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Stock Finish

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Pony Up 
#1 ·
I've read and read about finishing new Garand stocks from CMP and come away with a few questions. I've pretty well decided on using Pure Tung Oil. Stock is walnut.

Do I need to completely remove all parts from the wood or can I use masking tape around the sling loop and butt plate?

I read on the BLO label that BLO is good to prevent rust on metal parts, does Tung Oil have the same property and is it ok to get some BLO or TO on metal parts?

Does either BLO or TO leach out of wood or is that from extreme cases? I read that any oil that leaches out is usually from too much being applied, is that true?

Some people use 0000 steel wool to rub the stock between each coat of oil, will this remove any wood? Or are they just lightly rubbing each coat to keep the gloss down?

Is there any big difference between BLO and TO? Or is it just oil from two different sources?
 
#2 ·
To do the best job possible, yes, you need to remove the wardware. Masking it off could turn out poorly as the sollution you rub into the stock could pool around the edges of the tape. Think about a MAACO paint job vs a quality paint job. Plus, and this is probably the most important thing, is that you cannot properly clean the stock for refinishing unless you remove all the hardware. You need to give yourself the cleanest, nicest pallet to start off with. These things all ad up and contribute to a "ehh, yea" to a (yea that looks OK" to a desired "wow look at that thing, someone put some love into that stock"

BLO and the sort will not damage your metal parts.

Some people cut the BLO a tad for the first coat so it soaks in easier, then use more and more pure BLO for the final steps to darken it up as desired.

0000 Steel wool will not remove wood. after applying a coat of anything, the wood will "raise" a tad and feel "grainy" the steel wool kinda smooths out these wiskers. Ive used fine steel wool and also a green scotch-brite pad with the same results.
 
#3 ·
Shock-

I got you on the hardware. No worries there. Did you cut the BLO with mineral spirits? Was it 1/2-n-1/2 in a cup?

How many coats did you do?

Do you have a finished photo of your stocks with the BLO? I'm trying to decide between BLO or TO.


I was going to just put the new oil on the stock without any stripping as this stock doesn't really have any thing to strip off. I'll put a picture at the bottom.

I like the color of the stock as is, just need to get something on it to bring out the color and weather proof the wood.

 
#5 ·
I cut the BLO 50/50 with mineral spirits for the first coat, then 2/3 for the second, then straight BLO. I had an M14 stock that was birch, and no matter what I did I couldnt darken it up like I wanted, but its birch, so kinda should have expected it.

I'd still strip it regardless unless its a known blank or known to have been stripped. nothing worse than rubbing in coats and getting different tones of finish halfway through all that work.

The cadillac way to go in stripping a stock is to use whiting from Brownells. Sure its a few bucks and you gotta wait a few days for it to get to you, but that stuff is amazing at what it does. Thats a nice Garand you have there BBF, I'd give it the best work I possibly could.

Ive got some Garands that dont look as good as yours, and that after I cleaned them up. Yours looks to wear pretty good wood and from the pic, doesnt even look like you have to roll the dice on staining the handguard to match it all up!
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the link to the article L.E. That was a good read.

Shock, is it possible to just clean the wood with soapy water (dawn) to remove anything from the surface?

The reason I'm hesitant to "strip" the wood is I have read that CMP has a light coat of stain already on the wood. Whether or not this is true I have no idea. I looked the rifle over pretty close last night and I see no oil or old cosmoline on it. It could be soaked deep down and just not visible. I even gave the stock a good sniff and could not tell that anything was in the wood, stain or oil.

After reading the article that LE linked, I will try a few different ways on some scrap wood and see what happens. Lowes has the BLO I need.

Thanks for the help, I hope to post a few pictures in the coming days.
 
#7 ·
Almost 35 years since I last did an oil finish on a stock. Everything shocktroop said rings true to me.

I started with brand new wood, but before oiling I scrubbed and scrubbed with hot water and soap.
I was warned by the old guys that human skin oil is on every square inch of that wood. If you have
no other finish to strip, you need to remove all the residual oily crap. Hot water and soap.

I was scared to do anything but 2 coats of boiled linseed. First coat was 50/50 like shock said, then 100%.
The rifle spent 3 years in Africa, a dozen years in damp California, and now the last 20 years here in
dry Nevada. It hasn't needed anything but a wipe down since. No leaching. Just fine finish.


Those whiskers are what you're cutting, before the first coat and then each coat thereafter.
I used 1200 grit sandpaper very lightly. The old guys said to use a mildly damp rag
to dampen the whiskers, then hold it near a heat source and the whiskers curl straight up.
Then you lightly cut them down. Just like that.
 
#8 · (Edited)
BLO has a tendency to leach out of the wood as the ambient temperature rises and/or the barrel and action heat up during firing. It also may smoke if the rifle gets REALLY hot. It may or may not be an issue on a hunting rifle when only one or two shots are fired at a time. On a battle rifle such as an M1 which may multiple 8 shot strings fired in quick succession, not so much. Pure Tung Oil does not seem to exhibit this problem. Also, while neither BLO or PTO provide good moisture protection, PTO is a little better.

