Henry Rifle Forums

Every once in a while I hear some one ask about the durability of a finish with Tru-oil. Tru-oil is not actually a oil finish like the name implies. It does not soak in to the wood as oil does but builds up a finish. I have had good luck with it and have used it quite often. I want to show a Remington 513T stock I did for Dad in 1974 with Tru-oil. This was my Dads squirrel sniper rifle. I would hate to guess how many squirrels he killed with his Remington but he used it every season I remember him hunting from the later '60's when he got it. He stopped hunting in the mid '90's when Mom needed cared for with her health problems. So he put a more than 20 years on the refinish job I done for him. The rifle is a 1956 year rifle but after he gave it to me in the late '90's I used it a few times in season but had lighter rifles to hunt with. Then in about 2005 I got NOS stock and pulled the original off Dads rifle to keep it in the same condition it was in when he last used it for squirrel hunting. I thought several times about refreshing the finish but it still looks so nice I decided against doing any thing to it. My Dad was a fanatic about how he cared for his guns and this stock shows how he was very careful and kept his guns in excellent shape. Here is his original stock for the 513T with my tru-oil job from '74. This was refinished in the time period when shiny stocks were in. Forty five years on this Tru-oil finish.
This finish has the pores completely filled and is as shiny as a Browning finish.

Looks nice. Tru-Oil, however, is no better or worse than any other common wiping varnish - just more expensive. Basic ingredients are polyurethane, a polymerized vegetable oil of some kind (linseed, tung, walnut, etc.), and mineral spirits mixed in equal parts or nearly equal parts, depending on how thinned you want. It's also known as Danish Oil - which has nothing to do with the Netherlands, btw.

That said nearly any finish, including natural varnishes, shellac, etc. will preserve the wood for literally centuries as long as it's kept out of temp and humidity extremes, and away from a variety of wood eating insects and fungi. Your Dad's care of it is a significant factor in how it has remained in such good condition. If he'd left it hanging in the back window of his pickup truck for those years, I guarantee it wouldn't look like that now.

I've used a lot of Tru Oil over the years and really like the look. I hand rub it and that takes some time, but worth it.

I have used it and like it. I built up the layers very thinly and when I was done I took the sheen off with a very fine steel wool. It seals pretty good and is easy to use. I used it on traditional style muzzleloaders.