Maintaining the oil finish on a Sako

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sns2

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I just bought a Sako Bavarian that has an oil finished stock. It is very nice and is exactly what I wanted, a muted piece of lovely walnut. My question for is about what type of oil should I use to periodically maintain my stock and possibly make the grain pop a little bit more.

In my reading there seems to be a mix of opinions between tung oil and boiled linseed.

I would be very interested in the thoughts and experiences of people who have had oil finished guns currently or in the past. I just don't want to screw up the stock on a rifle that I spent a long time saving for.
 
The owners manual says to use "original Sako stock oil".
Perhaps ordinary or maybe not. Might be a special blend.
Boiled linseed won't be water resistant.
You can read about oil properties on wood worker websites and finishing stores online
Here’s a sample text comparing the oils. I realize sanding is not in order here. The info comes from a wood working website.

"Boiled linseed oil has driers added to make it dry much faster than raw linseed oil, which can take weeks or months to dry. The drying is adequate only when the excess is wiped off after each application. Tung oil doesn’t contain driers. It takes two or three days to dry adequately in a warm room when all the excess is wiped off.

It usually takes four or five coats of tung oil, sanded after each, to get a nice even satin sheen. The surface will be rough and spotty until this point. That’s why you have to sand.

Sanding is unnecessary with boiled linseed oil, except after the first coat. Then one or two more coats with a day between each will produce an even satin sheen.

The same number of coats of tung oil will be more water resistant than boiled linseed oil. In fact, boiled linseed oil won’t be water resistant at all. The surface will dull after short contact with water."

By the way, I happen to be refinishing my own walnut stock and I've been hand rubbing tung oil. On previous projects I used Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Tru-Oil, walnut stain and some wax with very good results. Not certain just how the Tru-Oil might differ compared to Tung.
 
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I thought I responded to the OP, but don't see it listed. So...I'll try again. Put a few drops of boiled linseed oil on your palms, rub them together and then rub the stock. Add oil as needed. That should do it. It isn't waterproof, but is quite water resistant.
 
When a friend had his K-80 stock redone, the stocker used 21 coats of Tru-oil with drying and sanding between each coat - took over a month, but it has a gloss finish that looks like poly, is not bothered by moisture or sweat and brings out the grain beautifully
 
I use wax on my Winchester Super Grades. I know thats what most museums do like the NRA.
 
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That would seal the wood but not maintain the original finish I would think. Fine on a modern Sako stock.

Tough one. Lot of approaches and magic involved.

Whatever is done always best to try a small unobtrusive spot and see how it does.
 
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