Oil and wood

Ok we all know that oil can break down and soften wood over time so you're not supposed to get oil on your wood stocks. I oil/lube my guns with a very thin film and always have and wipe off the excess. I've always wiped a thin film of oil on the metal surfaces to protect them from corrosion and have never worried about it before. But I've been thinking more about it lately. If all metal surfaces should have a thin film of oil on them, then how are you supposed to totally keep any oil from coming in contact with the wood? I've always wiped down the bottom of my receivers when I had the stocks off and so far haven't seen any ill effects. Now granted, I don't have them soaked, or dripping but I'll put a couple drops in pivot points and a thin coat on the metal and wipe off excess. So I guess what I'm wondering is how much does it take to damage the wood? I know soaking it would, but are small amounts like that detrimental too? Like I said though so far I haven't seen any problems with mine. Thanks for your opinions.

For the oil or grease to have any effect it has to soak into the wood, and even then it takes a long time to have deleterious effects. The amount you are using will have very little effect if any if the stock has a finish on it. You will be long gone before anyone will notice.Worry about the more pertenant things like coppering up a barrel or non-floating barrel and tang.

El Lobo

The part with no finish is what I mean. Like the part that's inletted for the receiver to fit in has no finish and is just bare where the bottom of the receiver sits. I have a couple laminate stocks that are this way too. They have a nice exterior finish but none where they have been cut out to fit the receiver.

just get some tung oil or tru oil an have at it
then no more worrys
drybean

Does the tung oil seal the wood to keep the gun oil from soaking in?

sure will
drybean

Thanks. Maybe I'll try putting a coat inside the receiver inletting.

I use Johnson's Paste Wax on the exterior of my rifles. It is oil free and is sound protection agaist rust and corrosion. I a pinch I use wd-40 and then wipe it down. I have started to shy away from oils in lieu of wax.
Best regrds,
Grit

How about other types of wood sealers? I see Brownells and Midway has several different types.

I seal the inside of my wood rifle stocks with spray satin Krylon. No worries. oil bore sovent and water stay out.

Do you guys do anything to prep the wood before applying? Although I've done several builds this is my first time messing with wood finish.

Irondog54, is that plain old Krylon spray paint you're talking about?

"Sealers" that Midway and Brownells sells are for part of the wood finishing process. I would use plain old tung oil, or Birchwood Casey Tru-oil on bare areas.

Note that if you are going to bed the stock, you don't want to put the tung oil or anything else on there before you do your bedding - that will keep the epoxy from sticking.

Plain old krylon satin. Dust insie with dry paint brush. Don't over do it. You can mask off the butt pad and take off the sling swivels and do the whole stock right away. Maybe wipe the shiny surfaces first with isopropl alcohol, but you will be good!

Thanks guys! Sounds easier than I first thought. I see Birchwood Casey puts their true oil in an aerosol can so that should make it easy to apply. I'll either do that or try some clear Krylon or maybe even Rustoleum. I assume the true oil and Krylon would resist solvents?

Krylon paint sure won't resist solvents - will disolve and make a mess.

Ok, ya can't be piggish with the solvent. I have better sucess with Krylon. IMHO

Kinda what I thought about the Krylon. I assume it will be ok if a little oil gets on it though? Irondog, what do you mean better success with Krylon? Better than what else? Thanks again for the knowledge guys. I picked up some Krylon from Wal-Mart on the way home. Local Dicks Sporting Goods had small bottles of Birchwood Casey True Oil but I didn't like them. Just ordered a couple aerosol cans of it from Birchwood Casey.

None of the oils will resist solvents. Even plastics like Krylon will dissolve. Epoxy will resist solvents for a period of time but if left on very long they also will break down. Unless you are slathering solvents all over any oiled wood I wouldnt worry about using oils. Oils will soak into the wood while Krylon sits on the surface. I would use oils.

