Applying Tung Oil to an M1 Garand | CMP | Expert 

Woodworker here. First issue, strip the metal from the walnut. You will need the finish to penetrate equally throughout for equal water protection. Expansion/contraction is a concern in some cases, not so much here as the cross grain is minimal and walnut is very stable by nature. I use tung oil on select projects, but most of the woodworkers I run with acknowledge that its properties have been way overhyped. The #1 problem that I see on YT is applying multiple coats of Tung oil with minimal amounts of time between coats. Pure tung oil can take up to seven days to completely dry between coats even if ambient air temp is around 65-70 F. 15-18 Celsius . Moral of the story: be patient when you use tung oil.

Very nice! 😆👍 I built a roll-up bath cover using softwood from Lowe’s. Treated every individual plank with Tung oil before putting them into a roll-form. I used hand-rub, and kept adding oil until no more oil would soak into the grain. Let sit 1 hour, and wiped away the excess that sweats out of the wood. After that, 24 hours to let it cure & cross link. I didn’t bother with a later surface coat, because I wanted to keep a “wood touch” to the hand, not a “wet varnished” feel. The key to Tung oil is: the very first “coat” isn’t really a coat. It is suppose to provide enough oil to soak as far into the wood as the oil would go. Once the oil has filled all the voids in the grain, the oil will then cross-link similar to epoxy.

I’ve used Tru Oil on two CMP stocks.I applied extremely sparingly with my bare hand rubbing it in so that immediately goes in. I did this for over a week every day. You’re done when it stops immediately soaking in.

I just received my Expert 2 days ago. I am ordering Tung Oil right now after seeing this. I sent away for rifle on the 18th and received it 11 days later. Thanks for the video.

That is beautiful!

I am in the process of getting a M1 thru CMP. I find the M1 a true piece of art. Enjoyed your clip😊

Looks nice. I’m sure you know but be sure to lay your tung/linseed oil rags flat until they harden. The drying oils produce heat when they polymerize and can start a fire if they’re wadded up.

I bought a big red birch stock and I sanded and tung oiled it and it is beautiful, it's got dark spots on it. It is for my m1a.

I bought an expert model last year. But, I completely disassembled mine so that I wouldn't get Tung oil on the metal and could get it everywhere on the wood. I first gave it a light sanding and applied the first coat by wet sanding it in with 400 grit fabric backed sandpaper. I let it dry 24 hours and then applied a seven more coats allowing 24 hours between each coat. Between each coat I wiped it down to remove any oil that had not dried. After the 7th coat I wiped it down the next day and then let it dry for 2 weeks so that it was completely dry. I then applied a good coat of Renaissance Wax to everything including the metal. This is one of the best waxes there is. It was created by people doing restoration and protection of museum pieces and it's not expensive and goes a long way.

I just put on the first Coat of Tung Oil, OMG ! This is going to look great !

Tung oil was only used on very early models boiled linseed oil was used for remaining guns.

Nice specimen. What grade? It appears to be a new stock. Did you go with 308 or leave it in 30.06? Agree with over hype on Tung Oil. I would have stripped it down and completely coated, in about a month considered how many more coatings to go. Great vid.Glad it turned out well, It looks great.

Looks great, lay a moistened rag over the front ding in the stock, then take a clothes iron and you can iron out that ding(the moist heat will make the wood fibers rise and 'pull out' the ding, without damaging the wood), then tung oil over.

Does this make it permanent shiny like linseed oil.....or does it just keep the wood protected. I want to keep my stock nice but I don't want it to be glossy.

You gut lucky with that great wood grain from the cmp. It really pops with the TO. I didn’t know what they finished their sticks in so I fully stripped and sanded mine down and used pure raw linseed oil which is what they originally used. That stuff takes an extremely long time to dry though and I’d probably use TO if I ever did it again. They say the RLO is supposed to oxidize with time, sunlight, air exposure etc. and that is what eventually gives that reddish hue of old guns. We’ll see. Yours looked pretty red in one pic but then in the other lighting didn’t so much. I feel like mine changes a lot in different lighting too

the slow mo tongue oil money shot did it for me ….

I was a wolfhound too Hawija 06-07 where did you get the wall flag?

Why are you rubbing it with steel wool between coats? Just curious.

Congrats, she looks GORGEOUS! CLEAN UP, isle 5! And by aisle 5, I mean the front of my pants 😂

I bought the Special Rack grade. Hand picked it at Camp Perry. Used three layers of lineseed oil and gunny’s paste on her. Looks beautiful.

I guess if you have a really old dry stock Tung oil works great, but for me nothing beats Ballistol on my gun, steel, and wood to make it pop! Especially wood presentation cases. Makes them like new and makes scratches disappear.

Ideally you should completely dismantle the stock into its 3 individual piece and apply tung oil to all inside surfaces as well. You should also remove all metal, the baseplate, and forestock clips and barrel guide.

This is just good knowledge. ❤

my 55 was dark as the finished one in your vid. was thinking of doing this but dont want it to dark.

I agree with woodworker in separating the wood from metal to fully treat all the wood areas. But good job nonetheless! She sure looks good!😊

Oiling without disassembly invites oil to accumulate and soften wood in places not wiped away .. it will get punky and you’ll regret it

Looks Great !! Was that 3 or 4 coats ? And steel wool just after the first two, correct ?

