to use it year after year for maintenance.

If you apply wax you will need to remove it if you ever need or want to touch up the tung or BLO...
Wax just gets into all the pores and cracks and dings.... eventually aging and looking like shit
 
andrew1220 said:
What about raw linseed oil? One of the guys on the CMP forum suggested RLO using cheesecloth for my Winchester M1 Carbine stock. Though I think it was more to clean up the stock rather than refinish. Still haven't got around to doing it yet. Got RLO and cheesecloth on hand lol.
Click to expand...

Raw LSO takes a very long time to cure....talking weeks.

My grand mother was a hobby wood refinisher and always said Raw LSO was good for fences and reglazing Windows nothing more... she was a tung oil person for the nice projects and shellac and poly for the quick stuff ...

I use 100 percent tung oil ... I use it in very little amounts and let it cure for a week between applications.

For my match Rifle I use tung oil finish as it seals the wood better and offers a higher level of protection against moister.

Andrew the cheese cloth method works great with BLO or PTO its soft on the wood yet collects grime.

http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armorers-corner/wood-cleaning-article/
 
I like BLO. When done right it will return a nice dull satin finish. One rubbed in coat every day or two over a 7-10 period. Maybe hit it with #0000 steel wool between coats towards the end.

Like Mac said stay away from wax whatever you do.
 
dw617 said:
I like BLO. When done right it will return a nice dull satin finish. One rubbed in coat every day or two over a 7-10 period. Maybe hit it with #0000 steel wool between coats towards the end.

Like Mac said stay away from wax whatever you do.
Click to expand...

I like the 3M finishing pads better than steel wool. Super fine and "wet" sand with the oil ....
 
Howard's Feed-N- wax
this Polish stock is a 69 and only thing I do is wax 2 times a year. If you want it off to coat one day you wipe it down a few times with mineral spirits, easy as pie,Works for me
image.jpg
 
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Ranger007 said:
Raw Linseed
Click to expand...

One note...if your going to use Raw LSO make sure it's really Raw and not refined...
Raw linseed oil is what gave the original GI stocks there red hue. The fatty acids at work.
"Raw" refined linseed oil has the fatty acids removed so it does not turn thing red or yellow.

Boiled linseed oil dries pretty fast although I like to wait between weekends with any oil between coats.

Tung oil dries faster and offers slightly more protection.
 
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mac1911 said:
One note...if your going to use Raw LSO make sure it's really Raw and not refined...
Raw linseed oil is what gave the original GI stocks there red hue. The fatty acids at work.
"Raw" refined linseed oil has the fatty acids removed so it does not turn thing red or yellow.

Boiled linseed oil dries pretty fast although I like to wait between weekends with any oil between coats.

Tung oil dries faster and offers slightly more protection.
Click to expand...

I have a crusty stock I bought a while back. At some point I will clean it and finish it. I don't even know what I got...it was a complete set at a flea market covered in grim and dust...25$ I didn't even look at it... winter project maybe.
 
I am finishing an AK stock with this stuff here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002...e+tung+oil&dpPl=1&dpID=41rJZ6OeTpL&ref=plSrch

It is my first time using pure Tung oil and so far so good (5 coats on so far and ready for buffing).

I read a lot of bad stories online about pure Tung but I have found it easy to work with so far. It is pretty forgiving. I plan to finish with the Howard feed and wax when done.

I am basically following the guidance here:

http://ironwooddesigns.com/IWDfinish.html
 
majspud said:
What do you mean? It's an American rifle, but I'm 1/4 German...

T
Click to expand...

It's a running joke on one of the Mosin Nagant heavy C&R boards that the proper way to refinish a rifle is German or Russian or French blood because of the main heavy casualty combatants of the World Wars. The blood to be used for refinishing being that of the opposing nationality of the rifle's nationality.
 
I prefer tung oil but BLO is fine as well. Just as I clean, oil, grease these beasties I also maintain the stocks and that requires periodic oiling.
 
I swear by BLO, but then my wooden-stocked milsurps are all British. So that's without doubt the best option.

What'd they use on it back at the factory?
 
M1 Carbine stocks were dipped in raw linseed oil. I've read that both RLO and TO were used on Garands.