El Lobo

10-4. I'm gonna try to True Oil as soon as it gets here. I don't use a lot of solvents. Really just in the bore. For cleaning/degreasing the action I use the Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubbe which is supposed to be safe for synthetics and finishes so I assume it probably wouldn't hurt paint. It's never harmed my stocks before. Although I wipe off the excess pretty quick and it evaporates pretty quick anyway. Accidents can happen though but I guess as long as I wipe off any solvents that may get spilled or splattered quickly it should be ok. Thanks again for all the help guys.

My sucess with Krylon is based on easy applicatio, good looks and durability. Drying time is fast vs ,say, Rustoleum.

So they won't resist solvents but it's highly unlikely I'll have solvents running to the bottom of the receiver anyway. Am I right in assuming that the Birchwood Casey True Oil will protect basically the same way that tung oil will? These will keep any gun oil from soaking in, in the event that too much gets on the action? The petroleum based oils are what eventually breaks down the wood and I just want some kind of layer on/in the wood to keep it from getting in there although I do oil sparingly.

Right - tru-oil is basically boiled linseed oil with drying agents/varnish in it to make it easier to work with. Either Tru-oil, BLO, Tung oil or any other non-dinosaur based oil will protect the wood as long as you don't get sloppy.

Good thing about the "natural" oils is you can reapply easily whenever you need to.

forgot to add boiled linseed oil would work also,but
slow to dry
drybean

[quote=drybean ]
forgot to add boiled linseed oil would work also,but
slow to dry
drybean
Oh yeah, very, very slow to dry. Last resort type stuff. The fact oils soak into the wood to an extent is thier saving grace. And they harden to the depth that they soak in.

El Lobo

Yeah the Tru-oil says it's fast drying and as far as the re-applying goes I guess that comes in handy if for some reason you would get too much solvent or something like that on there that started messing up the finish. I guess you could just clean the solvent off and re-apply the tru-oil in that spot. Thanks again for all the info.

Sorry,I know this thread is old but I had another thought today when I took off the butt stock of my Marlin 1895. I have the inletting coated with Tru-oil. When I took off the stock I noticed that I must have missed a little bit of excess CLP the last time I lubed it and it ran down under the hammer and was sitting on the inletting of the wood. Again, I have it coated with Tru-oil so I just wiped it off with some alcohol and dried it. The finish appears to be ok as far as I can tell. So, can the gun oil (CLP) eventually break down the tru-oil if left on long enough or does the time frame matter? I know you guys said that the tru-oil sealed it and kept the gun oil from soaking in, I just wondered if there was a time frame to that or not.

Man, I hope that this doesn't sound rude but you really should go back and re-read post #2. You are worrying about this way too much.

No offense taken. I'm sure I'm worrying too much, I just don't want to get my stock stained. I don't over lube my actions but I probably put a little more on them than some people just because I don't believe in leaving them totally dry. However, they're not sloppy either. But occasionally a little excess gets missed and apparently this is what I found yesterday under the tang of my 1895. I've got it coated with Tru-Oil so it should be fine. I just wondered if the oil stayed on the tru-oil if it would eventually break it down and get through it. My guess is that a solvent would but oil or clp probably not. Anyway, thanks for the response.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by efm77

But occasionally a little excess gets missed and apparently this is what I found yesterday under the tang of my 1895.

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Like a lot of other things I do outside of "tradition" all my rifles are stored standing muzzle down or hanging upside down. It may not be the classic way of showing them off, but I want any excess oil to drain away from the stock and action, not into them.

A small example...
http://i45.tinypic.com/nd7ou1.jpg

Over the years I've bedded, re-bedded, repaired or replaced too many oil damaged stocks. Of course I didn't complain to much, the money was good!

Bill

Ah, BillPa, a good old American capitalist. My kinda guy. Bill I am glad you mentioned the muzzle down scenario. Not many today know that little trick. Even guns I have on a rack on the wall are slanted down at the muzzle to keep oil out of the stocks. Thanks, we old timers have got to keep these young whippersnapers in line and educated.

El Lobo

I knew that little trick already. Problem is the way the racks are set up in my safe it is impossible to put them in there muzzle down.

Still no one has answered though whether or not it will soak through a tru-oil finish or not. I've always been told it would keep the oil out of the stock.

