Wood finish on early 1893 Parker GH?

[Cameron Thraen]

Any advice - thoughts on the wood finish to use on an early Parker? Current finish is a J. Howe BLO variety over whatever was the original finish that I will be removing along with decades of hand oils and general grime. Shellac? Oil/ varnish? I like a rubbed in finish. The gun will see plenty of field work. Must stand up to Hawthorn, multiflora rose, Locust. Where the wild things hide.

Should you have a similarly dated GH that was well cared for over time post a photo of the stock. This will help me get an idea of the color and patina.

Thanks.

[Cameron Thraen]

Finish gently cleaned with Murphy's Oil Soap and ammonia wash. Handling stains removed with oxalic acid treatment. Finish not stripped with a commercial stripper. So now I can see that this 1893 Parker GH shipped from the factory with light walnut without any stain such as alkanet applied. Most likely finished with shellac.

Before cleaning


After cleaning

[Dean Romig]

I would recommend Timber Luxe.

www.timberluxe.com





.

[Cameron Thraen]

Dean, thanks. I have read quite a bit about Timberluxe and I will look into the product.

[Cameron Thraen]

I mentioned shellac in my earlier post, but I am not convinced of my own point. Would Parker use shellac on wood as its chosen finish given how poor this finish is in terms of providing protection especially to outdoor elements? Hmm??

[B. Dudley]

Original finishes were shellac. Unless on higher grade guns which were oil or unless an order specified oil.

The idea of a good shellac finish having issues with water is an old wives tale. It is not true.

To prove this to myself, I have taken wood finished with shellac and let water sit on it for over a day to no ill effect.

[Quigley97]

All three of mine are french polish. From left 1901 VH, "P" Grade or Grade 1 Hammer 1884, 1891 GH.

[Craig Budgeon]

Cameron, I am with Brian on the use of shellac. Mahogany boats were finished in shellac and they had to withstand the elements 6 months at a time. Parkers were done in orange shellac while I BELIEVE the boats were finished in clear.

[B. Dudley]

Please note that french polish, for those that dont know, is a shellac finish.

[Cameron Thraen]

Brian, Craig and Quigley97

Thanks. Shellac fits with the finish I find on my Parker. Do you think that Parker used the more time consuming French polish approach? As I do not own the Parker Story volumes do you know if the authors get into the wood finishing process used by Parker in the early period? I have searched through my DGJ index and reader Vol I and II and cannot find an article that goes into the technical aspect for Parker wood finishing processes.