Gun Stock Wax

[my-rifle]

I have several Mosin Nagants - enough that one or two won't be missed, and I decided to do the unthinkable. I decided to refinish the peeling stock on one of these "precious collectors' items" that I got from Century as a "cracked stock" special - 3 for $180. I picked out one that was a 1943 Izhevsk with a bad bore, and I used denatured alcohol to soften and wipe off the shellac. It left a fairly smooth hardwood stock with a couple of splices in the lower foregrip. It also revealed some stock cartouches that weren't visible under the layers of shellac.

In order to preserve the markings I only lightly sanded it with 200 grit paper, then wiped it with alcohol and left it for a day to dry out. Next I used Tru-oil by Birchwood Casey to begin the job. Four days and six very light cloth-applied coats later the oil has dried to form a smooth shell over the grain of the wood. All the markings that were visible before the oil are still visible, and I'm ready to move on to the wax.

I ordered Birchwood Casey's stock wax, but it got me thinking: Why can't I use ordinary furniture wax like Minwax products? I'm not talking about cleaning wax, but rather the product they make for refinishing furniture. How would it react to the heat generated by repeatedly firing the rifle? Is there something in Birchwood Casey's product that resists heat? Aside from the $25 Carnauba wax are there other alternatives? I'm not too obsessed with this, but the darned stock looks really good with just the Tru-oil, and I suspect the wax will really make it gorgeous.

As an aside to this, I noticed that Brownells only carries one Tru-oil product which though very nice, produces only one shade of brown. What if I want a reddish finish? A lighter brown? What are my options in gunstock oils?

 

[my-rifle]

What I've seen of BLO makes it seem to not be good at covering grain and making a smooth finish. Is that just because not enough coats were applied? I speak specifically to the Yugoslavian AK wood which is beautiful, but which has a deep grain.

 

[my-rifle]

That stock looks pretty good to me. How many coats do you apply to get that smooth surface?

 

[my-rifle]

Wow! Two months? I guess if you want quality you should be willing to wait for it. The Birchwood Casey stuff did a very good job of filling the grain of the hardwood the Russians used to make this stock. The wood wasn't what I'd call "rough" to begin with, but you could feel the grain of the wood if you ran your finger over it. Now after the Tru-oil you can't.

I tried Tung oil last year, but after about five coats it became pimply, and really did not look good at all. I don't think I'll try it again. Linseed oil sounds like it could be a good alternative, and I know you can mix in artist-grade tint to color the resulting oil. It might be worth a try.

 

[Candyman]

My- Rifle
To answer your question about wax just use Johnson or Minwax past wax. 1 or 2 coats will work fine.
I have been doing stock repair and refinishing for over 20 years and have found a few tricks that work great.
I have several stickies over at Surplusrifle Forum where I post How To threads on stock repair and refinishing.
Here is a link to a BLO (Boild Lenseed Oil) finish. http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=83&t=51760
If you have any questions you can PM me here or on Surplusrifle Forum.

 

[my-rifle]

Should I apply Birchwood Casey's stock wax over their tru-oil? I ordered a bottle of the stuff, but it just occurred to me that the two products may be alternatives to each other, not complimentary. Anybody?

 

[Candyman]

Yes you can apply Birchwood Casey's stock wax over their tru-oil. Put it on in thin coats and buff once it is dry.

 

[my-rifle]

Hey, that's great. I'm going to have the baddest-looking shot-out Mosin Nagant on my street. Wait till I move on to a really good one.