Also with them muzzle down what's to keep it from migrating through the mag box or some other way out of the receiver and into the wood under the receiver or in the forearm? Probably unlikely, but could happen, it could miss the bore of the barrel and get through the action somewhere else. Not trying to be a smart ... just sayin'.

If you have so much oil on them that you worry about it dripping all over than Thats your own fault for using so much oil..All it takes is a very thin film to protect them..They do make what is called a sanding sealer from your hardware that is wonderful stuff..One should use a few coats of it though..I use it when doing cabinet work and it is great stuff...Look for it and try it.I know you will be very happy with the results..A lot of the so called oils for wood are junk...Tongue oil is the worst stuff anyone can use on wood..There should be a law to prevent all that crap oil on the market..Never oil a gun with wd-40 it is nothing put cheap fish oil and will cause it to gum up if too much is applied...Good luck with whatever you decide to do or use..

If you'll notice in my previous posts I said that I don't over oil them. Sometimes though a little excess might get missed. This is what I found under the tang of my 1895. I use a needle oiler to get a couple drops into pivot points like the hammer and carrier hinges in my lever action, then wipe off all the excess I can see. Apparently a little still ran down under the tang though that I must have missed. We're not talking about a lot here but it was noticeable. No offense but you guys are just going back to the same old thing about not over oiling it which I know I am not. But you can't just simply wipe it down with a cloth and leave a thin film and expect that to actually get into a hinge or pin and lubricate it. A thin coat will protect the metal yes but you need to get some sort of drop into a pivot point. That's all I'm doing with mine. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

TruOil is a good sealer and it should at least mitigate some oil absorption if not completely eliminate it.

Thank you. That's what I was hoping, just wanted to hear of someone else's experience.

Know a few guys that stand there guns on the muzzle to make any oil flow away from the stock.

Thanks but we already touched on that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by efm77

Thanks but we already touched on that.

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My point, that you want to gloss over is that he is not the only one to do it. As to oil getting to the forend... whole lot better then in the wrist where it will snap.

If all you want to hear is tru oil will seal it then I can say that. until the dry weather comes and the wood shrinks and then the damp weather come and the wood swells a micro meter creating the spot where a drop of your oil gets in. Your going to have to go synthetic.

I didn't gloss over it. I really appreciate the input. I know he's not the only one. Like I said earlier though, the racks in my safe are not set up to be able to put them in there muzzle down except on the front row. I can put a few in there like that but that's it. The only other option is to stand them in every corner of the house which would be ok with me but I doubt the wife would like it. I have mostly synthetics and don't worry about them so I try to leave as much space on the front for the wood ones to be put muzzle down. As for the wood shrinking and swelling, I guess I thought the tru oil finish would expand and contract along with it so I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for pointing that out.

Whichever way rifles are stored, NEVER close the muzzle! Right?

I mean if the muzzle is capped off through temperature and humidity changes, soon the wood won't be of concern. Not with that barrel anyway. Right?

Correct me if I'm wrong please.

Howard's Feed'N'Wax is the stuff - orange oil and beeswax

Defcon, as long as you don't have the barrel sealed completely and you store them inside where there's not much humidity you should be fine. A very light film of oil in the barrel will protect it.

Also as a side note. Blue Avenger discussed the swelling and shrinking of the wood and makes a good point with that. However, the Tru-Oil bottle says the finish won't crack with age. I assume this means with temperature/humidity changes too. I haven't used it long enough to see though but I'm trying to store my wood stocked guns muzzle down now but have limited space to do that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by efm77

Defcon, as long as you don't have the barrel sealed completely and you store them inside where there's not much humidity you should be fine. A very light film of oil in the barrel will protect it.

Also as a side note. Blue Avenger discussed the swelling and shrinking of the wood and makes a good point with that. However, the Tru-Oil bottle says the finish won't crack with age. I assume this means with temperature/humidity changes too. I haven't used it long enough to see though but I'm trying to store my wood stocked guns muzzle down now but have limited space to do that.

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Yep, it seems that even a slight tilt will leave the barrel open.
Useful tip.

Knowledgable members on this site.

Thanks all!