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Thread: Finish for NOS stock?

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  1. #1
    Legacy Member Dalebert's Avatar
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    Finish for NOS stock?

    I bought this NOS stock several years ago for my Inland carbine. Wood is great but seems dry. Should this be finished with BLOicon to preserve and prevent staining or better to leave as is.
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    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

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    Legacy Member deldriver's Avatar
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    The use of Raw versus Boiled linseed oilicon has gotten more debates (some ugly) started than I care to see. If you want to use what they did when actually producing the carbine then use RLO instead. It may take quite a few coats if the wood is dry, but the results will be well worth the effort.

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    Advisory Panel browningautorifle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by deldriver View Post
    The use of Raw versus Boiled linseed oilicon has gotten more debates (some ugly) started than I care to see.
    You got THAT right...

    Apparently the oil was warm and the wood dipped...and allowed to drain.
    Regards, Jim

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    Before You Oil Your Stock....

    When you oil your stock set, that Hand guard color will stand out more than it is now.
    Not that it's bad but you could make it nicer...... now.. before adding a oil top coat.

    To mimic the freshly oiled look, just wipe your complete stock set with a lint free rag soaked with mineral spirits. While it's wet, You'll see much more of the yellow base color of that HG.

    I'd stain the hand guard darker so it will match the stock better before adding your oil finish.
    Your stock/HG are both Birch.

    Staining the HG only: I'd use Zar's oil based Cherry stain reduced: 1 part stain to 1 part mineral spirits to start. Wipe a nice even coat with the grain on the HG.
    Let it set for about 15 minutes, then wipe off evenly with the grain.
    If 'Darker' is needed add more stain to this mix slowly until the HG color better matches the stock.
    Shouldn't take much as your just trying to kill some of the yellow on that HG.
    Let any stained stock or HG dry a couple days before any oil top coat.

    I have a tank I use to park barreled receivers and or oil stock sets that will hold about 7 stocks made of stainless steel that I heat up. But for just a single stock I use one of those cheap storage totes.

    When I use RLO: I like to warm a pan over a stand alone electric burner. I add a quart of RLO with a quart of mineral spirits added to thin it. I use a medium heat setting for about 15 minutes so it warms it enough that it stays "loose". Pull if from the heater then add another quart of mineral spirits. Mix well then pour it off into a plastic tote.
    FOR FIRST APPLICATION AND FOR BEST PENETRATION ALWAYS cut your RLO with 2 parts mineral spirits to 1 part RLO. I dunk the stock set making sure it's bathed in the mixture. Let set for up to 2 hours, then pull, hang and let drain. You'll spend plenty of time wiping off runs and excess oil. The mineral spirits pretty much evaporates at this point so The excess oil (Now, not nearly as reduced) is saved and used for further hand applied wipings on the stock sets exterior over the next few days/weeks.

    About stains,
    Don't use stains that are considered stain and finish (varnish) all in one.

    Zar oil based stain is a good line and easy to work with. See this link and look at their Cherry (1/2 pint will do), I believe if used as I described above it will put your hand guard color much closer to your stock:

    ZAR® Wood Finishing Products

    BE SURE TO DUNK YOUR USED RAGS IN WATER AFTER USE.

    FWIW,
    Charlie-Painter777

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    Legacy Member Dalebert's Avatar
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    Thread Starter
    Painter777,

    Thanks for your detailed reply and advice.

    Part of what I was after in my question was whether this is an "unfinished" stock and would have further processing before issue or attachment to a gun.. I didn't assume that because the metal clip on the handguard came attached and there is a small fleck of tarish substance (visible in picture) on the stock. So I was reluctant to dive in on changing what might be an as issued stock set. That said, my carbine is a reworked Blue Sky import, so not exactly a valuable collectors piece. The gun dates from 44 and is very accurate.

    This gun is important to me because my kids grandpa (Marine) fought in several Pacific campaigns during WW2 and no doubt used an M1icon at some point. It's also their favorite of my milsurps.