You'll get the best result by removing the action and all metal stock furniture before you proceed with finishing work. Do all surfaces, inner and outer with the oil. Cut the Tung Oil with mineral spirits. You can go as high as 2 parts mineral spirits to 1 part tung oil. Apply the mixture in very thin, even coats with a clean rag and allow each coat to dry COMPLETELY before applying the next. If you apply the product too heavily and/or do not allow for complete drying, a tacky, gooey mess will result. Use 0000 steel or bronze wool to smooth out any tiny whiskers, raised grain or dust particles after the coat is dry but before applying the next coat. The more coats you apply, the more gloss you will get. Finishes from just oiled to a beautiful, hand rubbed satin gloss are possible. Patience is your friend when doing this work.

I used both cleaners like Simple Green and then straight mineral spirits to clean the stock on my H&R collector grade M1 from CMP but I had to deal with dirt plus the grease/cosmo that were used as rust prevention measures by the Greeks. Instead of a water rinse, I removed the Simple Green and Mineral Spirits with paper towels or dry soft rags. Dispose of MS soaked rags/paper towels immediately for obvious reasons. Water will raise the grain and sanding will likely be needed. Any dents in the stock need to be raised with a damp towel & iron or steam before finishing work. When the mineral spirits dry, the walnut will have a grayish look to it. Don't worry, the first coat of tung oil will take care of it and turn the stock a nice color blown. Incidentally, the reddish brown color on original military stocks comes from the oxidation of the oil in the wood fibers and not from any stain.

By the way, IMO the PTO is the better of the two finishes by far for the reasons I outlined above. Also, pure Tung Oil and Tung Oil finish or TruOil are not the same thing. Tung Oil finish and TruOil have varnishes and dryers in them. Scott Duff also says that the US government switched to PTO instead of BLO exclusively during WWII. He has written a number of books on the M1 Garand.

:):)

Bruce
 
#9 ·
I use Birchwood Casey Tu-Oil , cut with some turp. Wipe the stock down with a rag dampened with denatured alcohol. Maybe a rub down with steel wool or scotch-brite.

I'd use some Chestnut Ridge Colonial Red stain in that stock , if ya want that rich reddish hue of GI stocks , but that's just my 2cents.

I did an ugly brown stained CMP birch with the Colonial Red and it looks fantastic.
 
#10 ·
One of the most experienced people I know on the subject of refinishing wood can be found over in the RimfireCentral.com forum. Look for George (noremf) and post your questions to him. He has helped me out with a number of projects and is highly respected by the regulars there.
Rocky
 
#12 ·
Update to the project.

I finally got around to starting this project and everything seems to be going well.

Before:




After 1 coat of BLO:




After reading several posts here and around the web, and talking with people local, I decided on a procedure. So thank you to everyone who contributed ideas and knowledge to this adventure.

I started by washing the stock with basically dawn and a light nylon brissel brush. I didn't scrub really hard but just had a goal of removing surface dirt and grim. This was a new manufacture stock and I didn't feel it needed any type of stripping applied. I washed it twice with a couple days of drying after each.

Once it had dried the 2nd time, a light skin or fuzz was present which was taken off with #0000 steel wool. I smoothed out one rough place just above the bottom plate that came up from me trying to steam out a dent.

Once I had it sanded and wiped off, I started with my first coat. I had intended to use a 50/50 BLO with mineral spirits but, I completely forgot. So the first coat was straight BLO.

I'm now up to coat 3. I sand back over it after each coat. So far no sticky places have developed and the BLO seems to not leave any residue. I follow the directions on the can, coat the wood and let it set for 10 mins. Wipe excess off with rag. I allow a day or two for drying.

The pictures don't do justice. So far I'm really pleased. I mostly picked BLO since it was available locally and while reading that some had issues with it leaching out in hot days, others said it was because too much was left and not wiped away. So, we shall see. I'll try to get a picture with 3 coats and post it up.

I now need to find out how to completely disassemble the rifle to remove the fore grips and coat them if anyone has first hand knowledge, i would greatly appreciate the help.
 
#13 ·
"now need to find out how to completely disassemble the rifle to remove the fore grips and coat them if anyone has first hand knowledge, i would greatly appreciate the help."

Google or Bing "how to remove m1 garand hand guard" and follow the steps." Nice start on your project. Sixty six years ago I spent 3 months worth of elbow grease and Linseed Oil creating the prettiest M1 stock on the island. It was great wood and I thought I would be able to take it with me to Camp Lejeune and beyond... No chance. It was beautiful and a shooter. I wore my expert badge with pride. Not so my rifle as my DI gobbled it up before we were loaded on to the busses. I got to tear down and start all over again but never had one that pretty again. I wish I had it now.. Pony
 
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