Hi JDW
I have come up with some photographs of the traditional oil and wax stock finish that I have used on a vintage London double which is now close to one hundred and fifty years old so a high gloss finish I feel would be well out of place on such an old gun. On the first photograph I removed the wax and in doing so removed the shine but it allows you to see the grain of the timber, in the other photographs I re waxed the finish again to give the stock some lustre.
You did mention using ‘Spar Varnish’ and at the time Victorian/Edwardian gun makers where experimenting different ways of finishing gun stocks a Mixture of Spar Varnish and Turpentine was a popular finish of the day, the reason being that the original ships spar varnish formula consisted of Copal dissolved in Tung nut oil and a fine finish it made.
Ken61 I have only used the ‘Venice Turpentine’ that is intended for the treatment of horses hoofs well I am sure if you used the artists variety you would have to arrange a mortgage to purchase an ounce or two I find the horsy stuff works fine.
And as it is your original post I will not feel that I am hijacking it to change it to barrel finishing. I do not use Copper Sulphate bath at all because of the risk of copper plating, but I do like to start the browning process with a Ferric Chloride bath which I feel keeps the action of the rusting solution in the early stages constant and making the rust deposit less patchy.
There are a number of ‘Slakum Formulas’ but the most common one is :-
˝ Pint Boiled Linseed Oil
2 Ounces Plaster Of Paris
˝ Ounce Antimony Chloride (If you want to darken the wood)
˝ Gill Alcohol
2 Teaspoons Venice Turpentine
Rather a lot for single person use but it can be adjusted down in quantity.
I do feel that I should say here it is not a magic substance that will work perfectly with no effort or practice because it wont!!!!!!!!!!!!