    Thought members might enjoy picture of my youngest daughter shooting the carbine. She's about 25 in this picture, but could pass for about 13. She's five foot-nothing, so this is the milsurp for her. People I show the picture love the contrast of the military rifle and the pink polka dot boots. Both of my girls are girly girls, but like to shoot. I am blessed. Other picture is her six foot sister shooting the DOT 1944. My other "M1" can be seen in background.

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    Legacy Member Dalebert's Avatar
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    Thread Starter
    Oops. Forgot a picture

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    Legacy Member INLAND44's Avatar
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    What seems completely rational has proven to be hard for many to get. The military rifle stocks had to be 'non-glare', like the various finishes on the metal parts. This was for obvious reasons considering it was a military weapon. Consequently, there was no 'finish' on it. True, the stocks were dipped in linseed oilicon or Tung oil and allowed to drip. Some of this oil soaked in, preserving the wood. Soldiers had access to raw linseed oilicon for treating wood stocks but it was never considered a 'coat', which is the other part that seems to be hard to get. When I trained on the M14icon Rifle in 1966, we were told to wet a bore patch with the linseed oil and rub it all over the stock until it was pretty much gone. The next day, there were no wet spots. So, the object here is to preserve the stock with a treatment that will not dry on the surface like a 'coating' and become glossy.
    Like Painter, I will use linseed oil cut 1:1 with Turpentine. I like to use real Turpentine instead of just 'mineral spirits' although there is really no difference except the aroma. I haven't had the need to heat it either, which I would have reservations about doing in the first place because of the fire danger.
    As they say, do your staining and any repairs before commencing with the linseed oil.
    Looking again at your carbine, I would not stain the hand guard or anything else. Its not a beauty contest - what you have there is representative of what would have been found in the field during Korea.
    I prefer to take the carbine out of the stock for oiling so you can get it on all surfaces inside and out.
    If you do staining; I like to wash the stock in lacquer thinner first, scrubbing with a toothbrush. Apply the stain in the traditional way, using a much-folded piece of cheese cloth to wipe it on with the grain. The arsenal stock stain which was sometimes used during rebuilds was a very dark reddish brown with lots of black in it. This was a Turpentine-based stain that could take days to really penetrate and dry so you could oil. Alcohol stains are basically instant. They penetrate and dry so fast you can start oiling right away. These are used a lot in the leather industry and if you start with black, I'm sure you can come up with a good imitation of the arsenal stain color adding brown and red. I like that stock like it is though, so I wouldn't do it. Also, the stain would obviously look different on a birch stock than it would black walnut.
    What I'm saying is a good custodian would do nothing to a carbine that was not exactly like it would have been done by the government, so using various stains to make wood match would not be included in that. They probably would have stained both pieces at the same time with the government stain and would not have been concerned over a hand guard that still didn't quite match.
    'Really Senior Member' Especially since I started on the original Culver forum. That had to be about 1998.

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    Quote Originally Posted by INLAND44 View Post
    What seems completely rational has proven to be hard for many to get.
    I44,

    You sit in the back row and just Keep Pushing...............

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    Legacy Member tenOC's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    Painter, thank you for posting your procedure. Excellent posting and information. Always wondered some of your techniques. Even on those Birch stocks.

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    Legacy Member ewall's Avatar
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    So, as a recipient of some of the rather heated discussions, is it possible to carefully remove BLOicon and reinstall a government correct RLO protective coating. I received what I thought was proper advice when I purchased my NPM M1icon. I carefully cleaned the stock with straight Simple Green and cleaned with a fine nylon brush and cheese cloth to remove the dirt and accumulated grime.

    The stock was wiped down with turpentine to remove any traces of the cleaning medium set aside for a day or two to dry. There was no need to fiddle with stain as the color and patina of the wood was totally acceptable. No dings or nicks were addressed, the stock sat as I received it... now the heresy; I used BLOicon as a finish. Boy did I hear about this and not in a good way. The heck of it is that the rifle looks great. All toll, there are probably 6 or 7 light coats that were allowed to sit for about 30 minutes then buffed off with cheese cloth. The wood accepted the oil, and I did not notice any floating of oil in the final applications.

    All of the cartouches are intact, well as intact as they were when the rifle was received. So do I remove it since the dust has settled or just enjoy my rifle?

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