ptf18,

You didn't mention the condition of the wood before you started applying the 50/50. It can either be used to lightly clean an original stock, or to finish a stock that has been stripped. Either way, I start with a heavy coat, let it set 30 minutes or so, then wipe everything back off with toweling. This will leave a very thin coat on the wood which will usually dry in 24 hours unless really high humidity. After that apply extremely thin coats to control the build up. I put a dot of the 50/50 on the stock, and then rub it until it will spread no farther. Repeat this until you have covered the stock. On "refreshing" an original stock that has become very dry, only one coat may be needed, but by controlling how much you apply each time you will be able to control the build up. The original military stocks did not have a built up finish, so don't apply too many coats.

The 50/50 mix smells like turpentine when you apply it, but that scent evaporates and you are left with the nice linseed oilicon smell.
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