M1A wood stock finish

[Inspector Gadget]

Springfield M1A. Walnut stock, which seems kinda dry. Been told that it came from the factory with BLO. Should I go with a straight BLO? Cut it? With what? To what ratio? Any application tricks? Would like to keep a matte finish, rather than trying to build up a gloss.
Thanks

 

[Different]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Boiled linseed oil works just fine. Remove the butt plate assembly so you can oil the end of the stock. Hand rub a thin coat over all accessible surfaces. Let it dry for a day or two. Repeat three or four times.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

I refinished mine with Birchwood-Casey Tru-Oil.

It's OK to develop a finish.

Just knock it down with 000 or 0000 steel wool and apply a final coat by dampening the surface with a near dry bore patch dampened in Tru-oil. Rub it in and stretch it thin, and you'll end up with a perfect satiny semi-gloss finish.

 

[samnev]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Different</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Boiled linseed oil works just fine. Remove the butt plate assembly so you can oil the end of the stock. Hand rub a thin coat over all accessible surfaces. Let it dry for a day or two. Repeat three or four times. </div></div>

Then rub it down with 0000 steel wool.

 

[Inspector Gadget]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Any brand preferences on the BLO?
Gonna have to be a garage project - do I need a minimum temperature for the BLO to dry properly?

 

[Birddog1911]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Just be sure that you decide what sort of finish you want. I made the mistake once of gettting BLO finish at HD, and it had a varnish in it. It turned out beautifully, but was the wrong finish for the stock I was working on.

I had to go to a wood crafting store to get true BLO. Hand rubbed in with an old t-shirt till my hand got warm; this gets the oil deep in the grain. Did this every couple of days for a couple of weeks. I kept the stock in the warmest part of the house, but I doubt that it was needed.

 

[95LTZ]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

I have had very good results with real tung oil. Not the kind that you get at the box stores. This is the source that I used:
They have a light & a dark your choice. As your stock "dries" out simply re-apply.
Semper Fi

 

[Lexus ISF]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Gunny paste.
1/3 beeswax
1/3 turpentine
1/3 BLO
This has worked well for me.

 

[former naval person]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

A little "Japan drier" added to the BLO will harden the stuff faster and make it less sticky. I do like the Tung oil. JMHO

 

[powderBurnz]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

+1 on the steel wool rub down. Wipe on the BLO and then run over it with the steel wool. It'll keep it from getting glossy.

 

[cpercent]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Yes, Linseed oil is great. I used it on my M1A Super Match. Only problem is that you have to keep applying it on. I would not mess with the finish on the stock. It was meant to have no finish.

 

[Kentucky Jelly]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

I asked an Armorer at the CMP North store what to use on my Garand (New Walnut stock), and he said to use Fairtrimmers. It is only available through Brownells.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/sid=79056/pid=42368/Product/MILITARY_OX_WOOD_FINISH__1_2_PINT

 

[lennyo3034]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

I read that some of these finishes can affect the bedding on national match and supermatch models. Do anyone have more info?

 

[marduk185]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

put a synthetic stock on there and krylon to liking. vwalah better.

 

[Rainier42]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 95LTZ</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have had very good results with real tung oil. Not the kind that you get at the box stores. This is the source that I used: http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html
They have a light & a dark your choice. As your stock "dries" out simply re-apply.
Semper Fi </div></div>

+1 on the Tung oil. Cut it 50/50 with Mineral Spirits and it will dry much faster. Apply a few coats allowing each to dry for a full day before applying a new coat. On the last coat, wet sand with 600grit sandpaper. Comes out really great. Finish all my milsurp wood using the above method.

Also to keep the wood moist and looking good, I use Howard's Feed-n-Wax. Very popular with the Garand boys over at the CMP forum.

 

[M855]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Peldge orange oil works better than blo IMO,I did a M40 type stock with minwax gunstock (color) and used orange oil and it came out great ymmv

 

[Inspector Gadget]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Thanks for the help. I'm gonna pick up a few beater stocks at the next show and try each of the suggested finishes. I'll use my favorite on the M1A and post photos here. Probably gonna be the end of May at the earliest.

 

[Drifter™]

Re: M1A wood stock finish

Fairtrimmers Military Ox to oil the wood, and Tom's 1/3 mix wax to seal it if preferred.

http://www.fairtrimmers.com/

http://www.thegunstockdoctor.com/Products.html