mineral oil on micarta, g-10

jonesjp@surry.net

jonesjp@surry.net

Joined
Dec 31, 2007
Messages
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I was glancing through a post, and a writer spoke of already having applied mineral oil to either micarta or g-10. He presented this very matter of factly, as if it were the ost natural thing in the world to do.

I've never heard of doing this. Is it advisable? Why?
 
jonesjp@surry.net said:
I was glancing through a post, and a writer spoke of already having applied mineral oil to either micarta or g-10. He presented this very matter of factly, as if it were the ost natural thing in the world to do.

I've never heard of doing this. Is it advisable? Why?
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Mineral oil will hurt neither G10 nor Micarta.
But I know of no good reason to apply oil to either material.
 
I've never used mineral oil on G10 but I use it on micarta to darken the color and make it richer looking. I think the darker color shows the grains or texture fo the micarta better. Other than cosmetics, I don't think there is any reason to oil the mircarta, but others may know better.
 
If Micarta darkens from use, you can wash it and it will come most of the way back to looking like new. I sometimes wash the Micarta with a little high proof gin. :)

I don't see a reason for putting mineral oil on either Micarta or G-10.

Rich
 
No oil or solvent will go very deep into Micarta or G-10. That is why you can wash it off with alcohol. Micarta and G-10 are stacks of cloth or fiberglass material that has be impregnated with resin at very high pressure. If there are any parts of the original cloth or fiberglass that can absorb chemicals it would have already done so in the pressure treatment.

The fact that Micarta and G-10 is impervious to chemicals, blood, and water is the main reason to use them.
 
Let’s see if we can find the right forum …
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It is used on lighter micartas to darken them and make their color more uniform.

Purely cosmetic.
 
Chiller2 said:
I can't find the thread right now but Dan Koster did a thread a while back where he recommended oiling your micarta every so often as part of routine maintenance.I will post a link when I find the thread.Here is the thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529408
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Micarta does not "dry out over time".

Most micarta is made using epoxy resin. Epoxy resin does not "dry out", but it can be damaged by UV radiation in sunlight. After exposure to enough sunlight, the surface of the resin begins to desintegrate leaving a chalky surface. The chalky surface might look as if it were "drying out", but it is just at the surface and is merely cosmetic. The integrity of the handle is not affected. Oiling the handle would not stop that, but it would hide the surface degradation and cause it to retain its sheen. It makes it look nice. It does not improve the performance or strength of the micarta.
 
Unless they have changed the formulation,real Micarta is made with phenolic resins,not epoxy. Home made stuff, I call it MyCarta, is almost always epoxy. G-10 and similar products are epoxy and glass fiber. Oil won't be absorbed by either one. Oil will fill in the tiny scratches left in finishing and from wear. As said, it is strictly a surface treatment, and totally cosmetic.
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
Unless they have changed the formulation,real Micarta is made with phenolic resins,not epoxy. Home made stuff, I call it MyCarta, is almost always epoxy. G-10 and similar products are epoxy and glass fiber. Oil won't be absorbed by either one. Oil will fill in the tiny scratches left in finishing and from wear. As said, it is strictly a surface treatment, and totally cosmetic.
Stacy
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While the original micarta was based on phenolic resins, norplex-micarta, the source of actual trademarked micarta, now makes materials based on phenolic, epoxy, and silicone resin.
http://norplex-micarta.com/products/category-detail.php?page=31

Phenolic resins are as sensitive to UV as epoxy. With both resins, it is the benzene ring in the backbone that absorbs the UV energy and breaks apart.
 
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