Lithgow wood finish

[paulseamus]

Brian has it correct. 0000 or 000 Steel Wool dipped into linseed oil and lightly rubbed will clean off the grime and improve the finish without destroying the patina.

You should be able to get the 0000 steel wool at your local Home Depot.

A little bit of oil, lightly rubbed over several sessions will give a lot better finish than a lot of oil heavily rubbed in one session.

Be very carefull with the light rubbing. Too much/too heavy will remove the patina and the serial/inspection markings.

PAul

Information

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[RCEMERalf]

Apparently creosote can be produced from wood-tar or coal-tar. Check out Wikipedia on this. The wood-tar version has been used in food and medicines, the coal-tar version for wood preservative. " ... the coal-tar variety, having stronger and more toxic properties, has chiefly been used as a preservative for wood". You may wish to wear gloves and a mask if sanding on stocks that may contain creosote. I believe I bought a couple gallons at Canadian Tire just before it was taken off the market in Canada.---I am currently a cancer survivor who used to wash his hands in the solvent tank in the shop.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Creosote can be toxic and carcinogenic ?

I have always heard this and tried to keep it off me as much as possiable.
I must be a bit odd as I am around it often (bridge building) and like the smell. Probably not a good thing.

[Cdn303]

The when you are done with the oil take a piece of flannel and give it a good hand buffing. It will just pop.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Australian Cadet forces in the late 1960s / 1970s, (just before their thorough gutting), used, from memory, something called "OX52". This was used on the metal AND the wood. I have no recollection of using linseed on the wood at any time over about five years of Cadet training with SMLEs.

Anyone out there with a better memory of such things?

Interestingly, linseed oil is still in use in Oz units. It is not supposed to be used on weapons, (apart from the odd wipe on wooden MAG 58 butts from the armourer. Every so often some bozo at the "issue desk" will hand out a pump-pack of linseed oil, (intended for shovel and pick handles), instead of the correct synthetic lube. It's not much fun to disassemble an F-88 (Steyr AUG) that has been glued together by hardened linseed oil. Carburetor cleaner gets it off, however.

[Peter Laidler]

OX52 was the standard weapon oil until OX18 and OX24. It wasn't meant to be used on wood but probably didn't do it any harm. OX52 would leave a hard brown deposit on the steel a couple of years after it eventully dried.

I still have an oilbottles worth left, found in a Vickers oil bottle grip handle. It was a sweet smelliing oil and quite thick.

You're giving your age away if you remember OX52 Bruce!

[muffett.2008]

Yep. Linseed was still in use in the 80-90's, funny thing though, it was always supplied in US gal. tins.
OX18, general purpose preservative oil was run alongside PX18, CLP. the greases of the day were XG485 semi fluid, and XG264 graphite.
We also used the good old standbys, PX112 and my favourite(ha ha) PX115 Oil thixotropic
What a wonderous blend of Nostalgic aroma's this conjures up.

[trooper554877]

Yep. Linseed was still in use in the 80-90's, funny thing though, it was always supplied in US gal. tins.
OX18, general purpose preservative oil was run alongside PX18, CLP. the greases of the day were XG485 semi fluid, and XG264 graphite.
We also used the good old standbys, PX112 and my favourite(ha ha) PX115 Oil thixotropic
What a wonderous blend of Nostalgic aroma's this conjures up.

Might be your adult nappy needs changing mate!!!
Can you remember the stuff called Gamlen?
I remember cleaning up a few in the grease FTR SLR's at singo with the stuff.
It was a degreaser but there was something different about in the fact that it had something extra? i dunno I was just a grasshopper grunt then!
Cheers
Ned

[Peter Laidler]

We had some stuff in a brown can called FOSBRO that seemed to work and do everything with small arms. It smelled like that linament stuff that you rub into bruises, torn ligaments, smashed knees, broken backs - all you ex paratroopers will recognise the smell - Anyway, this stuff was really good. In fact, it was so good, it even made the first SA80's function smoothly. Anyway, after a couple of years, they withdrew it because it was supposedly toxic, nauseous, cancer causing, even radioactive, contained depleted uranium and probably even caused the Thai tsunami. Strange, because it's on the shelf of my local harware shop now

Anyway, all those out there in Forumland. All have a good Jubilee long weekend

[muffett.2008]

Yeah. Gamlen, a water soluble cleaner they used on vehicles and anything else that wasn't tied down.
It's probably the same stuff Peter mentions, it had that smell about it, also removed skin if used undiluted, didn't do the woodwork on SLR's much good, caused the laminates to seperate on those stupid round hanguards.