art_ruggiero wrote on Apr 2^nd, 2025 at 9:02am:


Yes, but it can take much longer to dry when applied over some finishes. I chemically strip with Jasco and then scrub the stocks in hot soapy water first. Then let them dry for at least 4 days before applying Wipe On Poly.

Que Rod Serling "Twilight Zone".

Okay I dug into my archives on old finishes and I think you’re correct Marlinguy but it’s not as simple as that. Yes many manufacturers first dipped in “ varnish “ then linseed. Other companies up to around WWII generally dipped in hot linseed oil first then hung and rolled stocks into large drying or ‘ Batch’ ovens until the oil setup and dried then they’d dip in varnish with drying oils. A little bit of heat heat and turpentine would soften the linseed just enough for a good secondary bond.Then back again into the drying ovens. I’m sure expediency, cost and  materials availability had something to do with it. 

The difference in these techniques is in what they called varnish back then. It was much different than the varnish we know now. It was very high in resin content short on oils. Spar varnishes and most other true varnishes are a long oil mix for flexibility. So though ratios are proprietary my guess would be the old varnishes used for dipping had ratios of around 60% resins 40% oils with turpentine, an educated guess.  The high resin content would certainly fill the grain faster than todays ( 1930’s till now) varnishes. Not sure what they used for resin but my thinking is copal, tree resins or mastic but could have been phenolic which was common all the way back to turn of the century.  The oils would have been primarily linseed. Other possible oils may be Tung or other nut oils of the fatty acid type even fish oils. This old mix, though called a varnish back then was basically varnish/oil today. So a century ago a mix of copal gum resins, linseed oil and Turpentine was termed varnish. One of my sources is the 1906 edition of the ‘ Naval Artificers Manual’ that includes pages of paint and coating formulas.  Unlike modern varnishes this varnish/oil when heated provided excellent wood penetration and being a linseed oil mix offered good secondary chemical bond. 

Henry Ford painted his fenders and bodies with varnish/oils using fish oil since fish oil offers good corrosion resistance and finally lamp black pigment. Years ago I owned two elliptical 13 1/2” & 15 3/4” fine China bristle fender brushes stamped Ford Motor Company.  The bristles were cut to conform to Ford’s fenders which were painted black of course with a special varnish oil mix. 

So Val you’re literally correct and that is probably what you saw in the old movie though other companies reversed the procedure. The issue really is what was Varnish back then and what it’s been for the past 75 to 80 years. So under the definition of terms clause you WIN

Rick

Hey what was I going to do with such a comparatively low post count ? I had to throw Val a bone it’s the herd mentality thing or rule of the jungle. Do I want to be hovering and circling around the campfire shunned and starving ? 

Rick

Good timing….

One candidate that was not mentioned is Birchwood Casey’s Tru Oil. Supposedly that’s what CPA uses. I’m right now almost done sanding the stock/forend on my unfinished CPA furniture and am contemplating finish choice. 

One thing I learned is that it is not a one-application process. Looks like 3-4 applications, rubbed into the wood each time. My end goal is to not end up with a shiny, dipped in plastic appearance. Some people finish with a sprayed on coat of satin poly but wonder about chemical reaction of the two products. Others have suggested that the shininess can be subdued by finishing with a hand rubbed, fine steel wool treatment.

I ordered X-fancy wood so am really looking forward to how the final result looks.

Tom

I’ve done enough stock work to know there is no such thing as 3 or 4 applications to have the job complete.

Please define. Not 100% sure what is meant. Do more than 3-4 applications OR multiple applications are not needed.

Thanks!

Tom

What soaks in deep isn't the oils/resins it's the solvent. It doesn't carry the solids deeply in with it. Experimentation with a test board can be revealing.