Nice job

Thank you for showing. Does it need this every year?

Oh, one other question Did you do this in the house ? Or garage ? Was the smell strong?

Well that was painful to watch. Always remove metal from the stock to finish it. If only for the reason that you still have bare wood underneath now which is not sealed.

Informative video, thanks (I like the carpet and music too!)

So you're saying put the oil on the cloth, then wipe it onto the wood?

Where did you get those hooks to hang it on your wall?

I have done tung and BLO and I think the tung is better. however, I took the wood off the rifle and taped the metal that wasn't super easy to remove. I have also taped the metal and left the hand guards on the rifle. not really any effort to tape and then I don't worry about oil getting anywhere other than wood nor do I worry about any sanding or buffing. The CMP wood always looks great after some oil. If you go to the store they usually have a few CMP sets to pick from so that you can get what you want. I have a few of my corrected rifles in CMP wood because they look so nice. Save the original wood for if I want the whole package correct.

I use boiled linseed oil.

Such a beautiful gun so many were made yet they are expensive now 😢 been wanting one so bad can’t see myself spending $2,500+

Interesting, and looks great. But why tung oil? Why not boiled linseed oil? The only oil I’ve ever used on wood is Watco Danish oil finish after sanding which really made the grain pop and protected well, and was thinking about using that on my M1 Expert after sanding it out (off the rifle) while carefully avoiding the cartouche. (?) Congrats on some beautiful grain on your M1, especially on the top hand guard.

Wolfhounds! A-1/27IN 86-87

I did a Yugoslavian SKS I stripped it, sanded it, washed it. Then stained it. 8 coats of TruOil and I've been offered $1,200 for it lol, paid $300. I'll never sell it. My 1943 M1-GARAND has the original 80 year old stock so I'm gonna leave it alone. Looks like it fought many battles so I'm keeping it as is. But if I got a CMP Refurbished M1-GARAND Ide Probably Stain and TruOil it about 6 or 8 coats.

Wolfhounds!

How long did it take for you to get your "Expert Grade" M1 from CMP?

Decisions decisions, rack or expert. Can't beat a brand new garand, and if the aim is for gold might as well buy once cry once

Take the extra two minutes to dismantle the gun.

Now you have to apply tung oil UNDER the steel parts and get it OFF the STEEL. Take it apart first, Hang the wood up and APPLY IT CORRECTLY.

Boiled linseed oil works better, IMO.

I used a sock.

It looks much higher grade than rack or field grade

The standard process when the M1 rifle was in mass production was to simply dip the stock into a vat of linseed oil and let it hang. Not rocket science.

Ok Video, thank God you can mute the sound.

I would NEVER take steel wool to it without first removing the furniture. There is no way you can do it evenly without scratching the finish off the steel.

You should have taken the gun apart.

How is it holding up?

How many coats of tung oil did you put on?

A rag? Use your hands, Lad! Work it in and you will get the right results. Use the rag to wipe down after and then wash your hands.

take the action out of the stock, then put the finish on the stock

I don't think you want to get any of that Tung oil on the metal. J/S.. Wait what steel wool ? OMG. more Tung oil 🤔. Did you steel wool the metal again ? 🤦

Take the stock off first my friend!

Suggestion for some of you boys... Take the barreled receiver OUT of the stock and rub continuously WITH the grain especially with Walnut. AND (EDIT) treat the INSIDE of the stock and BEHIND the butt plate as well which are also steps lost on many. For me (personal OPINION), I like the near coffee black furniture on my Garands and M1A's with Overton-TRW and a OM stocks. And that often involves using an alcohol based stain AFTER any remnants of cosomoline, grease, grit, dirt is cleaned off the wood. Light color stocks don't do it for me. Don't understand how some seem fine with a pretty-ized museum piece of wood on a milsurp... and worse yet some will actually POLISH them to a high gloss. That's a sacrilege. Why have own a milsurp at all? Mind as well just get a poly-plastic gun in one of those sickening "desert" colors they make now. Even pink! George Patton must be twisting in his grave. This is a MAIN BATTLE RIFLE. A Man's rifle built by American Craftsmen, for Men. And arguably it remains the finest rifle ever designed let alone built. A milestone of American expertise in mechanical engineering even though John C. was a canadian by birth. It is not a toy. Can you imagine if the Garand had been built today? SA, H&R, IHC, WIN, would be sued out of existence by numayles getting their dainty little thumbs mashed between the breech and the bolt.

Obviously not a wood worker.

Dear friend I hope you are fine . Friend I want to Polish and paint my M1 Garand so this rifle can be painted

No, just no unless it’s a rifle destined to be part of a trophy for M1 competition or one which is bedded for high power rifle competition

That is a lazy man's way of doing it. Strip the stock down and wait at least 72 plus hours in between coats.

Please disassemble the poor thing before putting the Tung oil on it.😱 And don't steel wool the nice Parkerized parts..😱😱

As overhyped as I think this rifle is, with the "ping" fetish and all that, I must admit: she's one gorgeous piece.

Why the F did you spoil the video with that ridiculous chamber flag?

You did it wrong

When did you use the gunny paste

If you’re finishing a stock, you should disassemble the rifle first. Pretty obvious…