Stock finish drying time in winter

[yellowhammer]

I've searched all the older posts and threads. Any newer hints or cheats from the experts for helping cure or dry finishes in winter? Can anything be added to Tried & True to act as a sort of catalyst? I may ultimately build a drying cabinet, but this week I've had good success just propping up by the gas logs (although that is Permalyn sealer, not T&T):

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Get it to the sunlight or other uv light

 

[Phil Coffins]

Put it on extremely thin, no more than a few drops for the whole stock and rub it out to the entire stock. They offer a couple of different types and the one I got was very slow to set up. Too labor intensive for me but some like it.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

With the low humidity in the winter finish dries much quicker

 

[wiscoaster]

I string the stock up over a furnace register:
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...stol-kit-build-log.171998/page-3#post-2484936

 

[yellowhammer]

I have not experience faster T&T drying times in winter, just the opposite, but I live in the deep South so the humidity doesn't get that low.

The Permalyn sealer is doing pretty good; using thin coats like P. Collins. I think I'll skip the T&T top coat I usually do.

 

[Master Blaster]

A little dab'll do ya!

 

[yellowhammer]

OK I'll try the Japan Drier. I usually pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in a finger bowl for rubbing on the stock. How much drier would you add to that? A few drops; or a lot more like 1:2; 1:1, etc?

 

[FlinterNick]

I've searched all the older posts and threads. Any newer hints or cheats from the experts for helping cure or dry finishes in winter? Can anything be added to Tried & True to act as a sort of catalyst? I may ultimately build a drying cabinet, but this week I've had good success just propping up by the gas logs (although that is Permalyn sealer, not T&T):

View attachment 281075

If you’re using a ‘pure’ oil finish, it will take a long time to dry. Whether it’s tung oil, linseed oil or any other finishing oil, they should be applied in very small coats. A lot of people tend to over oil stocks, which is why they never dry.

Personally i varnish my stocks with 50/50 spirits and varnish, and apply thin coats until the stock is completely sealed and dry.


Then i iWork it back with steel wool and water; and then hand rub on small drops of BLO for the look of an oil finish.

Here is a good demo from midway USA.

 

[Phil Coffins]

OK I'll try the Japan Drier. I usually pour a couple of tablespoons of oil in a finger bowl for rubbing on the stock. How much drier would you add to that? A few drops; or a lot more like 1:2; 1:1, etc?

I mix my oil and mineral spirits in the bottom of an upside down pop can. This is plenty of finish at a time to work with, to this amount I add one drip of jap drier. Normally the finish drys quick enough for two to three coats a day if put on very thin.
IMG_0460 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[Master Blaster]

1 drop of JD per oz of finishing oil. Use a soda straw with your fingertip over the end to lift out a drop at a time from the can.

 

[stank]

If you’re using a ‘pure’ oil finish, it will take a long time to dry. Whether it’s tung oil, linseed oil or any other finishing oil, they should be applied in very small coats. A lot of people tend to over oil stocks, which is why they never dry.

Personally i varnish my stocks with 50/50 spirits and varnish, and apply thin coats until the stock is completely sealed and dry.


Then i iWork it back with steel wool and water; and then hand rub on small drops of BLO for the look of an oil finish.

Here is a good demo from midway USA.

Can’t argue with Larry

 

[yellowhammer]

Permalyn Sealer turned out so well on this beech wood I think I'll skip the T&T + JD and leave well enough alone since it's so cold:

 

[IanH]

Or you could do it the old fashioned way by adding manganese/iron oxide (raw umber) for warm drying characteristics and lead carbonate or lead acetate for cool weather drying characteristics. This technology has been around for hundreds of years and the lead compounds are especially effective at speeding up polymerization. I have taken to making my own varnish finish using T&T varnish oil as a base, neutralizing it with limestone (it doesn't need much compared to many sources of linseed oil) and fortifying it with my own driers and resins under heat. The same could be done with a bottle of USP flax seed oil from the grocery store. Put on thin and hand-rubbed in, it will be truly "dry" (cured) in less than a day with the correct amount of catalysts in it.

You shouldn't ever have to add thinner to a drying oil to make a good finish. The oil should be rubbed in very hot so it flows, and then it takes many hours to set up and while that is happening the oil is creeping deep into the wood. Once you get the first coat of catalyzed drying oil on and cured, then switch to varnish to build and seal the surface if that's what you want. If you only want low-gloss and no deep pore filling or smoothing of the grain, don't add any resins to your topcoats of oil. If you want the grain to be the most visible and translucent, use linseed oil as your base, especially for the first coat. If you want it to be more water resistant, use tung oil base for all coats.

 

[FlinterNick]

Permalyn Sealer turned out so well on this beech wood I think I'll skip the T&T + JD and leave well enough alone since it's so cold:

Great job

 

[yellowhammer]

Great job

Thanks. Just a little too glossy for my tastes, but when I get it outside and look at it I just can't bear to mess with it any more since it turned out so smooth. Maybe it'll be the token shiny ml in my safe...

 

[Col. Batguano]

Don't worry about glossy look too much. That's easily knocked back with very fine abrasives, like pumice or rotten stone. Though more appropriate for a furniture finishing forum, I never buy satin or semi-gloss finishes any more. Those have additives in them to make the finish more opaque. I only buy glossy finishes, and, if appropriate, knock back the sheen if that's what I want in the final appearance.

Yes, they seem to take a little bit longer to dry, and are more slippery (like walking in your socks on wooden floors) but they're more clear, and that's what I'm after in almost every finish (except paint).

 

[FlinterNick]

Thanks. Just a little too glossy for my tastes, but when I get it outside and look at it I just can't bear to mess with it any more since it turned out so smooth. Maybe it'll be the token shiny ml in my safe...

Thats what the rotten stone is for.

 

[yellowhammer]

I've got some rottenstone and some 4 pumice. May hit it on the toe area to see what that looks like before committing.

 

[yellowhammer]

OK so I tried the rottenstone and the pumice with a soft toothbrush, and got exactly zilch. I dont know if its due to the Permalyn having set up real hard, but the rottenstone just polished up the wet-look spots to a higher sheen.

I tried 0000 steel wool wet with mineral oil and it did the trick. Gave a soft satiny look and smoothed out all the acne. Any problem with not putting a coat on after the steel wool? I mean, it's not a smooth plastic coat any more, it's micro-scratched with the steel fibers. Is a coat of paste wax all it needs?

I realize this topic has been discussed a million times over the years, but thanks for the inputs...