Posted: 8/3/2016 3:47:18 AM EDT
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got a little something weird going on. Been using BLO (boiled linseed oil) for many years with never a hitch. Got a walnut lever gun stock set that I am refinishing. For some reason, it is taking FOREVER between coats to dry. Have never encountered this before. We have been having a little higher than usual humidity locally, could that be slowing the process down.
Anything I could use to help the process along. |
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I don't know from stocks but when we had wood ladders it was my job to paint them with blo.
I would take all the new ladders and the older ones that needed refreshing and set them out in the morning sun. Living near Houston we have plenty of humidity. About mid morning I would paint them down with blo. I would give them all they could take. Three or more coats. By about 6pm they would be dry. I would then check and tighten all the step rods to make sure they did not flex. Set them in the shop for a few days and they would continue to dry. Sometimes the new ones would get a second day like that. But I have no idea what the sun would do to stocks. |
| How much are you applying and what type of finish are you looking for? Dull military, shiny? It's been real humid here ( for us) and I'm doing some M1 stocks without much of a problem. I thought putting the stock outside in the sun would help cure the oil but that's not the case this time with the humidity. I'm finding that bringing them inside and having a good airflow around them is working well. I've got the stocks in front of a fan. |
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NOT AN EXPERT but I have refinished more than a couple stocks and I have worked with BLO.
The stock you are working with may have been refinished with something you are unaware of at some point in the past. Finishes like polyurethane can be incompatible with BLO and will remain deep in the grain of the wood even after stripping. I have had this happen and the BLO just sits on top of the grain refusing to oxidize. If you are convinced the BLO is just not going to harden up properly, you could wipe the wood down with mineral spirits and then let it "dry" again and see if hardens up after thinning the layer of BLO. There are some drying agents/techniques used by professional furniture finishers to coax oil finishes to dry. One I recall involved using Armor-All (yes, the product sold as a vinyl treatment for cars) to get oils to harden faster in between coats. So maybe try Google using "hardening furniture finishes" in the search. Worse comes to worst, strip everything again and start over, testing small areas with various products and techniques. Good Luck! |
| Thanks to all of you who posted. I was beginning to doubt my sanity. I have worked with BLO for a long time and just never had it take so long. Usually I could recoat about every 2-3 days with the parts hanging in the closet to dry. Thanks for the tips. Will try them. |