Removing Boiled Linseed Oil

G

greyeyezz

New member
This was a new stock with just a poly coat on it. I stripped off the poly and applied a light coat of BLO. It's just not dark enough, I need to start over.

Can I just lightly sand the BLO out and apply a stain? I hear a water based stain won't take if any BLO is still in the wood.

I don't want to do any water type treatments as this stock absolutely cannot warp. Thanks.
 
You'll need to get teh BLO out of the wood before you can stain it. I agree with tangolima, use a stripper to get the BLO out, then stain and finish.
 
I'm not a stock finishing expert. The poly does not penetrate deep into the wood. It mostly stays on the surface. The BLO is supposed to penetrate some,the finish being more IN the wood.

And there is an order to things.

You are right,staining on top f the BLO might not work so well.

I'm suggesting here. This might work.Give it a light sanding.

You might wipe it with turpentine or acetone or mineral spirits.

There is a process called "Whiskering" Wiping with a moist sponge will cause the grain to raise.With sharp,fine sandpaper lightly cut the whiskers off.

IMO,you will be way ahead to order some stock wood filler from Brownells.

Its function is to fill the pores in the wood.You will put a lot of time,dry time,nd work into just using BLO to get a fill. Some of the fillers are stained.

You can get your color from a stained filler.Follow the directions.Once thoroughly dry,lightly sand and you should see your wood grain.

You'll rub in small amounts of BLO,then give it cure time. A week might be good.Don't leave liquid BLO on the surface or you will get a gummy mess.

You are working a finish into the wood,more than on the wood.

Folks debate over whether the old BLO finish is a good way to go,these days.

But on some guns,its "right"
 
About wiskering. Don't raise the grain then sand it. Raise the grain and rub the wisker's out with 0000 steel wool. The steel wool with pull them out. Sanding could simply knock all or part back down in the wood.
 
Raise the grain and rub the wisker's out with 0000 steel wool.
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During my apprenticeship 37 years ago, it was beat into me (verbally) that you NEVER use steel wool on a gunstock until it is finished. The reason is that small slivers of steel wool get into/onto the wood and stain the wood when they rust/oxidize/react with tannins in the wood. This leaves small "measles" or "freckles" that grow in size slowly over the years and will ruin the appearance of the wood.

The proper way to "whisker" wood is to dampen the wood so the whiskers/slivers stand up, then either singeing them with a flame or sanding with fine wet/dry sandpaper. I prefer the second method.
 
Not to mention that steel wool is oiled to prevent rust. Taking one oil out and puting another one in won't help because you'll then have to get that mineral oil out, too. Bronze wool may work, but I would stay away from steel wool.


Greyeyezz,

BLO darkens with age, so part of your issue may be a matter of waiting. But there's another question to ask: why BLO? If you've ever looked at watermarks on a BLO finish, you'll know it is penetrated by water fairly easily. It became customary in guns just because that was the best available technology when it was adopted. Many people like the scent and look of it, but as a protectant, it is rated poor among the various wood finishes available today (see Bob Flexner's book, Understanding Wood Finishes). You can mimic its appearance with synthetic finishes applied with progressively finer grades of wet/dry sandpaper and they dry and are more stable. You can even get them with stain already in them to darken the wood. Anyway, it's just something to consider.
 
Considering its a plain birch stocked Mini..if you want a relatively dark finish,I might try something like Watco Danish Oil in a medium or dark walnut.

I once stained a birch stock with black Feiblings leather dye.Its alcohol based.

After it was dry,I lightly sanded it so some blonder highlights showed through.

Then something like Lin=speed or Tru-oil. Just don't goop it on ike paint. Rub it INTO the wood.
 
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