Macarri Royal London Oil

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KWK

KWK

Member
Mar 6, 2020
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PA, United States
Can anyone advise me on how to use this product? I want a nice satin "in the wood " finish. I tried RLO and it turned into a messy nightmare. Could not get an even finish and now it seems too built up. Perhaps somebody experienced can assist with some advise. Looks like I am going to have to strip this stock and start over. Resand and restain. UGH! A real nice walnut stock the stain came out great and then problems with the RLO. I get really great results with Tru oil but don't want that look on this stock. Maybe I should use a different product? Thanks

EDIT: I DON'T MEAN TO SAY THIS IS AN INFERIOR PRODUCT. I THINK I JUST DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT CORRECTLY YET. I'm frustrated by the results I'm getting. Thank you
 
I've used the RLO several times with great results. If I were to guess you put too much on at a time. with that stuff you have to real small areas with a little bit of oil. Put it on and rub the hell out of it. the heat kind of sets it in. If you don't they say it will accumulate and then it gets almost into a sticky mess. As your hands heat it they probably stick to the stock. Before stripping it, I think I'd get something like a dremel with a buffing pad on it and work the stock with it. Maybe the dremel will heat what excess oil you have on it and either work it in or take it off. worth a shot.

JPW
 
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I've used RLO and Tru Oil. Not sure why you're having trouble with RLO since these two products are very similar. They're both BLO based. Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) has metallic dryers added to make it dry faster Polymerizing is a process which involves heating the oil in an oxygen free environment to the smoking point. This makes the oil dry (take in oxy to cure) much faster and dry harder. It also makes the oil very thick. Tru Oil has already been thinned about 4 times from the factory . Tru-Oil will dry when you are still rubbing it in, hence the need to thin it a little more to slow it down. I use a small amount of mineral spirits to thin RLO and Tru Oil.

The key to applying these products is to let the stock COMPLETELY DRY before applying the next coat. Also helps to scuff the surface lightly with a grey or maroon scotch bright pad for the next coats adhesion. If you don't let the stock completely dry you will end up with a messy nightmare. Another tip is to not use to much product for each coat. You only need about 8 drops for the average stock per coat. Rub it in with your fingers until it feels dry.

Keep in mind that depending on how many coats you apply you will end up with a glossy finish with either product. If you want to knock down the sheen for a satin look use rottenstone or thin a product like birchwood casey's stock sheen. Brownells stock rubbing compound works well for this step too. Don't be aggressive in this step or you will cut through the finish. Using a small piece of felt pads that brownells sells helps. Get the fine pads not coarse pads.
 
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From his website [https://www.airrifleheadquarters.com/catalog/item/251486/42975.htm]:

Gunstock Finishing Instructions:

Basic Novice Finish;

First make sure to sand the stock to perfection or as close to possible. If you fail here, your results will not be so great. If you cheat on the sanding, dark areas will result. Don't leave marks for the finish to hide. Make sure its vacuumed or blow air on the stock to remove dust and lint.

Directions,

Use clean white lint free rag. Six inches square is fine. Drop several drops of London Oil on the cloth. Apply to the stock as you would paste wax. Rub into wood lightly till it dries. Wet it again and flip the cloth over and continue to wet and wipe dry. Do not allow the finish to dry on the stock. Keep it wiped dry. If you don't get to it in time, re-wet and polish dry. 3 or 4 coats like this is plenty. Allow a few hours to dry between coats. If its tacky-you didn't wipe it off correctly. Re-wet and wipe dry. More coats add more gloss. However this is a finish thats built into the wood, not on it.

Advanced Finish:

Apply a coat as above ( Basic Novice Finish ) Set and let dry several hours till dry. Next acquire the Scotchbrite metal finishing pad ( Maroon Color) or any 3M or same type Synthetic Steel Wool pad in the "00" or "000" grade. The Scotchbrite metal pad is best. Do not use Steel Wool ! Cut the pad into usable squares. Apply a little London Oil on the stock and lightly use the pad to sand the finish in. Use fast light strokes and not pressure. Break the stock into 4 to 6 sections and rub the oil in till it disappears. Rub only with the grain! Not against the grain! If done correctly- you will fill the pores of the wood and get a spectacular finish. Figure on 2 or 3 well done coats. Usually no rub down of any kind is required. If more gloss is required, follow the basic novice finish for the last coat or coats.

Picky Pro Finish;

Again start with the Basic Novice finish for the first coat. Next follow the advanced finish but start out with 320 grit wet-dry sandpaper followed by 400 grit, 600 grit and then the metal pad. Keep in mind that you should keep a rag handy to wipe off any excess mud. Don't let it dry.

