Wood Stock Care M1 Garand

[kcwolf200]

I recently received my first M1 Garand. I ordered a Service Grade from CMP. All the wood is brand new and it is kinda a brownish orange color.

The wood is new and appears unprotected. It there anything I should do to protect the wood stock? What kind of wood is this?

 

[jblomenberg16]

I think a lot of the new production CMP stocks are walnut. Some of them may already have a hand rubbed oil finish. You can do a variety of things to finish it. Some 100% Tung Oil or B-L-O (Boiled linseed oil) are similar to what would have been originally used on the rifle. Both can be hand rubbed to give a very nice finish that also protects the wood.

Got any pics of the new stocks?


ETA: If it is the new CMP stock, it is Black Walnut and already has the BLO finish on it.

http://www.thecmp.org/stocksets.htm

 

[malern28us]

I recently received my first M1 Garand. I ordered a Service Grade from CMP. All the wood is brand new and it is kinda a brownish orange color.

The wood is new and appears unprotected. It there anything I should do to protect the wood stock? What kind of wood is this?

Im jealous. So very jealous.

 

[CarmelHP]

Sounds, from the color, as if it may be birch.

 

[DragonGunner]

CMP has had alot of the older stocks that are Birch that on many of the Garands. I got a brown stain Birch on a Win. awhile back, brand new wood.

If your stock is Orange is most likely is Birch. Its sounds like like new wood, so it will have a stain on it,,..BLO ot PTO will bring out the color. If you don't like the color you can strip it with paint stripper an stain to your liking, I've done this a few times, then followed up by PTO (pure tung oil), I then sometimes put a coat over this called Forbes Tung Oil low gloss finish....this has a varnis in it an after that you can only go over it with this, as the PTO or anythiong else won't soak past the varnish....your first coat of PTO or BLO should be dilluted about 50% with mineral spirits, this helps to soak into the wood....good luck.

This CMP post war SA stock was stripped, stained, a few coats of PTO, an a few coats of Formbes low gloss tung oil.

 

[Bubba]

Here's one of the new production stocks.

The red is a faux finish (maybe spray-on?) and will wear off quickly with use. It will also come off in the rain and stain whatever's around it. I use BLO ($3 or so from Walmart) rubbed in with an old sock. Touched up every 4-6 months at my normal usage and it becomes both attractive and protective.

For authentic GI style points you can rub the BLO in with 0000 steel wool rubbed vigorously until friction makes the wool warm in your hand. Nicks are treated by scraping with a glass shard until smooth and then oiled with BLO.

 

[Colt556]

When you guys use the BLO do you cut it with anything? How long does it take to dry? How many coats do you apply? I have a few stocks I'd like to refinish but I tried the BLO years ago and just never got it right. It send as if it never wanted to dry completely or was always tacky to the touch. I was told I should have cut it with mineral spirits. Opinions?

 

[DragonGunner]

When you guys use the BLO do you cut it with anything? How long does it take to dry? How many coats do you apply? I have a few stocks I'd like to refinish but I tried the BLO years ago and just never got it right. It send as if it never wanted to dry completely or was always tacky to the touch. I was told I should have cut it with mineral spirits. Opinions?

For a first coat cut with mineral spirits, 50-50. After that I usually rub needed coats in as needed, if you put on too thick it will take awhile to dry, in that case wipe excess off with dry clothe...Y ou might like to try pure tung oil, I left the BLO for it as PTO is more weather friendly, an it cleans as you rub it in...

www.realmilkpaint.com pure tung oil

 

[indyjohn]

Im jealous. So very jealous.

I second the motion made by the honorable representative from Huntington...

 

[tman]

I use a 50/50 mix of pure tung oil and BLO.

 

[kcwolf200]

So then, what is the difference between the BLO and PTO? Why should I choose one over the other?

BTW, the picture in the post above is exactly what mine looks like.

 

[Colt556]

So then, what is the difference between the BLO and PTO? Why should I choose one over the other?

BTW, the picture in the post above is exactly what mine looks like.

x2! Maybe we could have a stock refinishing party! I have several to do.

 

[TRWXXA]

Almost all the CMP service grade rifles are shipped with new birch wood these days -- stained either in a "chocolate brown", or "orange" color. The CMP "Specials" are shipped with new, walnut stock sets.

The new wood is little dry, and wil require a little work. Rub in some BLO or PTO, cut 50/50 with mineral spirits (for the first couple coats anyway). Each coat will need 24 to 48 hours to cure, and you may need 4 to 6 coats. Some folks let the last coat cure for a week before reassembling the rifle. You will probably want to put a coat on every year or so, just to protect the finish. To keep the finish from getting too glossy, I apply the oil with 0000 steel wool. That also knocks down any grain that the oil might raise.

Boiled linseed oil is available in just about every paint department. Pure tung oil can be purchased here:
Real Milk Paint

PTO is a little bit darker than BLO, but BLO will darken over time (a loooooong time). PTO is said to be more water resistant than BLO. Note that any product that has the word "finish" in the name will most likely contain varnsih. "Tung oil finish" is not tung oil, but a varnish that is colored to look like tung oil.

