Full disclosure susjwp... I've not only never been foolish enough to pay $29.95 for a 2 ounce bottle of inexpensive linseed oil, naptha, and sunflower oil... I've also never paid big money for Snake Oil or magic beans, and have never bought a real genuine Rolex watch from a vendor on a sidewalk in New York City. I never paid for get rich quick schemes, and I never gave my charge account number and expiration date to a Pakistani sounding guy who called me and said his name is Bob Jones and promised to extend my car warranty or lower my cable and internet bill. I also never gave my bank account and routing number to a Nigerian Prince who promised to deposit his fortune in my account.
Because of that, I probably have no right to comment about such things, and can't possibly know that doing those things would be foolish.
In addition, I'm guessing that you have probably hunted in the rain with one or more guns that was finished with something besides vastly overpriced Timberluxe... and the stock did not spot or turn white in the rain. As Mike Hunter suggested, there are a lot of boats out there with wood trim and various marine finishes that prove the absolute fallacy of that statement.
I also found it interesting that his research showed the Winchester Custom shop used Watco Danish Oil when a customer requested a hand rubbed oil finish on Model 70's and Model 21's. At the $3.99 a pint I paid several days ago, that gives me 2 ounces of Winchester Custom Shop stock finish for about 50 cents.
I may just have to go back and buy several more cans. Several years ago, I did some testing to see which wood glue would give me the least visible joint in black walnut. I cut, planed, and glued up a bunch of small blocks using various wood glues and epoxies. Afterwards, I sanded the glue joints and I applied a coat of about a dozen different wood finishes to my test pieces to also see which ones did the best job of reducing the visibility of a closely fitted glue joint. The Watco Danish Oil was one of the best in this regard, yet it did a good job of bringing out the grain and figure.
