Waxing rifle stocks

[Johnny Tremain]

Agree 5-7 coats of hand rubbed tung oil. Polished it gives a hard plastic like coating.

 

[wiscoaster]

UH


https://www.amazon.com/SC-Johnson-Paste-Wax-1lb/dp/B0000DIWIM

 

[user 31257]

People wax fine furniture and woodwork, they wax over automotive paints, I think it’s just an added layer of protection. It’s your gun, do it or don’t, there’s no right or wrong.

 

[wiscoaster]

I'm a tad confused by the link to an unavailable product?

Maybe he bought the last one.

 

[oldwood]

Go to a Lowe's store and get some Minwax Special Dark furnature wax. It fills voids , restains worn areas w/ almost no effort. I guess I like "no effort". I'm a lazy old toad. (misspelled). My Dear old Dad , back in the 1950's , liked to make usable deer rifles out of new mil surplus guns he bought for cheap , like under $20 , order a Bishop replacement stock , install it , and finish the wood with Herters wood filler , and Birchwood Casey , or Linspeed linseed oil finish. I had a couple of his rifles , used them many times in wet weather , and watched the oil finish turn white , and drip off the wood. In the late 1980's , I finally found a finish process , that lasts much longer than the old oils did , but still wax it for maintenance. Do what you want , it's all good. Years ago , I researched some really old original gunstock finishes. One was pine tree pitch mixed with turpentine. Another early one was bee's wax mixed with turpentine. Both were verified from research done by someone (RIP) at Colonial Williamsburg rifle shop , and another famous builder of European military guns. I was given the task of stripping some of his creations , and applying a more durable finish. Since the turpentine /wax/pine pitch finishes , were sometimes used on the early frontier , they might have been some of the earliest , but not durable , gunstock finishes . Sorry for going so far afield , but can't resist sharing info... LOL .......oldwood

 

[Encore50Cal]

You can find Johnson's paste wax on ebay. Very expensive but is still available.

 

[springfield art]

I use Renaissance wax on my firearms - both on the wood and the metal. Goes on easily, a very hard wax. Won't fingerprint, and protects all surfaces. It is used a good bit in museums and such.

Pricey, but quality often is.

 

[Dave Marsh]

I'll second Renaissance Wax. After cleaning my guns get a coat of it.

 

[Hatchet-Jack]

Another vote for Renaissance wax and Johnson's paste wax. I didn't know Johnson's was no longer available. Lucky I have a big can of it that will last me a lifetime.

 

[TDM]

I use Renaissance Wax and MinWax too. Don’t really use any wax regularly except for throughly coating the barrel channel and breech area. Since I don’t remove pinned barrels when cleaning the wax does a great job of protecting the wood and metal.

 

[wiscoaster]

....the wax does a great job of protecting the wood and metal.

Something a lot of people don't realize is that wax protects bare metal.

 

[BadDaditood]

I just bought some Renaissance wax, I didn’t think it was all that expensive…
Until I saw the container!?! It’s half the size of a wine cork!!
I’ll definitely use it sparingly!
Cute little can though….

 

[leadhoarder]

Many of us learned the hard way by taking out a newly finished rifle and then getting fouling water streaked across it when cleaning.

Those stains would have happened back in the day and they would make a rifle look more authentic IMO.

 

[SOLANCO]

Are you prepping a rifle to hang on the wall? Are you prepping a gun for a hunt in a salt water marsh? Are you cleaning and finishing a gun after a hunt?
You may have a preferred last step in every case. But there are different cases to begin with. A session at the range is different from a morning of flooded timber ducks. A September dove shoot is different from January geese over decoys. Trying to kick up bedded deer in a December rain is not at all like sniping squirrels in September.
You do not dress the same every morning that you go into the field. Neither should your gun.

 

[Mike in FL]

Well, I think maybe your're reading too much into the word "finish". Finish maybe in terms of final appearance with respect to color and lustre. Wax isn't really an extra "final" step but just used to enhance the previous step. But oil is never really finished anyway. It needs to be renewed from time to time. Just this morning I spent some time applying another coat of BLO to a milsurp rifle (unmentionable here) made in 1933 because, to me, the wood stock was looking a little "dry". It spruced it up quite a bit. The only "finish" that's really "final" is some kind of polyurethane, and I really don't think you want that kind of finish on any 18th century firearm, do you?

Yes, I can see that. Thanks

 

[Whiteoak15]

I have half a can of Blue Coral Carnauba from my hot rodding days when it was "THE" thing for your car finish. It is tough to put on and harder to buff when dry but boy does it protect. Nowadays I use the ceramic liquid on my cars but for stocks in the rain, carnauba delivers.

 

[James Kibler]

Yes, wax can add a little more protection, but I usually don't like how it looks. It has sort of a garish shine in my view, but I'm pretty particular.

 

[SOLANCO]

Yes, wax can add a little more protection, but I usually don't like how it looks. It has sort of a garish shine in my view, but I'm pretty particular.

Got up to look at a couple flintlocks that live on wall mounts. I use Ren Wax, lightly. I am seeing more of a luster than a shine.
To each his own.

 

[BoomStick]

I just bought some Renaissance wax, I didn’t think it was all that expensive…
Until I saw the container!?! It’s half the size of a wine cork!!

Get the larger can...it's a more respectable size and easier to find on the shelf.

 

[SOLANCO]

Get the larger can...it's a more respectable size and easier to find on the shelf.

And a little goes a long way.