weather proofness of various wood finishes

[WyomingWhitetail]

Hey guys. Im sure this has been hashed out on here before but me and the search don't seem to agree with one another. Im a long way from needing to finish the stock on my longrifle project but i do have a couple other guns to refinish and some wood arrows im working on.

Im wondering what the weather proofness of some of the various finishes used on the longrifles is. Ive been doing some reading and there are a ton of methods out there. For all the stuff i would finish it needs to be decently weather proof as most of the stuff is used for hunting. Not sure which is more traditional and holds up better a straight oil finish or a oil varnish type finish.

Any opinions on Chambers Oil Finish?

 

[gland]

If you have the time and patience, :hmm: here's what you do. I have a copy of Outdoor life encyclopedia, from the magazine people, circa 1940's. It is a raw linseed oil finish. I have one cheep .22 rifle done this way my grandson still uses, and looks great. Its been drug thru the marsh and woods most of its life with minimal care, when I was trapping. No harm. :nono: If you'd like I can e-mail the directions, but I can't get them to post here! :td:
PM me with your e-mail.

 

[BrownBear]

I've used various linseed formulas- commercial and home crafted- over the years in our wet climate. The easy answer is just three words- Johnson's Paste Wax. They're all pretty water resistant with a topping of wax, refreshed with each gun cleaning.

Without the wax in our really wet climate, I've found a considerable improvement over anything with linseed oil. It's Formby's Tung Oil Finish, available from lots of local and online sources. I'm talking about the FINISH which has hardeners in it, and not pure tung oil.

Apply it the same way you would a good linseed oil finish, and it's just a whole lot tougher in general, as well as lots more water resistant. I prefer the low gloss version I linked, but you can dull the gloss version using the same methods you would with linseed.

One word of caution. If you put on too much in a coat, or if the prior coat is not 100% dry before adding the next, drying times can stretch even worse than with linseed. While with linseed that results in a soft finish with very low durability, breaking the rule with tung oil finish results in the darned thing staying tacky for days, at least until you hit it with higher heat.

 

[sleeperNY]

That is what I used on both this pistol


and this rifle.


I like it and will use it again.
Jim

 

[gland]

Agreed Brownbear. Modern linseedoil finishes are not the same. The one I refer to is Raw linseedoil, and lots of hand rubbing. Think about a week, of 2 coats a day. I also heartaly agree about the johnsons paste wax. It's good on anything. Used it to finish saddles when I was building them. Really its about the only thing that is as good as it was when I was a kid!! :shake: :idunno:

sweed :wink:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Pure tung oil has proven for me to be impervious to weather. I even did the inside of the inlets (lock, barrel, etc.) for my Brown Bess. Looks good too even though it darkened the walnut.

 

[M. De Land]

I am new to this technique but have used it on a couple of pistol grips in the last year and was dead set against it for 30 years.
That is the use of epoxy finish. I still don't like it when built up on the exterior but what I was introduced to was thinning it with heat and using as a sealer/filler. Then working it back and using Tru-oil or Linspeed over the top.
It's messy to work with but when successfully applied is the best water proof finish I have yet found and looks exactly like a pure oil finish.
It also makes rather soft walnut checker like a dream. Mike D.

 

[mccarthy.tf]

Thumbs up for Formby's Tung Oil finish..

 

[bpd303]

Yep my choice too. I let it dry for a couple of days then buff it with 0000 steel wool and apply another coat. When the finish looks deep enough let it harden and it's good to go.

 

[Swamp Rat]

have not used this on a gun...but for your arrows. Indian gasket sealer for those wood arrows. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/a...Chemicals/Indian-Head-Gasket-Shellac/_/N-25b1

 

[WyomingWhitetail]

Thanks for the info so far guys.

Does anybody know the ingredients of the tung oil finish. Is it tung oil with some natural hardeners or is it a bunch of petroleum distillates that look like tung oil?

Also through research i have ran across the tried and true brand of finishes which i like the idea behind. The have one that is linseed oil mixed with natural resin as a hardener to form a varnish. They also have one that is linseed oil mixed with beeswax. The varnish i think would be much more weather proof but wondering if the beeswax could be used as a top coat and be touched up during cleaning. There website says for indoor use only but i have read of people using it for guns and liking it. Also i guess in reality guns spend 90 percent of their time inside.

I have read that the chambers oil finish is a linseed/tung oil type finish. Anybody know the actual ingredients of the finish. Im assuming its the oil mixed with a hardener or resin of some sort but haven't figured out what yet.

Not sure i care to spend weeks applying coat after coat of oil for a finish. From my reading it seems that real pure tung oil is easier to get to work than a linseed type finish. Seems like a lot of people have good luck home cooking linseed oil finishes but not sure i really want to do that either.

