Best way to lighten up the stock finish on GPR

[adirondack46r]

For those of you that own Lyman rifles, what is the best approach to lightening up the finish on the stock? Mine came with a very dark finish, and I would like to see a little more grain. I was thinking of a light sanding to start but the stain appears to be quite deep. I know it is common to bleach the wood when attempting to restore wood furniture. Are there other techniques you have used?

Thanks,
46r

 

[jbtusa]

http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/jbtusa/100_0297.jpg

I rubbed many light coats of boiled linseed oil on mine. It was dull and dark from the factory, but a few coats of linseed oil brought out the wood features and got rid of that dull dark look. The wood turned out beautiful with the BLO and gets better with each new coat over the months. Try that before the hassle of refinish.

 

[adirondack46r]

Looks great. Very nice job. So you didn't do anything to the finish before the BLO?

 

[jbtusa]

Nope. ...Just rubbed in the linseed oil with the warmth of my hands. It looks better now than in the photo because I've kept rubbing in more oil. They are thirsty stocks!

 

[Vaino]

Many years ago I wanted a "blond" walnut stock on my Mannlicher so used wood bleach and got the color I wanted.Later on decided to sell it so stripped the finish to bare wood and stained it w/ a reddish brown color and came quite close to the original color and w/ the grain and figure as it was originally. You could do the same and just apply a lighter stain and finish.....Fred

 

[adirondack46r]

I'll give it a shot. One more dumb question - did your remove all metal parts from the stock before you did this? In other words, is it a bad thing to get BLO on the tang, trigger guard, butt cap, etc.?

Thanks a bunch.
46r

 

[jbtusa]

The only part that I removed was the lock so that I could get the BLO on the wood underneath the hammer/****. Otherwise, with the rubbing, you will rub the BLO residue off of the metal parts with your hands. If you miss some, just use a dry rag to get the BLO off of the metal.

Show us a photo in a few weeks!

 

[Rogue River]

I would remove everything, you will get a better job done! If you don't it's like washing your feet with your socks on! :grin:

 

[Birddog6]

For those of you that own Lyman rifles, what is the best approach to lightening up the finish on the stock? Mine came with a very dark finish, and I would like to see a little more grain. I was thinking of a light sanding to start but the stain appears to be quite deep. I know it is common to bleach the wood when attempting to restore wood furniture. Are there other techniques you have used?

Thanks,
46r

It all depends on the individual piece of wood. If it is already dark walnut, it is going to stay dark walnut. If it is lighter walnut & they stained it darker, you can strip it, sand it, then take it to the desired depth of color you want with stain, or just put finish on it if it is the color you want.

Personally, I would not put BLO on it. From what I have seen of it, it gets sticky & soft when it is exposed to moisture & humid weather & it basically never dries. It is not waterproof & tho it was used for decades for stock finish. Lots of guys still use it & like it, and that is fine. But I think there are much better finishes available today.
I would use Tru-Oil or Permalyn on it first to seal the wood. And I would strip the rifle to refinish it so I could seal under the barrel, in the lock inlet & etc. Also keep in mind that Tru-Oil is made to be rubbed INTO the finish, not a layer to be on the outside like a varnish, etc. The more coats you apply & rub in, the more depth & color will come out of it. Depth is what makes them really appealing, IMHO.

Also you can make the Tru-Oil shiny or satin, just depends on his you apply it & how much you rub it as it dries & what you do after it dries.

Keith Lisle

 

[adirondack46r]

Thanks, Keith for the alternative approach. I will be taking the gun apart to start the process after my Ohio hunt in early January. I have read a little about the approach you suggest and that seems to make sense. I will say that my stock is currently so dark you cannot see the grain. I mean it is DARK. Looking at jbtusa's picture I would be thrilled with that, but I see your points about the downside of BLO. I will post a few pics as I decide on my approach and get things underway.

Thanks again.

 

[jbtusa]

The statement about BLO never drying is simply not true. It will completely dry with time and most people are just too impatient to see it through.

Tru-Oil dries shiny and glossy which I don't care for and does not look historically correct.

One advantage to a BLO finish is the ease of repair of mars, scratches, bangs & bruises. A hot iron and wet cloth will steam the boo-boo's out.

 

[Birddog6]

The statement about BLO never drying is simply not true. It will completely dry with time and most people are just too impatient to see it through.

Tru-Oil dries shiny and glossy which I don't care for and does not look historically correct.

One advantage to a BLO finish is the ease of repair of mars, scratches, bangs & bruises. A hot iron and wet cloth will steam the boo-boo's out.

If BLO was so great, these other finishes would never have been invented....
As for the Tru-Oil, your statement tells me you have little experience with it & have never learned to make it do what you want it to do. With experience with it a person can make it look shiny, semigloss, satin, dull, aged, whatever you want IF you learn how to use it.
:grin: And you can steam dents out of almost any stock, if you know what you are doing, and that includes if it was finished with gummy BLO or Tru-Oil......

