I'd like to play with some Boiled Linseed Oil as a finish. I know lots of people love it and lots of people hate it, but I want to try it and decide for myself.
I know many people add some Japan Drier to it--One formula I have heard is to thin it 50:50 with turpentine and then add a "dash" of Japan drier. For those of you who use Boiled Linseed oil as a finish, do you use the drier, and if so how much? Any tips as I start to play with this stuff a bit?
I do. No more, than 5% of drier and never thin it. Thin BLO 50-50 its for painting, not for stock.
David, I have successfully used a mixture of 100grams of BLO, 14grams of
turpentine and 5cc's of liquid carnauba wax.
(If you want some wax tell me where to mail it).
I have also experimented, with good results wit a mixture of BLO and Minwax
Antique Oil. Proportions of 70/30 respectively, but you can play with them and
see how it goes.
JC
Thanks. I appreciate the offer, but there's no way I'd let you send a little piece of wax all the way from Chile! At some point maybe I'll try that--I can get carnauba wax easily enough, do you melt it in or does it dissolve on its own?
David, it would be no problem. It is in liquid form -its actually water soluble- so
it very easy to mix in.
JC
That's a new one, have not seen liquid carnauba before. Let me ponder this before I put you through any trouble.
I have 1 vote for not thinning it but adding up to 5% japan drier, and another for adding carnauba wax.
Anyone else do anything to their boiled linseed oil?
David,
If you want to use BLO, you might try Winsor and Newton Refined Linseed Oil. This is artist's oil and is avaialble at Joann's. I've found it dries much better than convential BLO. (Seems I read somewhere that Japan Dryer contains a carcinogen.) The BLO (RLO)/turps/carnuba mix is much like the original Slacum oil. I've used this with and without Venice turpentine which was in the original recipe. I think I prefer it with the Venice turpentine which is available at the better stocked Tack stores. I use pure carnuba in the solid form and melt before mixing it into the warmed BLO(RLO)/turps. Back in the day they mixed it all up in a double boiler type arrangement. Search slacum oil here and you'll find a more detailed thread.
Have fun.
Phil
for the amount I'll use I'm not overly concerned with it being carninogenic...based on family history there's likely nothing I can do about that, so at the very least my guns ought to have nicely finished wood, right?
I did do a search for slacum and got a lot more than I had found before.
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=207796&page=1Reading through some of the posts made me realize that I may not be really understanding this oil process as much as I thought. I saw reference to venice turpentine ("turps", right?)being used to enhance drying...while I had thought turpentine was merely a thinner. Do I have my volatile organic concoctions mixed up?
It also appears that the more traditional recipes do not use a drier like Japan drier per se...although with the sense of humor some of the Brits exhibit I couldn't really tell what was what as there were some vague references to cobalt drier, which I had thought was more appropriate for a tung oil finish??
If anyone has the patience to hold my hand through trying to better understand what all of these ingredients are and what they accomplish, or has a link or reference I might look at, I would be grateful.
Thanks very much!
Dave
David,
Turps (my slang for conventional turpentine) and Venice turpentine are two different compounds. Venice turpentine is commonly used to condition horses' hooves and is much thicker. As an aside, I've tried the Venice turpentine substitutes but it is not nearly as effective as the real stuff. E-mail me your address and I'll send you some. Cobalt drier is another drier that is avaialble at Joann's or artist supply stores. I've not used it. Read and try different mixtures to see what works best for you. Have fun!
One thing nice about the Japan Drier- I have had success with it when I got over enthusiastic with the BLO and put a second coat on before the first had dried. I had a finish on an old garand that wasnt drying so I put on a light coat that I added a couple drops of Japan drier to and it set right up. Didnt have to strip the stock.
If the linseed oil in the Mona Lisa ever dries the paint will crack. After 500 years, museum curators aren't overly concerned about it.
In the 1950's, the panel was reinforced with a flexible oak frame. The light oak could have been stained with Minwax, but the conservators decided to darken it with an authentic ammonia fuming process. Of course, the only way to do it right was with horse urine.
If the linseed oil in the Mona Lisa ever dries the paint will crack. After 500 years, museum curators aren't overly concerned about it.
