weather proofness of various wood finishes

[Vaino]

The pores are filled by the thinned epoxy, but possibly the epoxy doen't penetrate the rest of the wood? I know that LMF sealer doesn't penetrate very deep nor do stains. Hard maple isn't very absorbent.

Saw some knife handles finished w/ "super glue"....no moisture penetration at all, but it's a surface buildup treatment.

Thanks for the suggestion.....Fred

 

[btech]

I have been wood working for years. I shoot my guns frequently and want a finish that holds up. Gunpowder flashes are tough on finishes. Three coats of good poly varnish with sanding between each coat. Then wipe down thoroughly with a 000 steel wool to get all the shine off. Be sure to use wool with no trace of oil in it. Then apply several coats of a good carnauba wax. You get a very durable finish with a hand rubbed look. May not appeal to the purist though.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Formby's tung oil finish is pretty good stuff and easy to use. However, it is not an oil finish nor does it contain actual tung oil. It contains tung oil derivitives with other ingrediants to make a varnish, not an oil finish. As such, it does not penetrate as deeply as a true oil finish would but it can be built up on the surface and rubbed back to a nice smooth finish. Tung oil is an excellent finish but needs a drier added or other treatment. Sunderland Welles and Lee Valley sell polymerized tung oil, which is a great finish. It is basically tung oil heated by some process that speeds up the drying process. It produces a very fine and water resistant finish. My preferred method after experimenting with many products, is to combine raw or polymerized tung oil with a polyurethane varnish and turpentine. The first application is a mixture of 25% tung, 25% polyurethane, and 50% turps. This thin mixture penetrates deeply into the wood and seals it pretty well. I apply several coats, letting it dry between coats, until finish starts to pool on the surface. I wipe off the excess and let it dry thoroughly. Then I will hand rub in the tung oil thinned a little with turps until I get the desired finish. If I want a glossier finish built up on the surface, I will use a 2:1 mixture of tung and polyurethane thinned with a little turps. I paint that on the wood until it builds up and then rub it smooth with pumice stone and rottenstone lubricated with linseed oil. That can give you a highly polished look similar to some of the high-end English guns of the mid-19th century.

Several of my guns have been used quite a bit in Southeast Alaska where 160-200 inches of rain can fall annually. My finish holds up very well, but I also routinely use a paste wax on the stocks once a year.

dave

 

[necchi]

Dave,
Is "turps" a product of it's own, or an abbreviation for Turpentine?

 

[dave_person]

Hi Necchi,
Short for turpentine.

dave

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

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.

That's what I used on DOZENS of stocks. Easy to use, makes a waterproof finish and the bonus is - that IF you have to touch up a spot, it blends in stupid easily.

My only problem is that I have yet to find it in their satin finish anymore. I've since switch to Arm-R-Seal by General Finishes, which also is of the modern "wiping varnish" product. It appears many top gunsmiths have switched to A-R-S by GF too.

Just another option. FWIW I'll build up the coats with the gloss and then apply the topcoat in satin. All coats burnished in-between, plus an oil and oil/sand coat to start off.

 

[Erzulis boat]

I also use the LMF sealer followed by BLO. I go for the low sheen/dull finish.

I am a spearfisherman, and use LMF on my spearguns I build. Since I am a freediver, my guns are in salt water for 2-4 hours at a time all year long. They are then soaked in fresh water and subsequently rinsed. Besides a full epoxy skin coating, LMF is as water resistant as it comes.

This is my current recipe for gunstocks.

I brush on the LMF and let it penetrate, but I don't let it get any type of buildup at the surface. Walnut can soak up quite a bit and still not impart any surface sheen. Maple might need to be wiped (excess)after one application.

You did it right if the stock looks dry, but is a shade or two darker. You should still see all the little pores in the wood when sighted at an angle.

I then use BLO normally, and the rubbing process takes about a week to apply, and won't really be dry for about a month or so. You can use the arm, but until it really dries any grime from handling will adhere (it can be wiped off).

This works for me anyway.

 

[DEWB]

Ive used spar varnish mixed with alittle blo with pretty good results. As far as weather proofing I don't think you can do much better than spar varnish. I believe its intended for outdoor and marine use. Mixing it with a little blo makes it a little less tacky. It can be shiney but you can tone that down with some 0000 steel wool. I am going to try some of the Chambers finish. Barbie told that they use it on hardwood floors and they mop them so it should be pretty weather resistant. And you don't have to buy there kit to get it, you can just buy a single can. Thats what I did. Good luck,Dew

 

[Billnpatti]

All I've ever used is either LynSpeed or Tru Oil. Many hand rubbed coats (10 or so at the rate of 1 per day) all over including the barrel channel and lock mortise. Give it a light sanding with a very fine sandpaper or 0000 steel wool between each coat. Be sure to thoroughly wipe it down after sanding or steel wooling to remove all particles. Allow it to cure for a month or so after the last coat and then rub it with Birchwood-Casey's Stock Sheen to the soft luster that you prefer and follow that with a couple coats of Renaissance Wax. An occasional touch up with the wax will keep it protected and looking great.

 

[Zonie]

I suggest anyone who has not used tung oil should try a drop of it on your skin.

Check on it the next day and if nothing has happened, feel free to use it while remembering this little story I read a few years back.

Seems the military wanted to switch the oil that was being applied to their wood stocked rifles for better weather protection.

They had the makers switch to tung oil.

Only after thousands of rifles were issued did they find that some people are almost deathly allergic to the stuff and those that were reacted very badly to the new rifles.

All of the newly finished rifles were returned and reworked to replace the tung oil with the old fashioned linseed based finishes.

Bearing this story in mind, although you don't react to it, someone else who handles the gun might. :hmm:

 

[LaBonte]

Zonie's right that tung oil can be a serious irritant to many folks - the Military got the idea from the Japanese rifles used during WW 2 and finished with tung oil - they ignored the reports from the field from those who had handled many of the Japanese arms and reported problems, but ignored the warnings and wound up costing a wholla bunch more $$$$$$ to fix-it