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To refinish, or not to refinish

shootest
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To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by shootest » Fri Apr 12, 2019 7:14 pm

I’m debating to strip my .22 and use BLO. I finished my Garand with BLO and it turned out well. Let’s hear some discussion.
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GunnyGene
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by GunnyGene » Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:31 pm

BLO is a very poor finish in terms of durability, weather resistance, etc., and will require regular(think monthly at least) maintenance even if it just hangs on the wall.
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roddy
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by roddy » Fri Apr 12, 2019 8:48 pm

I would do it...you never know what you might find under the stain. I like working with BLO...it's simple and works great, as long as you go at it's pace.

I used BLO (and a whole lot of elbow grease) on this one last summer...
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shootest
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by shootest » Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:04 pm

GunnyGene wrote:BLO is a very poor finish in terms of durability, weather resistance, etc., and will require regular(think monthly at least) maintenance even if it just hangs on the wall.
Well, I have two opinions. Yours seems strange. The Garand was finished with BLO and I’ve never had a problem, thanks for playing. :roll:
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Carver
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by Carver » Fri Apr 12, 2019 9:51 pm

I guess that True Oil would be my choice of finish. I use it on most of my carvings and rifle stocks that I have redone, easy to work with and give a nice hard finish.
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roddy
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by roddy » Fri Apr 12, 2019 10:23 pm

I keep my stuff pretty clean and dry...if it was going to see any weather, Tung oil or TruOil would give better protection.

This one was done with Tung oil...
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Mags
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by Mags » Fri Apr 12, 2019 11:47 pm

My take, leave it as is and apply several coats of Renaissance Wax.
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GunnyGene
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by GunnyGene » Sat Apr 13, 2019 6:54 am

shootest wrote:
GunnyGene wrote:BLO is a very poor finish in terms of durability, weather resistance, etc., and will require regular(think monthly at least) maintenance even if it just hangs on the wall.
Well, I have two opinions. Yours seems strange. The Garand was finished with BLO and I’ve never had a problem, thanks for playing. :roll:
Not just my opinion, but that of every professional woodworker. Recommend you find a copy of Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexner.

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Wo ... 956&sr=8-2

A page from the above book:

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ESquared
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by ESquared » Sat Apr 13, 2019 9:03 am

The "BLO Debate" aside, just based on your pic in Post #1, if it were me I'd be taking a long look at what's likely under that factory finish before diving into a refinish.

If there's not some really great grain pattern lurking under there, Mags' suggestion on starting with RenWax might be worth considering.
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GunnyGene
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Re: To refinish, or not to refinish

Post by GunnyGene » Sat Apr 13, 2019 10:23 am

ESquared wrote:The "BLO Debate" aside, just based on your pic in Post #1, if it were me I'd be taking a long look at what's likely under that factory finish before diving into a refinish.

If there's not some really great grain pattern lurking under there, Mags' suggestion on starting with RenWax might be worth considering.
Most factory finishes for the last 30 years or so are an epoxy based, or acrylic, finish. Very difficult to remove and usually requires some aggressive sanding to get the wood to where it will accept any penetrating oil type finish.
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