dulled wood finish on 1874 Quigley rifle

[SchuetzenDave]

Yes a new coat of hand rubbed tung oil would repair the finish.

Instead of lemon oil try Murphy`s Oil Soap for a fabulous cleaning and development of a natural shine on finished wood.

[Kurt]

On my last three rifles I used Formby tung oil to finish the wood. It does a fine job. But Formby is a blend of pure tung oil with other blends. Formby alone will not seal the wood deep and if you want to add more oil and used a coat of say boiled linseed you must remove it first before adding tung again.
For deep penetration a pure tung oil like Old Masters must be used first then use a blended oil like Formby to finish filling the wood pores. Formby you can get a gloss and if you don't like the gloss you can use a fine steel wool or a paper shop towel to knock the gloss off to your liking.
Below is some wood I finished using the oils I mentioned. The top is15 coats of oil leaving the gloss on. The bottom wood has 16 coats with the gloss knocked down with 0000 steel wool and buffed with a cotton towel. It needs maybe another 5 coats to get the wood to look like glass.
But I'm to busy shooting it to work on it anymore
Kurt

[Quigley_Up_Over]

Thanks Kurt.

I'm definitely going to order some Old Masters.

So what's the best thing to clean it with first?

[Kurt]

I don't know. I never had to do it.

[BFD]

Restorations of rifles by collectors often begins with a careful cleaning with turpentine (the real stuff if you can find it) on a rag or with a soft brush in the crevices.

But I think you can overthink this one. Your rifle is not in bad shape at all. I would simply rub it down with a little mineral spirits to takeout any crud, oils, waxes, etc and then maybe a light scuffing with 800 grit or so and a quick rub with whatever you like for a finish. Pilkingtons is great, a mix of spar varnish, BLO and turpentine works well. Red Velvit Oil (Brownells) is my current favorite, Birchwood Casey's TruOil if you like that gloss is another, The list goes on and on.

Personally, I like a bit of well-earned wear on my rifles, but if you want it just like the day it arrived, why not send it back to Shiloh for a detailing? Could there be a better authority on how to restore it to what you think it should be?

[Quigley_Up_Over]

Restorations of rifles by collectors often begins with a careful cleaning with turpentine (the real stuff if you can find it) on a rag or with a soft brush in the crevices.

But I think you can overthink this one. Your rifle is not in bad shape at all. I would simply rub it down with a little mineral spirits to takeout any crud, oils, waxes, etc and then maybe a light scuffing with 800 grit or so and a quick rub with whatever you like for a finish. Pilkingtons is great, a mix of spar varnish, BLO and turpentine works well. Red Velvit Oil (Brownells) is my current favorite, Birchwood Casey's TruOil if you like that gloss is another, The list goes on and on.

Personally, I like a bit of well-earned wear on my rifles, but if you want it just like the day it arrived, why not send it back to Shiloh for a detailing? Could there be a better authority on how to restore it to what you think it should be?

That's what I really should do is send it to Shiloh.

Shipping guns is a real pain in the rump, though.

First, finding the right size box is next to impossible. Then, I would need a copy of Shiloh's FFL or my UPS hub won't accept it.

I could ship it without doing the whole hub thing with paperwork, but if something happens to it, I have zero recourse.

[BFD]

Screw UPS. Just go to Fed Ex or, even better, the US Post Office. Simple as pie. Insure it of course, and take the wood off the metal and keep the latter at home. You don't need any FFL. Period!

Man, the rules are simple and straight forward. This is as easy as shipping anything can be. I don't know what folks make it hard. I do it all the time.

[Quigley_Up_Over]

Screw UPS. Just go to Fed Ex or, even better, the US Post Office. Simple as pie. Insure it of course, and take the wood off the metal and keep the latter at home. You don't need any FFL. Period!

Man, the rules are simple and straight forward. This is as easy as shipping anything can be. I don't know what folks make it hard. I do it all the time.

I called Shiloh and talked to a nice woman in the office, she recommended against taking the wood off the rifle.

[Lumpy Grits]

UPS hubs can NOT accept firearms
Go to a hub-FedX and UPS has the BATFE data base on FFL holders.
IMO-Just try the linseed or tung oil. It's not brain surgery.
G.

[BFD]

You do NOT need an FFL. Period! This rifle is not being sold or transferring ownership. It goes direct. If UPS won't do it, just go to the post office, they are cheaper and better, by far anyway.

[rdnck]

At this late date, I hate to be the one to inform you that you don't have a Quigley rifle there. A Quigley rifle has a straight stock with no pistol grip and a couple of other features that set it apart. It seems to be a nice rifle, but a Quigley it ain't. Rdnck.

[Quigley_Up_Over]

At this late date, I hate to be the one to inform you that you don't have a Quigley rifle there. A Quigley rifle has a straight stock with no pistol grip and a couple of other features that set it apart. It seems to be a nice rifle, but a Quigley it ain't. Rdnck.

Hmmm, wonder what it is then. I'll have to post pics of the full rifle this weekend.

I ordered a pint of Old Masters 100% tung oil. Walmart.com of all places had it. A fair price and free shipping, too.

My local UPS hub is anti gun. Remember, a lot of your guys are lucky enough to live in very pro gun areas. I live in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

[Kurt]

I think before you use any wood finish on this rifle I would call the Gals at Shiloh and have them send you a bottle of Gun Glow https://shilohrifle.com/cleaning-supplies/gun-glow/ and follow the instructions on the bottle. Leaving that rifle boxed up in that foam case might just have sucked the oil out of the wood and dulled it. Gun glow might bring it back.
I know when I have shot a match in rain I dry the wood and use the gun glow and that brings it back in fine shape. The last thing I would do is using a finish on a fine piece of wood unless it had some serious damage.

[Quigley_Up_Over]

I think before you use any wood finish on this rifle I would call the Gals at Shiloh and have them send you a bottle of Gun Glow https://shilohrifle.com/cleaning-supplies/gun-glow/ and follow the instructions on the bottle. Leaving that rifle boxed up in that foam case might just have sucked the oil out of the wood and dulled it. Gun glow might bring it back.
I know when I have shot a match in rain I dry the wood and use the gun glow and that brings it back in fine shape. The last thing I would do is using a finish on a fine piece of wood unless it had some serious damage.

Hi Kurt,

I tried Gun Glow, didn't do the trick. Tried several applications.

Wish I could get a decent pic of what I'm talking about, it's very hard to photograph.

If I sent the rifle in, how much would it be to fix the finish?

[BFD]

If I sent the rifle in, how much would it be to fix the finish?

You really are asking the wrong people here. Call Shiloh. It is pretty obvious that only they can answer your questions to your satisfaction.