As always still open to suggestions and looking for personal experiences.

 

[Len Graves]

I have used "minwax wipe on poly" with what I think are good results. I use it just like linseed oil, but it drys much faster. It is a little thinner that linseed so the first coat will almost disappear . After the second coat I steel wool and go for the next coat. I apply very sparingly and in warm dry weather it will usually dry overnight enough to go to an additional coat. On maple three coats is usually enough but walnut has more open grain and more coats are needed. I usually finish with a coat of "briwax", but that is not really necessary. I have a gun that has been in almost constant use for ten years and still looks good.

 

[rijerolmon]

I have recently done 2 TC "makeovers" and finished with the Tried and True linseed/beeswax finish. I'm up to the third application and really liking the look. Time will tell re. durability but I believe it will be great.

 

[Blackbruin]

I never had any problems with permalyn finish from laurel mountain forge.

 

[Vaino]

Unless one coats the entire stock inside and out w/ a "plastic" type of built up finish, none of the other so called weatherproof finishes are waterproof and probably are only water resistant.... they still absorb some humidity.

The poorest finish for "rain proofing" a stock is hardware BLO.

Quite a few have their favorite stock finish which is claimed to be "water proof" but then advocate some kind of wax to ensure that moisture doesn't penetrate the finish.....an extrior stock finish should stand on its own

I'm not concerned about some humidity pentrating the finish.....nearly all the finishes allow this to happen to some extent.....and seeing I refuse to use the "plastic type" built up finishes, some change in the wood is OK w/ me.....Fred

 

[nchawkeye]

So, what do you use???

 

[M. De Land]

You just might want to give thinned epoxy as a filler sealer a try Fred. It really does seal wood without being built up on it.
When it penetrates and is taken back down to the surface wood, the oil finishes cover and look as if it is all oil, the difference is water doesn't go through it.
It can be purchased thin or you can use agra-glass with a heat gun or hair dryer to thin it even more. It generates it's own heat when it kicks over but heating the wood with the heat gun makes it absorb into the wood and not just lay on the surface.
I've only used it twice on pistol grips but so far have been impressed that it works far better than any oil and wax finish I have used to seal out water.
The added benefit is when I checkered the grips it made them cut like very dense high grade walnut. Mike D.

 

[necchi]

I have read that the chambers oil finish is a linseed/tung oil type finish. Anybody know the actual ingredients of the finish. Im assuming its

It's just a guess, compiled from conversations with many feller that have built guns,,
That Chambers finish is Very much the same as or is the same as Laurel Mountain Forge Permalyn Finish.

You can only get Chambers stuff if you buy the "kit" that includes LMF's stain and Browning solution. His can is the same size as one offered by LMF but the label is different.

All this to-do about various finishes can drive a guy nut's.
I mean for the guy's that do multiple builds and have the opportunity to try several different things it's fine, but for the guy that's building just one it's a tuff decision.

I've use the Formby's Tung Oil, Birchwood Casey Tru Oil, Spar varnish and other polyurethane's.
LMF's Permalyn Sealer, followed by Permalyn Finish is used by a lot of pro builders.
http://www.laurelmountainforge.com/products.htm

Bottom line is there is no magical finish that'll be totally impervious to water/rain/snow. Everything/anything you use as a finish will require the TLC you use on all your guns.

I'm done playing around. The LMF Permalyn products are too easy to use and leaves too good a finish and is trusted and used by too many pro builders for the stuff to be a mistake.

 

[Birddog6]

Permalyn or Tru-Oil and work the finish to the sheen you want, be it dull, semi-gloss, or a gloss.

Keith Lisle

 

[Vaino]

Seeing I don't like shiny finishes, here's how I do it.

Three wipe on/ wipe off coats of LMF sealer w/ a complete dry between coats. After the 3rd coat is dry, a hard rub down w/ 0000 steel wool removes any LMF on the surface.The time between wipe on to wipe off is 10-15 minutes w/ addt'l LMF applied as it's absorbed. This normally fills the "pores" of maple.

Next are 3 coats of Wahkon Bay Trucoat...applied very sparingly and rubbed in w/ the fingers and a complete dry between coats. After 3 coats, a close look at the wood seems like there's nothing on it. The final finish is very "dull" and takes a bit of rubbing w/ a fluffy towel to produce a low sheen.

The LMF sealer is probably the most resistant to moisture, but the Trucoat also contributes. Both brands take about 5 hrs per application for a complete dry.

Pictured below is a LR finished w/ the above procedure and as can be seen, the finish is very low sheen.....Fred