doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun stock Wax

That's not the Arizona I know. On Saturday of the most recent Labor Day weekend, the high was 117 in east Yuma, and it started raining hard about 4:00 in the afternoon. Rained for hours with lots of lightning. Sunday morning was standing water everywhere and temp went back to about 112. I once (a few years ago)recorded 180F inside the shell of my truck.

Dove excepted; Arizona hunting primarily kicks of in October and runs into the early part of the next year. June,July and August are the hottest Months of the year and the rest of the Months tend to have very comfortable temperatures for the most part. I was out Quail hunting in Southern Arizona a few weeks ago and the early Morning temperature was below freezing. While this is a generalization it obviates the need to hunt in 100+ temperatures.
If you want to go Coyote hunting in July on the low desert you can expect conditions as you describe. Yuma tends to also have some of the highest daytime temperatures on average here. You need to understand that this location for a territorial prison wasn't chosen lightly.
You also have to keep in mind the Arizona has 7 distinct climate zones;the most of any State. This varys from low desert scrub brush to densly forested Ponderosa Pine stands in the Northern part of the State. If I dropped the average person who didn't know the State off in Northern Arizona they'd probably swear they were in Colorado.
Jim

The best stock wax I've used was Gilly Stephenson's, an Australian product with carnauba & beeswax but I've since changed as any wax tends to leave dull spots.

The local "stock doctor" (stock restorer), and my personal gunsmith (who makes exquisite stocks) both use a liquid polish made up thus: it's about equal parts of artist's linseed oil and artist's turpentine. (On no account use petrolium based turps as it will damage wood cells). To this mix add about 10% by volume of tung oil for water proofing. The gunsmith also adds gum arabic which you'll get from artists shops too. It gives paint "stretch". I ran out of it and couldn't pick the difference. The Stock-Doctor uses various expensive thinners to speed drying time.

To apply, spread on, leave for 10 minutes or so and then wipe off. Then, perhaps 1/2 and hour later, give another buff. It'll be quite dry to use but when it's completely dry, (next day perhaps), buff again. I've never needed to do a gun more than twice, (inletting too, of course), to get it to take. Thereafter just buff with one of the silicon gun cloths such as Tipton make. Just avoid cloths that say "polish" as they may be abbrassive to old finishes long term.

The silicon can also be used on metalwork and scopes. If you use oil on scope rings and etc., there's a danger it may run down and get into the scope body and start affecting sealing rings and gaskets.

Just curious, but why use a wax at all if you're not expecting rain? I use Johnson's or Birchwood Casey, like Johnson's best, but only when anticipating rain during a hunt.

Stan, not picking on you, but I believe wax makes shine and while I like the look of a shiney gun my head tells me it's sort of bait for me that shouldn't be there. While hunting I sometimes look at a valued gun getting soaked and say to myself, well, no problems without wax for the past 80 to 100 years, hold your horses until a wipe-down when I get home.

If it's raining, I usually use a gun that I'm not too worried about getting wet. I put wax on one gun. I think it may have helped sell it. I used a carnuba car wax from Mothers. That was the last time I used a wax. They do look better with wax on them.

A nice urethane-modified tung oil finish.

No wax.

When it gets dull, one or 2 drops of boiled linseed oil and a good rubdown accomplishes the same thing wax does...cosmetic appeal...while leaving a microscopically thin layer that actually bonds to and enhances the original finish.

Wax contributes no more than "shine" and can otherwise be a detriment to to a quality finish/refinish.

No wax, unless it's the night before the big gun show.

If wax is desired there is none better than Renaissance Wax. The Smithsonian and the Tower of London can't be wrong. (Can they?)

For "regular" stock cleaning and polishing Ballistol works just fine. It can be used on the rest of the gun, too, as a CLP. Great stuff, Ballistol!

I don't use linseed oil anymore for "rubbed in" polishing. I find that walnut oil works at least as well and it is unadulterated "food grade". Care should be taken to make sure that one is not allergic to walnuts, though.

I just bought me one like that, Chuck. A 32" 12 ga. Westernfield (Stevens), in Seattle, was auctioned on GB earlier this week. It's gonna be my everyday pickup gun around the farm. I'm just a sucker for those long barreled doubles, even a Westernfield.

Won't be no stinkin' wax on that'un.