Keith Lisle

 

[Dave K]

I can so remember that BLO was considered "the" finish used by the old timers. So of course, every gun I refinished, I just had to use BLO. I tried it every which way. I tried it with Japan added and some days it would feel like it firmed up. Then someday you would have the gun in a rack outdoors in the sun and it would feel like you touched the finish with "Off" on your hands. After many years of thinking I was doing something wrong, I just gave up and stripped all the guns that I still owned that had BLO on them and I am glad I did. IMHO, there is no way that a builder of the period, could and would have taken the time, to build and sell a gun with that finish. It really never does dry and it holds dirt as well. The builder of a gun would have way to many hours in his build to make money at building and selling guns. As an original finish, it is hard to say with certainty, but after having pretty a fair number of original guns from the late 1700's and newer, pass through my hands. I find it extremely hard to believe that this very soft finish was ever used by the original builders. I can see where BLO maybe part of the recipe to make a fine finish, but it in my honest opinion, was never a finish that was a stand alone finish. In time, by itself, it will make the wood pithy and weak. This is my experience based on the years I have used it or seen guns that it had been used on. I next went to Tung Oil. It gives a nice finish, but it isn't as hard as I would like to see a finish. It also doesn't seem to be as weather resistant as it should be. It is though easy to touch up. The last number of years, I have used Tru-Oil. Yes, you can make Tru-Oil look any way you want, from a very high sheen to a very flat finish and everything in between. Touch up is easy and great as well. It has become my "go to" finish and it does seem to match the texture and finish that was used on the original guns, very well. I am sure there are other finishes that are very good as well, but almost anything, IMHO, is better than BLO.

About 15yrs. ago, I had refinished my 1979 Lyman GPR with BLO. About 6 yrs. ago, stripped off the gummy substance and I used Tru-Oil. What a relief it was and now the gun doesn't feel like a clammy handshake when you pick it up. :wink:

 

[paulvallandigham]

:thumbsup:

 

[adirondack46r]

Thanks for the healthy debate guys. I can see some pros and cons for each approach. I do have to say, that I have a Marlin 30-30 built in 1918-1919 that I tried the BLO thing on many years ago. I recall that it took a very long time to dry but came out looking very nice. It's been on the rack ever since.

I do appreciate to alternative suggestions. That's what a site like this is all about. I'll let you know what direction I head.

Either way, if I decide to strip this stock first, what's your favorite approach?

Thanks guys.

 

[Mike Burns]

Here's a pic of my GPR stock. I sanded the stock a bit and used BLO. I did spray paint it flat black first and then steel wooled that off before applying the BLO.

 

[bioprof]

I can so remember that BLO was considered "the" finish used by the old timers. So of course, every gun I refinished, I just had to use BLO. I tried it every which way. I tried it with Japan added and some days it would feel like it firmed up. Then someday you would have the gun in a rack outdoors in the sun and it would feel like you touched the finish with "Off" on your hands. After many years of thinking I was doing something wrong, I just gave up and stripped all the guns that I still owned that had BLO on them and I am glad I did. IMHO, there is no way that a builder of the period, could and would have taken the time, to build and sell a gun with that finish. It really never does dry and it holds dirt as well. The builder of a gun would have way to many hours in his build to make money at building and selling guns. As an original finish, it is hard to say with certainty, but after having pretty a fair number of original guns from the late 1700's and newer, pass through my hands. I find it extremely hard to believe that this very soft finish was ever used by the original builders. I can see where BLO maybe part of the recipe to make a fine finish, but it in my honest opinion, was never a finish that was a stand alone finish. In time, by itself, it will make the wood pithy and weak. This is my experience based on the years I have used it or seen guns that it had been used on. I next went to Tung Oil. It gives a nice finish, but it isn't as hard as I would like to see a finish. It also doesn't seem to be as weather resistant as it should be. It is though easy to touch up. The last number of years, I have used Tru-Oil. Yes, you can make Tru-Oil look any way you want, from a very high sheen to a very flat finish and everything in between. Touch up is easy and great as well. It has become my "go to" finish and it does seem to match the texture and finish that was used on the original guns, very well. I am sure there are other finishes that are very good as well, but almost anything, IMHO, is better than BLO.

About 15yrs. ago, I had refinished my 1979 Lyman GPR with BLO. About 6 yrs. ago, stripped off the gummy substance and I used Tru-Oil. What a relief it was and now the gun doesn't feel like a clammy handshake when you pick it up. :wink:

Tru-oil contains BLO. The ingredients are listed on its MSDS:
http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/files/MSDS/23035_23123_23132_23150_23189_Tru_Oil_Stock_Finish.pdf

 

[Dave K]

You are right, it does contain BLO. But it also contains other ingredients to make it better than straight BLO. Like I wrote,I used straight BLO years ago and now never again. Experience has taught me there are much better finishes that are harder, more water proof, dries in a timely manner and does not make the wood soft. But, your experience may be different.

 

[DNF38]

Regular Linseed oil will stay sticky and never dry, if I understand correctly. But BOILED Linseed oil dries well and doesn't become sticky. I used a few coats on my GPR and it worked really well. It brought out the grain of the wood and gave it a nice lustre, but not to the point where it's glossy. My GPR is still pretty dark though. But the boiled linseed oil really helped.

 

[Vaino]

The can was labeled "Boiled Linseed Oil" and that's what went on my first flint LR and much to my chagrin, it took "forever" to dry. Finally after 6 wks when it wasn't sticky to the touch, I thought it had dried and took it deer hunting during which time I sat in the rain and the entire stock became a "gooey mess" which I continued to wipe off w/ my red handkerchief. Finally reached bare wood and after the season, dried her out, sanded and applied 3 soak-in/wipe-off coats of LMF sealer which is still in good shape. Gunsmiths of yore couldn't afford to wait for BLO to dry so BLO wasn't the finish of choice. BLO can be made into a faster drying, more waterproof finish but then it's something a lot more than BLO.....Fred