painting bee boxes

[don2]

Anyone here use blo for painting boxes? d2 :)

[BeeMaster2]

What is BLO.
Jim

[Santa Caras]

nope. had to look it up to see what that is.  Sounds like a pretty harsh chemical and not sure of it's purpose. couple coats of what ever is lying around paint works for me.

[Dallasbeek]

Anyone here use blo for painting boxes? d2 :)

nope. had to look it up to see what that is.  Sounds like a pretty harsh chemical and not sure of it's purpose. couple coats of what ever is lying around paint works for me.

Okay, DUH!  What is this "pretty harsh chemical"?  Google is goggle-eyed with wonder, so it must be some secret, huh? 

[beemaster]

BLO - Boiled Linseed Oil - a fast drying version of  regular linseed oil which is typically used in artist paints - BLO really isn't boiled, but is heated and as far as I know not used in paints.

I use if for refinishing my rifles (well, rifle) and it applies easily, dries very fast and soaks deep into the wood - but, ideally it needs many coats - lots of coats as the oil soaks into the wook it hardens and becomes fairly water resistant, especially with many coats.

When I say many, my Mosin Nagant M44 Rifle now has 42 coats and it feels as slick as any clean surface you can imagine, and the wood grain enhances as you continue to preserve with it.

Now, is it good for bee boxes, I don't have an answer EXCEPT to say, the depth it penetrates is no where near the inner side of the boxes. It won't peel like urethane will in the sun, but long time weather exposure is surely something to consider. I don't leave my rifle out in the weather, so I can't say how well it holds up.

But is fairly pleasant smelling, no where near as strong as regular linseed oil. And a can goes a long long way.

I doubt this helped much except for anyone still wondering what BLO is. It is used by fine furniture makers, jewelery boxes and other miniatures as a soft satin finish that is NOT glossy.

The gun stock here I stripped to bare wood using oven cleaner, then flushed it good with lots of water and dried under a heat fan. Then sanded using foam sanding blocks of finer and finer grades. Then applied Min-Wax Gunstock stain and let dry. After all that, this 1945 Russian Rifle Stock was ready for BLO. I did 1 coat a day for 2 weeks and 2 coats a week for 4 weeks and tapered down to twice a month. This photo was taken after only 1 coat. The difference between the look of this image and the finished stock is the wood feels harder when tapping it, and very smooth to handle. It was worth every bit of OVER-KILL I did to it. I could have stopped after 4 or 5 coats and got a fine finish but this glass finish I have now was worth every rag I used to apply it!! Hope any of that helps.

[loghousebees]

I have two cedar Warre hive that I "painted" with boiled linseed oil.  They look great and are holding up well.  I had 5 gallons left sitting in my basement for 20 years after I built my log cabin.  It was still good after that many years.  It goes on more like tung oil or varnish than paint.  I would give it a try if you like to see the grain of the wood.

[Dallasbeek]

Beemaster:

Thanks for clarifying what BLO means.  I have friend who's also a beekeeper.  He doesn't use linseed oil on his hives, but he's also a gardener with a particular fondness for wooden-handled tools of all sorts and za love of old tools in particular.  Even with new tools, he removes the paint, plastic or whatever, sands the wood and treats with linseed oil mixed with beeswax.  Has the best looking gardening tools around.  I see no reason it wouldn't protect beehives for a long-wearing finish, and hive tools might not damage the wood as much as they do painted surfaces.

[don2]

Thanks every one. Beemaster, I sold my M44 but still have a 91/30 and a 91/59, both are in good shape and the 91/59 is a tiger stripe stock so I'm leaving both as is. I do have several boxes that are 10 to 12 years old which have received a double coat about every 4 years after an initial 3 coat to begin with. I am just starting to recover from the C.C.D. and hive beetle ruins. Quitting in not in my vocabulary.  D2

[RHBee]

Does anyone think it might be good for dipping? If it works on gun stocks it must dry completely. Just asking.

[beemaster]

I was never a fan of treating the inside of a super in any way - that said, to answer your question it does dry very well and doesn't sweat out the oil - at least not on some very hot afternoons this Summer at the range. And again, that's with dozens of coats.

I don't smell any lingering smell like you would get with linseed oil paints, that's some nasty stuff. But the BLO has become my favorite wood treatment and I've done as mentioned a few posts ago - treated my shovels and rakes with. And they had grown dry as a bone over the years. Many handles my father used 40 years ago in the mason trade and they are now looking very preserved. I still need to do all his trowels and floats (I wish I had the money my father made with those simple tools) but to preserve them is the least I can do.

About the M44, it is a fun fun carbine - I never get tired of shooting off that canon at the range with all those mosquito AR15s next to me - lol. I too have a 91/30 with hex receiver, excellent shape and I won't redo that, it is a 1931, the year my Dad was born coincidentally. Also I have an Russian SKS as well refurbed in laminate stock - beautiful grain colors and wouldn't touch it either. All the rifles have full matching numbers, no forced or penciled, I got lucky because each were bought unseen through Bud's Gun and a private seller. That's likely the end of my rifle collection - and I have no pistols I hunger for.

Sorry if I made this into a gun thread - BLO though ranks high in my book of wood treatments, and even though dipping might not be recommended by a lot of folks, I would surely do that over ever painting the insides or urethaning them.