Linseed Oil

I have a 1917 Eddystone that I cleaned up and coated with BLO. Not sure how many coats, lost count but it's quite a few. It has reached the point now where it has a nice shine on it but it is slightly sticky. Not that anything comes off on your hands but it just feels tacky. Does this signify the stock is fully saturated?

I've done 8 other rifles and this is the only one this is happening too. All the others seem to hold the BLO so that if you rub them down without adding more, they start to shine.

I had the same and used an hair dryer to make it warm and rubbed it down and it was OK. Maybe it works for you too.

Sounds like too many coats, and not completely dry between coats. Try it cut 50/50 with turpentine and you will like it a lot better. Penetrates better and dries faster.

Johnny,

It's been at least two weeks since I put a coat on this particular rifle and it was over a month between that coat and the one previous.

I may try the hair dryer just to see what it does. It's not a big deal as it wipes off with a rag. I like the shine though.

When my p14 did the same thing I hit it with very fine steel wool to pull the tacky surface layer off. Worked fine. I've done plenty of rifles to and this only happened on this one rifle.

If it is tacky or even "weeping", then no more BLO. Just rub down with a cloth dampened (not soaked) in pure turpentine (NOT the "ersatz" stuff used for brush cleaning or paint thinning). Light, quick polishing movements, not rubbing around on one spot. Repeat daily until the tackiness is gone. This will a) help the BLO to penetrate the top layer a bit better b) accelerate the drying.

No wire wool (you may not be able to see the individual scratches, but they are there, and tend to dull the surface).
No hair dryers (this produces a superficial dry layer, but below the skin there is still the excess of moist BLO).
No chemicals or additives of any sort.
Nothing but a clean cloth, pure terpentine, and patient work!

Patrick
:wave:

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

Not sure how many coats, lost count but it's quite a few.

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That was the cause of the trouble, I think - impatience. There is no "quick fix" substitute for a century or so of regular care!

Patrick,

I wouldn't call it impatience, I've been putting BLO on this for over 9 months now but I do get your point. Even 9 months isn't the same as nearly 100 years. I just think I've finally reached the saturation point with it.

The only other stocks I've noticed with weeping have been stocks of American Walnut like the 1917 so I also suspect some of the "trouble" is the type of wood. The other two have not reached the "tacky" stage yet and probably won't because I'm pretty much finished with those two other than maybe an annual coating.

The term coated seems to imply that you have a built up finish on the rifle now. If that was your original goal, then you have achieved what you were trying to accomplish. On the Springfield Armory military rifle stocks the finish was acquired by submerging the stocks in a vat of heated linseed oil, then remove them and let them drain. No additional coats were applied.
This is the stock on a 1903 Springfield that dates to early 1916. It was sold through the DCM to an NRA member and remained in nice condition. The stock has little build up of finish, and the grain is still open.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo.../2crlpw9-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by Johnny Peppers

On the Springfield Armory military rifle stocks the finish was acquired by submerging the stocks in a vat of heated linseed oilicon, then remove them and let them drain. No additional coats were applied.

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On that point, I recently did this with an unused wood set for my No4T rebuild, and the wood came up absolutely perfect in finish, in terms of looking original. I would absolutely recommend this method, and it is definitely what I will be doing for my rebuilds from here.
Couple of bits of advice though, let it sit submerged in the hot linseed oil for 3 hours, wipe/brush off heavy excess when you remove from the submersion bath, be prepared to let it dry for days, cause it takes(took me) about 3 or 4 days to be right.
In my opinion this is the best way to go. You can easily recover almost all the linseed oil. Dead easy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aragorn243

The only other stocks I've noticed with weeping have been stocks of American Walnut like the 1917 so I also suspect some of the "trouble" is the type of wood.

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I agree. I have several pieces "on the boil(ed linseed oil)" at the moment. Success varies from the stock for the percussion Annschuetz (bone dry originally, but coming up beautifiully after two coats) to a Chassepot (the wood is much more porous, and is still weeping after weeks). There may be some catalytic effect in certain types of wood. I also suspect that the more "open" the wood is, the more it soaks up and the longer it takes to dry.

BTW Johnny Peppers: if I could get a finish like that, I would be delighted!
:wave: