Where to Buy Boiled Linseed Oil ???

Where can I get the 500 sandpaper? Last I checked, for a cabinet job, I had to order it, but then found out that auto parts stores sometimes carry it. I looked and couldn't find it.
 
Wow, that was quick!

Auto paint stores carry 500 grit wet/dry, as do machine tool suppliers and woodworking stores. Or you can order it from Online Industrial Supply ($35 minimum order).
 
OK ... thanks.

Thanks to all of your advice I feel confident enough to tackle this task with the knowledge to do it right.

Thanks again everyone.
 
Thanks to all of your advice I feel confident enough to tackle this task with the knowledge to do it right.
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Good luck, the best way to learn this stuff is trying it out for yourself. I didn't know what I was doing when I refinished my Marlin 60 (first gun I ever refinished), and it still turned out pretty good.

And if it doesn't turn out like you want it to a little KleanStrip-x and some scrubbing and you'll be back to bare wood.
 
Tung Oil will dry, well dry. It gives better but not great water protection than either of the LO finishes and was the finish of first choice for US Military rifles. It will provide a finish of your choice from dull to satiny gloss. This is the product CMP recommends for restoring surplus M1 Garand stocks and it can be used to clean the stocks also.

To avoid drying problems, cut the Tung Oil with Mineral Spirits in a ration of 2:1 MS to TO. Apply in very thin coats and wait until completely dry before applying the next coat. Most times but not always, drying issues occur when a previous coat is not dry before applying another or all old grease, oil & cosmo was not completely removed before application of the TO.

Bruce
 
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BruceM ... If I’m not mistaken, the original finish of the Garands was raw linseed oil, and was changed to tung oil between WWII and Korea. Uncle Sam dipped them in a vat for a few minutes and pulled them out to drip/air dry. I’m pretty sure the old tech manuals specifically called for raw linseed to be used on the stocks, and that many of the tung oil rifles were refinished by Uncle (and troops) with linseed wipe-downs. I'm guessing the CMP recommends tung because it was a finish used on Garands by the US, gives better protection against water, requires less upkeep, more mold resistant, etc. Both linseed and tung would be "correct" US finishes, imo.
 
Actually, I think it was the other way around.

Bruce

After further checking, BLO was first used.
 
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The original finish Garand stocks I've stripped all have had some kind of heavily pigmented, reddish-brown dipped finish. It appears to be some kind of varnish, but I don't know how to analyze it. The coloring is opaque enough that you can't tell the difference between the walnut and later issued birch stock pieces until you strip them. The armorers mixed them up over the years. It took me awhile to come up with stain combinations that made the birch match the walnut before a conventional see-through oil or polyurethane finish was applied.
 
It’d be nice if someone would do a chemical analysis on that dark varnish looking stuff and publish the results. I’m almost convinced that it came from a combination of raw linseed oil reddening with age (boiled linseed doesn’t do that nearly as much), impurities in the vats or rubbed in as the original finish (either tung or linseed) was softened and penetrated by successive coats. Throw in oxidation, other chemical reactions, and hardening due to drying over years of storage ; and you might end up with something that looks like a tinted varnish. Still, I’m just guessing and going on the assumption that they didn’t use varnish because I haven’t found any reference to it being used ... and an old USMC armorer I knew insisted on the raw linseed, and regularly maintaining the finish. Also, relatives that used the things in the military all described wiping the stocks down as part of the maintenance… so I’m going by anecdotal evidence, mostly.
Imo … there’s also the possibility of armorers taking it on themselves to better seal the stocks for long-term storage and using varnish or something else.

One thing I’ve noticed with linseed is that the finish doesn’t really look right when you’re first "done", kinda empty or something imo. It takes using it, sweating all over it, getting it dirty, cleaning, touching it up, full wipe-downs, and a lot of attention over time to get it to really "come out"... and the stocks finished with the boiled linseed don't seem to do this as much as with the raw.

I wouldn’t recommend using it to anyone that didn’t actually enjoy finishing and maintaining a rifle as much as shooting it… especially since you can get the "right look" almost perfect with a combination modern products. Linseed is, objectively speaking, an inferior finish for a rifle stock if you’re looking for low maintenance or protection.
 
Bruce, I doubt we would really disagree much and it sounds to me like you "know your stuff" ... In performance as a sealant/protectant, I would fully agree with you, but say that polyurethane leaves all natural oils in the dust . As far as aesthetics, I agree with you as far as boiled linseed oil goes (and never use the stuff). To anyone considering boiled linseed, I would reccommend using tung instead.

When it comes to raw linseed, however, I class it as a different type of finish, that in a way … is never really "finished". The raw never fully dries because of its chemical structure and keeps a bit of tackiness that you rarely actually feel after it’s "dry" … until you’re holding it in hot sweaty hands. Boiled linseed oil has either been boiled or had chemicals added to alter it’s molecular structure so that it will completely dry, sort of like tung oil. I think the tackiness allows the raw to pick up impurities that can be aesthetically beneficial over time, "adding character" and hard to duplicate with dry finishes … if you’re willing to commit to a regimen of maintenance.
I also like the "tacky" feel better than getting "slippery" when shooting in hot, sweaty conditions.

Tung oil can make an absolutely beautiful low-maintenance finish that has some qualities superior to any other, imo. I see both raw linseed and polyurethane similarly, but simply as "different".

Of course this is just opinion too...;)
 
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