I recently finished an AK conversion of a Saiga Rifle. I purchased the Timbersmith Russian Red stock set for it. I like the color of the stock, but would like it to "pop" a little more. The wood right now also seems as though breathing on it the wrong way would damage it. I was thinking of putting a few coats of Tung Oil on it for aesthetics and to make it a little more durable. Any thoughts? Will I have trouble applying Tung Oil to the smooth stock?
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Tung Oil on stock??
- Thread starter Masscop79
- Start date
Billsail
NES Member
As long as there is no finish on it such as varnish or lacquer, or something like that, the oil should penetrate the wood. Be advised, it takes a very long time to dry. An alternative might be linseed oil. I like that finish a little better.
I agree with the boiled linseed oil.
A friend just fixed a stock plate and refinsihed a badly bubbled / eaten finish.
It looks great with the BLO! It is not expensive and makes the stock look fantastic!
Matt
bigtig50
NES Member
Years ago I refinished an old 20 gauge shotgun. Re-blued, new trigger assy, jeweled bolt, etc. At a smith's insistence I redid both wood pieces(pump) by sanding out the old, applying tung oil, "wet" sanding with fine paper between coats till it was smooth as glass. I topped it off, again at his suggestion, with a coat of bowling alley wax. It was painstaking work, but that wood looks as good today as it did over 30 years ago when I did it. I swear by it and am currently doing two other stocks the same way. Good luck!
I've used all of the above. What I'd suggest is Birchwood Casey's Tru Oil, which is a polymerized linseed oil finish. It's a little harder, shinier, and longer-lasting than most other commercial Boiled Linseed oil or Tung oil finishes. A commercial "Tung Oil Finish" or "Linseed Oil Finish" is not the same as the raw oil: it usually contains a solvent and something to accelerate drying. Raw Linseed or Tung oil will never dry completely and leave kind of a gummy residue.
I used it on my GC Garand Match M1. Applied a total of six coats, sanding each one down until all the pores were filled and the surface was perfectly smooth. In this picture, the Garand third from the back is Tru Oil. So is the M44US, which has a Birch stock. The other rifles have more-traditional BLO or Tung oil finishes.
I used it on my GC Garand Match M1. Applied a total of six coats, sanding each one down until all the pores were filled and the surface was perfectly smooth. In this picture, the Garand third from the back is Tru Oil. So is the M44US, which has a Birch stock. The other rifles have more-traditional BLO or Tung oil finishes.
I have had good results with Danish Oil.
Dispose of your rags properly when finished. You don't want a fire!!!
And properly means don't wad them up because as the tung oil (or BLO) cures it generates heat, more than one woodworker has lost his shop this way!
If tung is your thing then don't go 100% pure because it'll take forever to dry. Tung cut with mineral spirits will dry faster. As has been said wet sanding can be the extra step for a great finish because the slurry will fill the pores and harden leaving it glass smooth after a few coats.
Another vote for Danish oil!
Watco? Also good stuff. It's a blend of BLO, varnish and thinner.
A buddy used a few rags to stain some railings, and left them sitting on the deck balled up. Then went out to dinner. And came home to find the FD and five story high flames. He fought the insurance company for a year.
Watco is good and so is Olympic.
Danish oil rags spontaneously combust too. I throw my used rags in an old metal cookie tin. No fires so far.
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BLO cut with turpentine.
Is it bad I like the subtly sweet smell of it, or maybe that's just fumes making me loopy...
Is it bad I like the subtly sweet smell of it, or maybe that's just fumes making me loopy...
F
Finalygotabeltfed
The guys above have the right idea with regard to the rags, raw linseed and tung oiled rags will very likely spontaneously combust.
The way I'd dispose of them would be to spread them out on the ground, preferrably a spot where its just dirt and stake them down with a couple of pieces of stiff wire and allow them to dry and weather for several days to a couple of weeks then put them in the trash the morning its going to be picked up.
A friend used tung oil to finish a stock once and spilled a small amount of the few ounce bottle. He soaked it up with a clean cotton rag and tossed it in a trash can.....it was in flames less than twelve hours later. The fire was contained and extinguished but could have caused alot of damage. Be careful and ever mindful of rag disposal.
The way I'd dispose of them would be to spread them out on the ground, preferrably a spot where its just dirt and stake them down with a couple of pieces of stiff wire and allow them to dry and weather for several days to a couple of weeks then put them in the trash the morning its going to be picked up.
A friend used tung oil to finish a stock once and spilled a small amount of the few ounce bottle. He soaked it up with a clean cotton rag and tossed it in a trash can.....it was in flames less than twelve hours later. The fire was contained and extinguished but could have caused alot of damage. Be careful and ever mindful of rag disposal.
I used Tung oil on my first Mosin stock refinishing. First I stripped the stock with an antique finish stripper, heat stripped the cosmo, washed the bare stock with Dawn, let dry for a couple days then 2 coats of tung oil a day apart. Came out great! With tung oil you can apply a new coat to freshen it up whenever you like.
Sent from my Photon using Tapatalk while sitting in the Burlington Mall parking lot.
Sent from my Photon using Tapatalk while sitting in the Burlington Mall parking lot.
View attachment 28042finding pure tung oil can be tricky....aint non at lowes or homedepot or ace. I found some at the beaver woodworking store across from brockton hospital..Tung oil finish looks nice but has a shine and hardness to it that may not be desirable for AK.
heres a before and after of minwax tung oil finish. I stripped the wood of that awefull brown stain they used back in the day. then applied the tung oil finish. This is one coat. I still need to sand and apply a secound coat.
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BE SURE TO PUT THEM IN A BUCKET OF WATER OR ELSE....
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I've been doing woodworking for many years and there is an easy finish you can make yourself. It's like danish oil, pretty much fool proof, easy to apply and repairable. Just mix 1/3part boiled linseed oil 1/3 part oil based poly and 1/3 part turpentine or paint thinner. That's it, apply like you would danish oil or linseed oil.
