As I slowly apply finishing oil to a project gun this summer, I continue to have a bit too much time to think about traditional slakum. And I was looking back at some of the posts here while preparing to make a new batch of oil. I didn't follow an exact 'recipe' from anyone (the effort is recorded at the bottom of the linked document), but in the process of reviewing, I was again impressed by the significant time and effort that Damascus, Salopian, and others have put in to helping interested newcomers understand traditional finishing processes.
I decided to summarize some of the things I had read here and elsewhere, including an outline of Damascus' thread on his process. Doing so was very helpful to my understanding of the constituents and application of slakum, so I decided to type up my notes.
I figured I would share that 'digest' for a couple of reasons: 1. to say thank you to the many folks who have freely shared their knowledge, and 2. to hopefully make some of this a little more accessible for newcomers to the subject.
The link below will take you to a google document that I intend to slowly add to and edit. In fact, there are some missing bits of info that I would welcome some help with.
Also, everywhere that there is an underlined bit of text, it is a hyperlink, either to information or a source for purchasing materials. There are multiple sources for most of these things, and not all of the links are necessarily to the cheapest or 'best', although, over time, I hope to use this as a 'catalog' of sorts for the materials I use most.
I intend for this document to improve and grow, so if you have a traditional oil recipe or process that you would like to share, I would be very grateful to see it. As Damascus says, 'its in the way that you use it,' so please include your process if you have one that's worth sharing.
* I would also note that my excluding some finishes that have been shared (e.g. SKB has been very helpful and generous with information regarding his process
e.g. here ), is for the simple reason that I wanted to focus on the most traditional methods and materials-- i.e. no polyurethane (alkyd does make an appearance though). Perhaps a 'modern gun stock finishes of DGJ' is in order, but here I only wanted to untangle the gum arabics and asphaltums and madder roots of my mind.
The document will be accessible by anyone with the link. Feel free to share it if you find it helpful.
Traditional Double Gun Finishes 