In the 1950's, the panel was reinforced with a flexible oak frame. The light oak could have been stained with Minwax, but the conservators decided to darken it with an authentic ammonia fuming process. Of course, the only way to do it right was with horse urine.
Of course Mike, Horse Urine is the only proper way to replicate the original, but it also has to be applied with a genuine beaver-skin brush.
And by the by--this past spring I planted the walnut tree from which I'll cut the blank that I'll finish with this mystical concoction. (just experimenting, don't worry)
Every time I see a thread pertaining to use of linseed oil, or BLO, or concoctions of BLO plus various additives and driers, I wonder why anyone would bother. We all know there are commercially available wood finishes that are vastly superior and we are hard pressed to find many custom stockmakers of note who use homemade BLO recipies. Then I recall that I have used several home brewed mixes for slow rust blueing and browning solutions. So I guess there must be some personal satisfaction from using a homemade stock finish, or perhaps duplicating an original factory finish for a proper restoration.
....(just experimenting, don't worry)
I'm not worried. I expect to always learn something from your adventures. Though I am glad we didn't meeet until
after your rock climbing days.
Keith, that's exactly it--I've been using more modern finishes for several years and I've found a way to reasonably easily put a good, hard, durable finish on a gun that I really like--but I (and I think others) keep striving for that modern finish that is as close to the look of a true oil finish as possible. So, I am trying to experiment with "true oil finishes" to learn a bit about them, and possibly learn something in the process and maybe down the road find a good way to integrate them. I've played with it a little, but mostly I'm asking questions so that I can try some stuff out and learn as I go...
Mike, any time you want to go ice climbing you know where to find me. No experience necessary.
Mike, any time you want to go ice climbing you know where to find me. No experience necessary.
...Just some sturdy ropes.
JC
I don't have just one finish and most of what I do is restoration work in small amounts on any one rifle.
I do not use boiled linseed oil anymore for anything. I have gone to raw linseed oil or "Stand" oil which I think is the closest to the original "Boiled", today boiled has a bunch of chemicals in it for drying.
I guess it depends on how much of a hurry you are in as to the amount of drier you add.
Regardless of what mixture (the books are full of them) that you use get a pain of glass and put some on the glass then date it and see how long it takes to dry.
About every classic pre-war custom sporting rifle has a linseed finish of some sort or another. Each maker used a different recipe and contrary to popular belief they all dry.
Some of you may know or remember Jack Dockweiler. He is still gunsmithing and stockmaking at his shop in Redlands CA, and all he uses is pure linseed oil that he gets from Brownell's, unless the customer requests otherwise. No additives or dryers.
Strange that slacum isn't "a patch" on modern polyurethanes and poly/oils and yet it's a pretty good patch on almost any finish that needs a bit of local correction. Venice turpentine is resin of the larch or some such softwood and readily available from nag shoppes as per Philbert. It's supposed to be the drier or accelerator or whatever in the mix but Peter Harris will tell you about vinegar and axle grease rubouts. Flake carnauba is also available; haven't seen the liquid form.
jack
The Gun Digest 55th edition (2001) contained an article on oil finishing stocks. Author purported it to be an Old English formula as I recall. He finish sanded the wood with a very fine grit paper. Mat'ls then used in the finish were "Lemon Juice" "Egg Whites" & "Artist's Grade Refined LO". These were used seperately, not mixed together, but I would have to go back & re-read to recall the order & process of each. Final step was grated beeswax melted in a jar of pure turpentine. Have kept meaning to try this, but haven't done so yet.
The best and most nice oil as wood finish I ever tried was raw cold press linseed oil, but it has to be prepared for using. Glass transparent bottle with this oil has to stand on window and to expose to direct sun light during 1 (ONE) year. During this year the linseed oil becomes clean and gets ability to polymerize.
Thanks a ton for all the help everyone. For now I have my oils, my driers, my eye of newt, my wing of bat, and a whole pile of cool little glass bottles and wood scraps. Should be a rewarding winter of making messes, my wife curses all of you and I appreciate you all the better for it.
Thanks!! (and Merry Christmas to all!)