The stock on my '44 DOT K98 has received annual rubs of Tung oil for more than 20 years...

T
 
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I'd go BLO then. You know the old sequence: one coat per day for a week, one coat per week for a month, one coat per month for a year, then once a year thereafter.
 
I would first take a 50/50 mix of BLO + Turpentine and some cheesecloth and clean it up with that. Once you're done, some of the BLO will be left behind and you probably won't need to do anything more to it.
 
I know. I doubt anyone actually uses the sequence I mentioned, but it's all over the interwebs.

I usually just go with like four coats over two days. Seems like enough; we're not exactly dragging these things through the Solomons.
 
gxx9sdb said:
I am finishing an AK stock with this stuff here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002...e+tung+oil&dpPl=1&dpID=41rJZ6OeTpL&ref=plSrch

It is my first time using pure Tung oil and so far so good (5 coats on so far and ready for buffing).

I read a lot of bad stories online about pure Tung but I have found it easy to work with so far. It is pretty forgiving. I plan to finish with the Howard feed and wax when done.

I am basically following the guidance here:

http://ironwooddesigns.com/IWDfinish.html
Click to expand...

I use the same stuff that bottle will last you a life time

most of the bad stories are from those that do not follow instructions....
BLO,PTO or RLSO all need to be applied correctly and for the most part the same way. You hand rub it in a liitle at a time.....if your hands are not feeling warm while rubbing it in your not doing the best job you can. Then you let it sit and soak in for a 20 min or so...then wipe down to remove excess oil....you wipe until its appears to be dry. Let it sit again for 20 min or so and check it again.
it
Then leave it alone......LET IT CURE these oils do not dry They cure...no need to rush it. After a few coats you can start wet sanding in the final coats..(i dont bother with my GI stocks. They get the cheese cloth and oil rub down...wipe clean and thats it.
 
mac1911 said:
One note...if your going to use Raw LSO make sure it's really Raw and not refined...
Raw linseed oil is what gave the original GI stocks there red hue. The fatty acids at work.
"Raw" refined linseed oil has the fatty acids removed so it does not turn thing red or yellow.

Boiled linseed oil dries pretty fast although I like to wait between weekends with any oil between coats.

Tung oil dries faster and offers slightly more protection.
Click to expand...

Yup this is raw unrefined linseed oil. Got it on amazon last winter in hopes of cleaning my carbine stock but never got around to it. Maybe I'll get to it this winter.

Ive never done any wood refinishing/cleaning before and I was wondering about the exact procedure when using cheesecloth and RLO. Do I soak the cheesecloth and "lightly" scrub? Go with the grain of the wood? Or dump the RLO onto the stock and scrub from there?
 
andrew1220 said:
Yup this is raw unrefined linseed oil. Got it on amazon last winter in hopes of cleaning my carbine stock but never got around to it. Maybe I'll get to it this winter.

Ive never done any wood refinishing/cleaning before and I was wondering about the exact procedure when using cheesecloth and RLO. Do I soak the cheesecloth and "lightly" scrub? Go with the grain of the wood? Or dump the RLO onto the stock and scrub from there?
Click to expand...

its always a good idea to go with the grain... there is a method in this article for just about any way you choose from cleaning to full blown refinish.... read it through and follow the instructions.
http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armorers-corner/wood-cleaning-article/
 
jpm said:
I would first take a 50/50 mix of BLO + Turpentine and some cheesecloth and clean it up with that. Once you're done, some of the BLO will be left behind and you probably won't need to do anything more to it.
Click to expand...

This is actually a very good first step.
 
Sweeney said:
This is actually a very good first step.
Click to expand...

it works amazingly well, just takes a while. You don't see the results right away but when you look at the cheesecloth you do. Just dip it in and rub along the grain. When it gets dirty, change to a clean piece and keep going. For really dirty spots like the wrist, I dip in some 0000 steel wool and rub gently a few times and wipe with a clean towel until I get the results I want. Then just let it sit and dry/cure.

It works very well on all kinds of wood. I've used it on trapdoors up to modern lever guns from the 50s. Removes dirt but leaves the nice patina.
 

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