Tru Oil - How Do You Guys Apply It

Bad Dawg

Bad Dawg

Banned From Church
Refinishing a CZ 455 stock. Sanded it down and put first coat of tru oil on. It's drying right now. What's the process you guys take when you use this on a stock? Sanding/steel wool in between coats? How long to dry? Adding any varnish on top of it? Sealing it with poly?

Bad Dawg
 
Did you seal the stock. did you you really whisker the stock via wet and dry and then 0000 steel wool, did you stain the wood after you sealed it..... There are a number of questions to be asked.

If your stock prep was complete then you just need to use elbo grease and rub the oil in in very thin coats. using steel wool 0000 between coats. Let the oil dry for at least 24 hours and longer is better. Keep the coats thin to avoid runs and drips.

The thing I do not like about true oil is it dries to a very glossy finish. I hate that look. I am more of an English oil type person......

Good luck
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the response huntschool.

What I did was sand it down starting with 150 then worked up to 400. Then wiped stock down with mineral spirits, let dry and applied first coat of tru oil.

Sounds like I may have messed up huh? Please tell me what I did wrong. Let 'er rip........
 
Originally Posted By: Bad DawgThanks for the response huntschool.

What I did was sand it down starting with 150 then worked up to 400. Then wiped stock down with mineral spirits, let dry and applied first coat of tru oil.

Sounds like I may have messed up huh? Please tell me what I did wrong. Let 'er rip........
You will be fine, as stated thin coats and steel wool. The more coats the deeper the look.
 
I mix the tru oil half and half with linseed oil and it really works well. Like they said, thin coat, let dry thoroughly, buff with steel wool, do it again, about five coats is what I shoot for. Be patient and let it dry good before buffing and applying additional coats.
 
Originally Posted By: 7887mm08Originally Posted By: Bad DawgThanks for the response huntschool.

What I did was sand it down starting with 150 then worked up to 400. Then wiped stock down with mineral spirits, let dry and applied first coat of tru oil.

Sounds like I may have messed up huh? Please tell me what I did wrong. Let 'er rip........
You will be fine, as stated thin coats and steel wool. The more coats the deeper the look.

Cool! That's a relief! Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: MotoHunterI mix the tru oil half and half with linseed oil and it really works well. Like they said, thin coat, let dry thoroughly, buff with steel wool, do it again, about five coats is what I shoot for. Be patient and let it dry good before buffing and applying additional coats.

That's the first I've heard about mixing it with linseed oil. That's a great idea. I may have to try that. Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Originally Posted By: Bad DawgOriginally Posted By: MotoHunterI mix the tru oil half and half with linseed oil and it really works well. Like they said, thin coat, let dry thoroughly, buff with steel wool, do it again, about five coats is what I shoot for. Be patient and let it dry good before buffing and applying additional coats.

That's the first I've heard about mixing it with linseed oil. That's a great idea. I may have to try that. Thanks for the suggestions!

this is the way i have done it also. works well.
 
Back in the day...I always used Lin-Speed oil. I wonder if they are still in business? It made for a beautiful, matte hand rubbed finish.
 
Years ago, we mixed our own, using linseed oil, varnish and china drier (from memory) but can't remember the exact formula. Then we discovered Lin-Speed oil which worked just as well and a lot less trouble.

Unfortunately, the gunsmith shop which carried the Lin-speed oil closed and I lost access to LS oil. Switched to TruOil, which IMO has a bit too much varnish in it, resulting in less penetration and more of a "surface" finish. Suspect the addition of a bit of linseed oil would be more to my taste than straight TruOil.

You should be fine skipping the "de-whiskering" step since this is a re-finish rather than new wood.

Just located link where LS oil is still available:


Lin-Speed Oil

Some stock finishing tips at their site, also.

Regards,
hm
 
That's the reason for cutting it with linseed oil, it helps drive the tru oil deeper into the wood and gives it a deeper finish, almost translucent if you will.
 
Well, this is the second true coat of tru oil cut with a drop of mineral spirits to lighten it and thin it. I put on about 5 coats total so far. The other three were wet sanded back down to fill in the pores. Thanks for all of the suggestions and I'll post pics when it's complete.

~ Bad Dawg








 
Last edited:
Quote:
That's the reason for cutting it with linseed oil

thumbup.gif
Yep, the higher the percentage of linseed oil, the deeper the penetration. Deeper penetration makes for easier repairs of future scratches. More varnish seals the wood w/less coats but easier to scratch the surface coat.

Regards,
hm
 
Wow, man...refinishing a CZ-455 stock? How bad was the stock? Those are nice rifles!

I apply Tru-Oil with my finger, and 0000 steel wool between coats as stated above. It's a slow process, but looks nice when done right. Make sure you carefully buff the sheen down on the last coat.
 
Originally Posted By: Flesh EaterWow, man...refinishing a CZ-455 stock? How bad was the stock? Those are nice rifles!

I apply Tru-Oil with my finger, and 0000 steel wool between coats as stated above. It's a slow process, but looks nice when done right. Make sure you carefully buff the sheen down on the last coat.

The stock was in good shape. I wanted to lighten the color up. I wasn't big on the dark red.

I've been doing the same. Applying it with finger and buffing with 0000 steel wool.

Do you mean buff the sheen down before applying the last coat or after the last coat dries?
 
Back
Top