Scratches:

Just wet the metal pad and rub finish in till it dries. Scratch is now gone!

Deep Scratches;

Sand to reform. Fill with DAP 2 ton clear epoxy. If dark wood, tint to color.Sand to perfection. Let dry and rub with a pad till blended.

Myrtle-English Walnut, Maple Etc.

To darken lite woods to look like English Walnut or to de-yellow. Take some London Oil and put it in a small cup or tablespoon. Take the empty dropper and apply a few drops of Oil based Ebony stain to darken the oil to the preferred color. Test on stock for ideal combination.

Upkeep.

From time to time you can renew the surface finish by using the Basic Novice approach. Just make sure stock is decreased and clean and free from wax.

Other Protection;

After finishing and a few days later you can rub down the stock with a quality silicone rag. Eventually it will become much glossier by doing so.

London Oil as a grain filler;

Use the advanced or picky pro finish directions and then lightly sand and apply your own finish over it. Don't used Lacquer, basically safe to put anything else over but test a very small area first.

Clean Up

Paint thinner is required

Remember very little London Oil is required to do the job. Don't throw it on, its not required as you are putting the finish in the wood not on top of it. Do not thin London Oil. It is possible to make such a dense finish that it will retard a cigarette burn. In the liquid state it is flammable-be careful and follow the material warnings!

NOVICE FINISH, This is a post taken from Delphi-Repairing and Making Airguns.

You see a lot of 1000-2000 grit talk and you say its not for me. Why? You never finished a stock before? You want a pro looking stock-meaning like a factory TX style Walnut stock. Thats plenty good for you. But you are afraid to attempt it? Try this, Sand the stock to 220-320 grit. At 220 you can get a great finish on below 4 star wood. On high grades its best to sand it like marble-you see more ( Higher grit paper). Get the scratches out and look it over a few times. NEXT> Try this with RLO. By hand or with a foam brush put RLO on the whole stock-rub it in by hand-Take a paper towel- ( YES- PAPER) and set it aside where you can grab it. Take a piece of 180 grit paper if the stock is porous-Most American Black walnut is. Put a few drops of RLO on the stock-sand it with 180 grit to fill the pores ( YES 180-not 600 grit). Sand with the grain like you did while preparing for finish-Don't press down hard. Speed and lite sanding are best. You are making mud to fill the pores. When you see the mud and you see the pores filling up. Take a 320 grit sanding sponge and now sand with it. Whisking it along to burn in and dry the mud. ( Note-wet and dry paper is not required) Next forget an expensive rag-Grab that paper towel and wipe off the excess mud residue. By now it actually is semi dry and crumbles. Set the stock aside for 5-6 hours or overnight. Next day-rub in a heavy coat or two and rag off excess. Thats it! Today I'm doing a Hunter finish job and the Walnut was super porous. Took a leisurely 13 minutes to oil and sand and fill the grain. Some grain splits were over .050" deep. One swipe and its done. And Yes the paper towel works like magic-Be sure to wet them or dispose of them properly when finished -as any tack rag can com-bust. Those that snicker at a 220 grit finish are fooling themselves. If you sand correctly and use some skill-this finish beats 95% of what I see-Those experts here excluded.
 
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Really? Do you think I didn't read the instructions? C'mon man! LOL!

Thank you, wethy and klentz. Yeah, I have done Tru oil very successfully many times. I'm just not getting an even sheen after several coats and attempts at using different tecniques mentioned. 

I'm just going to jump ship for now and finish it up with Tru oil. In the future I want to get a fresh jar and do my experimenting on a scrap walnut or mahogany board.

I DO NOT MEAN TO SAY THIS IS AN INFERIOR PRODUCT. i BELIEVE I JUST HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE IT CORRECTLY YET.
 
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Really? Do you think I didn't read the instructions? C'mon man! LOL!

Click to expand...

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a SA or anything, just thought maybe you had purchased somewhere else and wasn't aware those were posted on his website. I just got some myself, but haven't started my project yet, so hope to learn from your experience here. Thanks.
 
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Moving ahead,I chased out the checkering with a triangle needle file and sanded everything with 600. We'll see what happens next. Came out well and the pores are filled nicely. So that much is accomplished. This stock is a looker.

wethy, your work looks great. Inspiration! Thanks.

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I;m working on the lower stock. Both are Tomahawks. I trimmed down the comb because it was too high. As shown. Took a 1/2 inch off. It's looking great. The stain I used really turned it on. Will post finished pictures later....

.25 Tomahawk
 
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