# tru-oil



## gordylew

I'm refinishing a Marlin 39 and have put 4 coats for tru-oil on it. it looks pretty good but was wondering if I should put any kind of polyurythane or other coating to seal it. or does the tru-oil seal it.


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## GAnaturalist

Birchwood Casey sells a stock sheen and conditioner to go over the Tru-Oil, and then a Gun Stock Wax to go over that. 

I am looking at the bottle now (stock sheen and conditioner), and it reads, "The easy way to give your newly finished Tru-Oil gun stock a traditional satin finish" 

I have used it on the above stock in the avatar. Is it noticeable....yes, a little better, and it is not too tacky. After I apply the finish, I then rub with a brown paper bag to give a polished look, and take away any tacky-ness. I do not care for the 00steel wool rub, just me. 

Oh, I looked on the bottle of Tru-Oil and nowhere does it say it "seals" the stock, BUT it DOES help to seal in a way. Water does not mix with oil, however oil is not forever, and I would "seal" it with the Stock Sheen and Conditioner.


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## Back2class

I did a 39a with a amazing fancy walnut stock. That was a find, mint 39a mountie from the mid sixties with original gold trimmed marlin scope. I imagine it was a gift to a Marlin employee as it was at a garage sale 2 miles form the factory. My dad paid something like $40 about 10 years ago for it.  

It fell off the bench a few years back and the buttstock broke so I fixed it but stock needed to be refinished. 12 coats wet sanded with tru oil. Looks amazing several years later. The stuff is,  very good quality! final coat looked like glass, it was that smoothe. I buffed it with automotive polishing compound to cut the shine a bit. I do not see any need to do anything else unless you have a thin coat on the stock. It took me about 6 coats to completely fill the grain. I am working on another stock soon and want more of a natural rubbed look where I can see still see the grian through the finish. This will be the first I have done like that so I can not help you if that is the look you want.


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## gordylew

Here she is after 5 coats.


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## Hammack

Tru-oil will seal the wood, I have used it for years when refinishing stocks.  You want to keep buffing it down with steel wool between coats, until it is smooth as glass.  Then if you want a more satin look instead of the gloss you can use the stock sheen and conditioner mentioned above for a more satin finish.


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## rayjay

As an experiment I used Tru Oil on a plastic tipped mallet's wooden handle. This mallet got handled a lot with my hands dripping with parts washer solvent. Never had any problem with the finish getting soft.


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## 7Mag Hunter

I built 2 CVA Hawken kits and used Tru Oil for the finish....
I let eash finger applied coat dry good and then buffed with
0000 steel wool....stocks were white wood to start and after
20 or so coats they reached the dark color I wanted (see avitar)..

That was 20 yrs ago, and they still look new...I do put stock wax
on them occasionally...


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## Hooty Hoot

Isn`t tru-oil just linseed oil with a hardener. Someone verify this or not.


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## 7Mag Hunter

Not sure if it is indeed linseed oil, but it definately "skims over",
when it dries with a hard poly type film....
Takes a long time to dry between coats...Typically 24 hrs.....
Gets slightly darker with each coat..


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## DannyW

I like to seal the wood with the first coat. Cut the Tru-oil with mineral spirits in a 50/50 ratio and then apply liberally to the stock. Make sure to get it into all the crevices on the inside as well as the outside. (We are assuming here that the entire stock, inside and out, has been properly sanded and prepared.) Just keep soaking it until the wood won't accept anymore. Wipe off the excess and sit the stock in the corner of a temperature and humidity controlled room for 4-6 weeks. Your stock will be properly sealed.

Diluting the oil with mineral spirits allows it to soak into the wood below the surface. This stabilizes the wood better because a surface scratch let moisture creep into the wood.


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## OkieHunter

gordylew said:


> Here she is after 5 coats.



Put around 10 to 12 coats on it and the finish will look a foot deep.


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## Twenty five ought six

> Isn`t tru-oil just linseed oil with a hardener.



Yes.

IMO you get a superior finish with "pure" tung oil, (not "tung oil" finish) thinned with decreasing amounts of mineral spirits.  Does not require driers and will give a more weather proof finish --- and a deeper finish too.


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## Tulip

Thats a beautiful 38A gordylew. I found one in a pawn shop about 5 years ago that was in excellent condition that had a price of $175 on it. I asked what the lowball was and he said $175 out the door. I RUSHED to the bank a few blocks away withdrew some money and RUSHED back. Sent a letter to Marlin about prodution date and it was made in 1963. Thats one of my better finds and I was a happy camper


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## Jake Allen

Hooty Hoot said:


> Isn`t tru-oil just linseed oil with a hardener. Someone verify this or not.



from the MSDS sheet:

Linseed Oil, (raw) and Polymerized Linseed Oil, (Cooked)
mixed with 56% mineral Spirits.
It does not require a hardener, (or catalyst), Like a "poly" urethaneor other kind of two part chemically activated coating.

