Oils that won't harm wood finish

[De_LaLonde]

I just got my flinter from Mongrel and I have a question about oils that won't harm the tung oil finish. I want to be able to wipe down the barrel and lock surfaces with a light coat but want to make sure I don't harm the finish. What oils could I use? Any to avoid?

[pilgrim]

     I use Hoppes  9  Silicone cloth to wipe down all parts of my rifles and pistols.  Has not harmed any wood finish, as yet,  and they inexpensive and reusable.

[hotfxr]

Almost any light oil, even (Gasp!) WD-40 would be ok, you don't want any penetrating or cleaning oils. Even those won't harm the finish if you just wipe it on then wipe it off. I have doused all mine with Slip2000 and have not had any problems. Another tip: I use pledge and rub a good coat of that on. It keeps the naturally porous tung oil from absorbing moisture. Then I just wipe them down with a silicone rag and they are always clean and sparkly. Of course you should not take this as gospel, I just know it works for me, here where I live. Test anything you are going to use on the stock, even if says in big letters "Made for tung oil finishes"on an unobtrusive area first before you wipe down the entire stock. Some of us have screwed up a stock finish before.

[De_LaLonde]

Cool deal. I'm not gonna slather it on just want to make sure it won't eat it away.

[punjab]

Don't like to be the odd man out here but pledge is about the worst thing you can use on furniture and a gun stock is furniture,use lemon oil.My authority for this is my far better half who has lots more experience than I do.Yes pledge gives a shiny finish but it also builds up on the furniture leaving an undesirable film.

[hotfxr]

Don't like to be the odd man out here but pledge is about the worst thing you can use on furniture and a gun stock is furniture,use lemon oil.My authority for this is my far better half who has lots more experience than I do.Yes pledge gives a shiny finish but it also builds up on the furniture leaving an undesirable film.

I should qualify my earlier statement. I never use lemon pledge for the reasons you stated. I was taken under the wing by one of my, well let's say "more senior than most" friends/employer/lie swappers who is some kind of savant when it comes to working with wood. He is the one who told me that tung oil is great but if you get it damp it very quickly absorbs moisture and being organic will tend to mold, in our area of lower humidity. He said the air here drys out the oil and allowing bacteria in, but that pledge (non lemon) gets along with the oil real well and helps keep it sealed up. I have used it on all my muzzleloaders without any negative results, but then again that is just my experience. It also is one of the best things to use to clean the windshield of an airplane. Every small plane I have ever flown (with a plexiglas windshield) had a can of pledge, again not lemon, in the preflight kit.

[punjab]

This is like a football replay,upon further review,this subject interested me because I have a rifle restocked by mongrel that I would like to keep in good shape until my great grandson is old enough to handle, providing I last that long.In any case I asked a party here in town that handles antique furniture and had him read the thread.He said all that oil is used for is to remove dust from the furniture before a coat of furniture wax is applied.The oil should be applied to a clean soft rag and the rag used to wipe the furniture.he sort of laughed at the reference to cleaning an aircraft windshield with pledge but he agreed its a good cleaning agent as is lemon oil.With furniture what you are trying to do is preserve the existing finish which is pretty much what the op is trying to do.He had a couple of comments,never ever apply silicone in any form to a wood finish because the stuff is very difficult to remove and you can not get any kind of a refinish job to work properly,use furniture wax not floor wax,the paste kind its more expensive but a harder finish,apply thin coats and do not spare the elbow grease,with a rifle that is used much you will likely have to rewax a couple times a year or as needed with a visual inspection, oiling finished wood is waste of time and money the wood is sealed with the finish that is on there,an exception might be a stock with a linseed oil finish.

[beowulf]

been using johnsons paste wax on stocks for years , and have no complaints ! and that`s on stocks finished with boiled linseed oil ! after the first year I seldom apply anymore linseed oil to the stock . and the paste wax keeps it shiny and helps it shed water when I`m in the woods and it rains ! only thing I use oil on is the metal !

[Patocazador]

been using johnsons paste wax on stocks for years , and have no complaints ! and that`s on stocks finished with boiled linseed oil ! after the first year I seldom apply anymore linseed oil to the stock . and the paste wax keeps it shiny and helps it shed water when I`m in the woods and it rains ! only thing I use oil on is the metal !

Johnson's Paste Wax:
You can use it as a separating medium too when bedding a barrel, tang, and trigger assembly. I use it with Accra-Gel.

[Mountain Man]

CLP on a rag and every year like my axe and hachet handles the rifles get a good coat a wipe of boiled lineseed oil
Itll preserve the finish and help weather guard the wood
Everyones different i guess

[Muley]

Ballistol. I use it on oil finished stocks to make them look better. Basically, use it on the whole gun.