Lazy mans stock finish/refinish

[Tom @ Buzzard Bluff]

I spring from a long line of riflemen. My Dad's oldest brother was a gunsmith and Dad was a stock man. He made gunstocks from Walnut logs he salvaged from logjams in local creeks and rivers---splitting them out with wedge and sledge and rough shaping with saw, hatchett and rasp. Inletting with chisels and pocketknife. Scraping with broken glass and finish prepping with sandpaper and steel wool. The only proper finish in his mind was hand-rubbed Linseed Oil and it took months to do one right. Lovingly applying a few drops daily on the sun-warmed wood and polishing it into the pores of the wood with his work hardened palms until the heat generated by the rubbing filled the pores and formed a softly glowing sheen that was elegantly understated.

 Well I've done my share of finishes that way but the process was painfully long for my Type A nature. So I've used a LOT of other finishing methods. Tung Oil, Spar varnish, Polyurethane, commercial preparations and my own concoctions. All had their own advantages---and vice-versa.

 When I started collecting and restoring domestic multi-stroke pneumatics I began using the clear lacquer with which most were finished by the factories. It's quick and leaves a glossy finish but it's not very durable.

 At this point I must step back and lay a bit of groundwork for what follows-----------

 20-25 years ago a fellow directly across the street who worked for a commercial hardwood floor finishing/refinishing firm came across the street one weekend lugging a half full gallon jug of the varnish they used on heavily trafficked public areas and gymnasium floors. It was left over from a job and since he knew I did a lot of woodworking he thought I might find it useful. It was the first water-based varnish I ever saw. It was the best, most durable product they had been able to find for their work, was imported from Sweden and---at that time---cost almost $100 per gallon. I tried it on a few small furniture refinishing projects and was quite impressed in several areas. It's clear and won't yellow out like varnish and lacquer. Toughness and durability when combined with simple application and easy clean-up were outstanding. And it was quick!

 Several years ago the slow-grinding gears between my ears whispered that it might even work as a stock finish!    DUH!
The first effort I put it on full-strength with a brush---like I was doing a piece of furniture. It ran----even tho I kept brushing it out. After much sanding to level I tried putting it on with a bit of lint-free cloth. AHHHH! Much better!
Next effort was with a bit of open-grained soft looking Walnut that had been stripped to bare wood. The wood looked looked like it was going to not so good up finish like a sponge so I decided to do a saturation type first coat with the varnish thinned 50/50 with water and applied with a soft rag. Sucked it up like a sponge. So I put on another thinned coat-----and another. To make a long story a wee bit shorter that's my method now. It dries so quickly that I can apply a coat each half hour with a quick rub-down with 4/0 wool and a damp dust cloth between coats. A dozen coats a day are no problem unless you're living underwater. Even in the high humidity of the Ozarks I can go from bare wood to finished and useable over a weekend.

 Quick, easy, tougher than nails and looks great-----I think I'm in love.
Try it---you just might like it too.   HTH, Tom

[breakfastchef]

I am using BC Tru-Oil for many of the reasons you stated above - easy to apply and build up, fast dry time and durability.

What is the brand name of the Swedish liquid you are using?

[badredbird]

i had some stuff once that had some titanium in the stuff , i did hard wood flooring with it lol it used to slightly spark when ya cut it , amazingly durable

[Tom @ Buzzard Bluff]

"What is the brand name of the Swedish liquid you are using?"
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Sorry----don't recall. I presume any quality product should work well.   Tom

[bnowlin]

I remember back in the sixties when I was in the Army, I never seen so much linseed oil.  Every day we put in on the M-1s and later on the M-14s.  Then went to Nam and used mud and sand and dust every day mixed with rain and blood.