Great stuff though. I think it is superior or close to even tung oil.
I have used it for years on gun stocks as well as a couple of guitars and small antiques.
The advice given above; at last 20 or so coats, applied with your fingers or a small piece of dense fett, buffed between each coat with 0000 steel wool, is the method I have used.
Take care to remove all of the steel wool particles before applying a new coat.


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## redneckcamo

this is a good useable thread ......thanx fellas


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## BoxCallWillie

Thanks fellas
I been wanting to refinish a 870 wingmaster stock and forarm. I was wondering what I was going to use to do it with...

Im going to do it now with tru - oil !
Thanks for the thread, y'all have my answere right in time.

BCW


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## Bowbiker

*Tru-oil Finish*

http://http://forum.gon.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=118867&stc=1&d=1203708068

I recently finished these inserts and thought I would share. I turned these on my lathe and sanded to 12000grit micro-mesh. I then dipped each one into a pill bottle half-full of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil Gunstock finish and put them into my incubator(wooden box with a 40 watt bulb in my trouble light) and left them for two hours. I put on four coats like this(sanding lightly with a synthetic steel wool that looks like Scotch-brite. I then left them in my incubator over-nite(10 hours), put each one back onto my lathe and started sanding with 2000 grit sand paper, then 4000, 6000, 8000 and finally 12000 grit micro-mesh. The sanding only took a couple of minutes.
Anyways I got a Weatherby Factory Second Claro walnut gunstock and I am going to attempt a somewhat similiar dipping and incubating process. I will post pictures. Wish me luck.

Cheers,
Dick Seymour


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## boneboy96

that is some beautiful stabilized Maple Burl ya got there on that top one!   At least I'm thinking it's stabilized Maple Burl.  WEhat is the other one made from?   Same maple Burl?


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## Bowbiker

*Black-dyed Stabilized Maple Burl*



boneboy96 said:


> that is some beautiful stabilized Maple Burl ya got there on that top one!   At least I'm thinking it's stabilized Maple Burl.  WEhat is the other one made from?   Same maple Burl?



Hey boneboy96,
You have a very good eye for wood! They are both turned from Black-dyed Stabilized Maple Burl blanks that I got at Lee Valley here in Calgary. They can be as different as night and day. I'm lovin' this wood finishing when it turns out OK.
Cheers,
Dick Seymour


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## SmokyMtnSmoke

Awesome looking Maple reel seat you got there. What components are you using? Is that Struble ? Nickle silver? 

Very sweet. What rod weight? Blank?


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## Bowbiker

*Nickle Silver Struble U24*



SmokyMtnSmoke said:


> Awesome looking Maple reel seat you got there. What components are you using? Is that Struble ? Nickle silver?
> 
> Very sweet. What rod weight? Blank?



Hey Smoky,
You are also correct. Nickle Silver Struble U24. I am not sure which blank they are gonna go on. The bottom one is for a friend who intends to put it on one of his Gatti rods, either a ten foot six weight or an eleven foot four weight. And the top one will go onto a Gatti as well, a glossy Black FR3PA nine foot four or five weight.

Cheers,
Dick Seymour


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## Marlin_444

*Tru Oil*



gordylew said:


> Here she is after 5 coats.



NICE, let's see a pic when you are finished (assuming you are not finished yet)...

Ron


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## Bowbiker

*Weatherby factory Second*

Well, here it is, the Weatherby Factory Second I was talking about earlier.
Here are some pics of my gunstock after two coats of Birchwood Casey "Sealer and Filler" and four coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-oil Gunstock Finish. Of course these are the best pics out of about a dozen and they show it off better than it really is.  I will try sanding a bit more on some of the rougher spots but am quite pleased with how the first attempt turned out.
I applied the Sealer and Filler with a small brush and then sanded and steel-wooled it back to just above the wood-grain and then applied the Tru-oil with a small cotton cloth. About two hours between coats and I left the last coat "incubate" at 80* F. over-nite. I rubbed it with the artificial steel wool and then started sanding with 4000 grit micro-mesh, then 6000, 8000, and finally 12000 grit micro-mesh. I then applied a light coat of Finesse-it, a 3M automotive rubbing compound.
 I will be rubbing on it some more and if I get any better pictures I will post them. 
Thanks for looking,
Dick Seymour


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