Some folks hate the new birch stocks, and are going to great lengths to refinish them to look like old USGI stocks. Many recipes for making the new stocks resemble USGI wood can be found on the CMP forum. To each his own, but if I want a stock that looks like an old USGI stock, I'll just buy an old USGI stock. If you don't like the birch, you can purchase CMP walnut stock sets, with or without metal.

I'm currently finishing 3 CMP walnut stocks with nothing but PTO (they look gorgeous!). I have a brown stained birch stock that is going to get some dark tung oil, and an "orange" stock that will most likely get BLO to bring out the color. I'm going to order an unfinished stock set that'll be finished to a nice light color. That'll mean I'll have a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead in my Garand collection.

 

[edporch]

I recently received my first M1 Garand. I ordered a Service Grade from CMP. All the wood is brand new and it is kinda a brownish orange color.

The wood is new and appears unprotected. It there anything I should do to protect the wood stock? What kind of wood is this?

If memory serves, the original WW2 era stocks were dipped in linseed oil.

I've always used boiled linseed oil on my M1 stocks and it works great.

I just rub it on, then after some hours wipe off any excess that hasn't soaked in.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Dipping in B-L-O was a common method of preservation for shipping, as it provided a good barrier to the environment for the wood and metal. It is similar to the cosmoline jelly rifles are often packed with for longer term storage.

B-L-O has also been used for years on its own as a way to finish wood with a very durable finish. Some of my Garand Collector buddies have started using P-T-O as their main finish, and I've recently used it on my HRA. It looks very nice, and when done right leaves a nice matte finish that isn't too tacky.


Either one does a great job of making an old piece of walnut look very nice

 

[GARANDGUY]

Almost all the CMP service grade rifles are shipped with new birch wood these days -- stained either in a "chocolate brown", or "orange" color. The CMP "Specials" are shipped with new, walnut stock sets.

The new wood is little dry, and wil require a little work. Rub in some BLO or PTO, cut 50/50 with mineral spirits (for the first couple coats anyway). Each coat will need 24 to 48 hours to cure, and you may need 4 to 6 coats. Some folks let the last coat cure for a week before reassembling the rifle. You will probably want to put a coat on every year or so, just to protect the finish. To keep the finish from getting too glossy, I apply the oil with 0000 steel wool. That also knocks down any grain that the oil might raise.

Boiled linseed oil is available in just about every paint department. Pure tung oil can be purchased here:
Real Milk Paint

PTO is a little bit darker than BLO, but BLO will darken over time (a loooooong time). PTO is said to be more water resistant than BLO. Note that any product that has the word "finish" in the name will most likely contain varnsih. "Tung oil finish" is not tung oil, but a varnish that is colored to look like tung oil.

Some folks hate the new birch stocks, and are going to great lengths to refinish them to look like old USGI stocks. Many recipes for making the new stocks resemble USGI wood can be found on the CMP forum. To each his own, but if I want a stock that looks like an old USGI stock, I'll just buy an old USGI stock. If you don't like the birch, you can purchase CMP walnut stock sets, with or without metal.

I'm currently finishing 3 CMP walnut stocks with nothing but PTO (they look gorgeous!). I have a brown stained birch stock that is going to get some dark tung oil, and an "orange" stock that will most likely get BLO to bring out the color. I'm going to order an unfinished stock set that'll be finished to a nice light color. That'll mean I'll have a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead in my Garand collection.

This^ I use both BLO and PTO about 50-50 or 75-25 depending on how I want the stock to look. First 2 coats cut with mineral spirits and then apply as needed the BLO/PTO or mixture of both until you get the desired look you want. Congrats on the new Garand!

 

[kcwolf200]

Do you pull all the wood off the rifle before doing this? If so, How difficult is that to do?

 

[Walter Zoomie]

Do you pull all the wood off the rifle before doing this? If so, How difficult is that to do?

I wouldn't even think of refinishing a rifle without taking it apart as much as possible.

It's not difficult.

This helped me a great deal:

Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle (2005) - Surplusrifle.com

A couple of my completed refinishing projects. I have another Mosin in the oven right now.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[GARANDGUY]

This^ TAKE THE WOOD OFF!!!! Its not hard to do at all.Rep for the above post.Good site!

 

[DragonGunner]

So then, what is the difference between the BLO and PTO? Why should I choose one over the other?

BTW, the picture in the post above is exactly what mine looks like.

WWII rifles used BLO, but towards the end of the war PTO was used in its place.

BLO is not good for humid hot or rainy weather....PTO is. At CMP matches a couple years ago guys using BLO in the hot weather an then rain, had there stocks swell, effecting accuracy, some swelled so tight the trigger wouldn't even funtion, this was over at the CMP forum....in humid weather BLO well bleed an you'll feel it in your hands.

COLT...if you get around Wabash co. let me know an stop in an we will fix up any stocks you got.