doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Alkanet Root - Reddish Stock Look

Yogi 000,
Interesting you have found and liked mahogany colour.This is the colour I use for restoring No8 Enfields and it is always pleasing to the eye.
I spoke to a longtime retired stocker (96 years old) yesterday who told me he used to use vinegar to clean off the sweat,dirt and natural oils that stocks accumulate during normal usage before he did a renovation finish.

Malt, wine or balsamic?

BTW - the missing secret ingredient is terebine!

Could the vinegar be used to be sure there is no alkali in the presence of alkanet to make sure it remains red and does not turn blue in the alkali?

Today I was amazed to find out that the local importer of Minwax products has quite the assortment. Have yet to find out they carry Antique Oil, but I did see a list that included TUNG OIL. I remember reading about it here, but cannot say what. Any comments?

They do have the Red Mahogany BTW.

JC(AL)

What is Tru - oil?
The reason I ask will be fully explained if someone out there can tell me what Birchwood Casey's Tru -oil really is.
Maybe with a brand name like that it may not be what the label says?

salopian,
What it really is I don't know, but I've been operating for years under the assumption that it's mixture of boiled linseed oil, urethane and a bit of japan drier.

Tung Oil anyone?

JC(AL)

As far as I know, Truoil is a polymerized oil/resin varnish, much like the other products discussed here. These thinned light varnishes, sometimes described as danish oils, are usually combinations of either polymerized linseed or tung oil, and resins. The resins can be alkyd, phenolic, or urethane. Presumably combinations of all of these would be possible, but I think usually either linseed or tung oil and one of the resins would be used. I think Truoil is linseed based, but I have no direct knowledge. For my purposes, it is too thick, builds up too much, and dries too quickly to handle properly in the finishing process.
These products, depending on their formulation, can have very different handling qualities and final results, and therein lies the rub (sorry). Remember, the finishes we're talking about here (I think), are more in the wood than on it, with very little surface buildup.
Incidentally, polymerized oil is oil (tung or linseed) that has been heated in an oxygen free environment to somewhere around 500F, which apparently modifies its molecular structure significantly for the better. Commercial "boiled" linseed is nothing but raw linseed to which metallic dryers have been added, and is an inferior product for any wood finishing purpose.

JayCee, I'm not sure what your question is, but tung oil is produced from the nuts of the tung tree (China, South America). By itself, it is as useless a wood finish as raw linseed. As a finish component it has great value and apparently some advantages over linseed, such as better moisture resistance and less of the warm amber color of linseed. Personally, I don't see this as any advantage where gunstocks are concerned, but on very light colored woods it is.

PK, you have answered my question.

Thank you.

JC(AL)