genuine tung oil questions

[stevebc]

I'm new to the restoration game. I've a sportered 1917 Lithgow that I've stripped using Circa 1850. The shortened forend also has multiple cracks in the draws area (exploding coachwood) so I'm using this piece to experiment on, as I plan eventually to restore this with full wood.
My wife bought me a can of Lee Valley 100% pure tung oil- what is the drying time for each coat? Also, should I keep the oil out of the barrel channel, and indeed out of all the interior surfaces? Or is it good practice to apply it everywhere?
I'm planning to use 000 steel wool between coats. Any advice, etc, etc, with my thanks in advance.

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[bigduke6]

Stevebc,

Linseed is what you want, Boiled or raw, there is quite a debate over this, but boiled dries quicker, I posted a few links on different oils but cant find them will have a better look later.

[45B20]

Stevebc

I am not sure what wood finish was used on your Lithgow originally I think it was Raw Linseed Oil (RLO), however if it was Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) in was most likely real BLO that is heated in an air free container. The BLO that is currently available thru hardware and home improvement stores has had chemicals added to make it dry faster. Problem is, this stuff turns dark with exposure to sunlight. If your rifle is just for show and maybe to the range once or twice a year BLO would be OK for a while but it will turn dark over time. If you expose your rifle to sun light more often it will turn darker that much quicker.

Now the original BLO is available thru art stores in small (2oz I think) clear glass bottles. But being arty people, they don’t call it BLO but something else, ‘sun oil’ I think. Ask on the Enfield Forum, someone there will know.

There is a references to this old style boiled linseed oil, in an article in 'Fine Woodworking" by Chris Bechsvoort. He states that a Joe Roberson developed an 'real boiled linseed oil' from a 1850 book he found (on carriage making) . Mr. Roberson marketed it as 'Tried and True Oil'. He also marketed a 'Tried and True Varnish Oil", to which he added a resin (pine I think). One of the nice things about this stuff is that its' MSD Sheet shows almost no carcinogens, no heavy metal dryers added. I never used this oil nor do I know if it is still being made.

Given all this,, you certainly can use that Raw Tung Oil (RTO) your wife got, in fact it is much like RLO, only I think it dries faster that RLO and produces a nicer finish. Use it like RLO, apply just a few, say,, three drops (at most) on the forearm/fore-end and the same on the butt stock. Rub in well by hand then go over with a piece of dry clean T-shirt (100% cotton), let set in a warm dry place for at least a week, two is better, then start again and continue for three or four months. Despite all the talk about continues addition of Oil to the stock, I have read of a study that found that the wood will absorb only four coats of the oil finishes, the rest will just pile up on top.

While I do not think the RTO will be truly ‘correct’,, however, given their location in the world the Australians may have actually used Tung Oil, I don’t know,, again, ask on the Enfield Forum.

Just remember that all types of Linseed Oil and Tung Oil will pass moisture very easily, that is why for decades Linseed Oil and/or Tung Oil was the base for house paints. People who try to say that these oils seal the wood,, just do not know what they are talking about. Linseed and Tung are right at the bottom in their ability to seal wood. There have been several studies to prove this, the one I have at hand is one done by the US Forest Service’s Forest Product Laboratories at Madison, WI. In its ability to halt the transfer of moisture, Linseed Oil was second from the bottom, Tung Oil was forth from the bottom out of a field of twenty different types of wood sealants.

I do not know about the British Military but the US Military since 1900, has only authorized the use of Raw Linseed Oil to be applied by the Troops. The US Military looked on RLO as a wood perseverant not as a wood sealant. In some cases Tung Oil was use during manufacture and rebuild but after that,,,,,, RLO only on service weapons.

45B20

[Milsurp Collector]

100% pure tung oil is easier to apply if you thin it with turpentine or no-odor mineral spirits.

Apply thin coats, do not put it on thick or you will end up with a mess. I find it easiest to apply with my bare fingers. Dip your fingers into the thinned oil (I keep some in a small Glad plastic container with a lid) and then spread it out as thinly as you can, then set it aside to dry. Applied that way it will dry overnight. Unlike raw linseed oil it builds a finish very quickly, so you shouldn't need to apply more than 3-4 coats.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Now the original BLO is available thru art stores in small (2oz I think) clear glass bottles. But being arty people, they don’t call it BLO but something else, ‘sun oil’ I think.

Stevebc and 45B20, the expression used in the art world is "stand oil". Presumably because it was originally linseed oil that had stood around for a long time.

Seriously, I have some linseed oil that has been standing in a shady corner for over twenty years. Lovely stuff, like runny honey.
And you only need to apply it dropwise on a cotton or linen rag.
MOISTENED - not soaked- with natural terpentine.
That was NATURAL TURPENTINE - not paint thinners!

So either wait a couple of decades or get artists BLO, whatever they call it!

The boiling of linseeed oil basically accelerates what happens naturally. Siccatives, on the other hand, are articial drying agents, and they have always been a cause for worry in the art world too.*

And you certainly should apply the BLO to all surfaces, inside and out. The warping of wood is enormously encouraged by different regions absorbing moisture or drying out at different rates. So the barrel channel should be well oiled, also the system cut-outs and even underneath the buttplate. And, on Enfields, inside the hole for the stockbolt - areas which are usually totally ignored.

If you think "why should I do that, nobody sees it", then you have missed the point. A lot of collectors have forgotten that the oil is to conserve the wood, not to look pretty! And the the barrel channel is the worst place on a rifle for taking up moisture that warps the wood and rusts the barrel. As Peter Laidler has described more than once, in detail, the stocks were originally dunked in a bath, not just wiped over.



*So artists' BLO/stand oil should be free of them

[stevebc]

Thanks all for the replies; I've gone ahead with the tung oil on the sportered forend, using thin coats inside and out. The majority opinion over at CGN is that using anything but raw linseed oil is the action of a cad and a bubba, so I'm holding off on the rear handguard and the buttstock. We'll see how the forend turns out.