Vise finish

[Mgraves235]

i'm restoring an Indian Chief post vise. what kind of options do i have for finishing? paint, obviously is an option, but is there an oil or wax type product i could use, to give it bare steel finish, without having to worry about rust.
i considered doing a blacksmith style hot finish with BLO, but i really don' t have a way to heat the entire vice up to 400 degrees. anyway to replicate this look with a cold finish?

 

[CrotalusAtrox]

You don't need to heat it to 400 degrees. You can apply a thin coat and use a propane torch on it. Works fine

 

[2oolhound]

Boiled linseed oil is nice but it takes about a week to dry. It's pretty sticky until then.

 

[Farmer J.]

Boiled Linseed Oil, thinned with white spirit or something like that should give the result you desire. It works just fine if you don't have heat, just wait for it to dry.