stock finish for a 98 sporter

[rtracy2001]

Don't flame me too bad as I am sure this has been asked before, but I couldn't find what I am looking for, so here goes.

One of my recent acquisitions is getting a new lease on life. One of the two Turks I just picked up from a buddy will start a new life as a sporter in 308 Win. The original stock is being held in reserve for use in another project, and I found a semi-inletted sporter stock for cheap ($38). While I am waiting for my barrel to arrive, I have been cleaning up the action and inletting the stock. I am about 50% finished with the inletting and it is time to start thinking about what finish to use. This will not be a safe queen, but as with all rifles it should look as good (or better) than it shoots. This rifle will be a shooter and a hunting rifle for the daughters when they want to move out of the 243 I built for them. The stock I managed to find shows some good figure with a few dings from the bubba that owned it before me, but I think most of them will come out with a good steam bath/ironing. Bubba also installed an ebony (or ebonite, I have not analyzed it yet) tip.

I need a durable finish that will look good over time. When I was younger, Dad used polyurethane (5-7 coats IIRC), and that finish seems to be one of the most durable I have seen, but there seems to some animosity toward that finish on this site. I am wondering if Tung oil or BLO will provide the gloss finish I am looking for. I will also entertain other suggestions.

[S.R.Custom]

If you invest the time & effort to do the BLO to the extent that it "shines," wax won't be necessary.

[Von Gruff]

I do mine with pure Tung oil cut 50/50 with vegetable turps and it gives a fantastic looking finish and as S R Custom says, wax isn't necessary. remember to put lots of thin coats and let it soak in and dry before the next coat goes on. When the wood has soaked enough INTO rather than onto it it will leave a shine on the surface. I usually call it good about there unless I want more of an eggshell finish when I will put the last coat or two on with 1000 grit wet and dry paper and wipe with rough cloth after a half an hour or so.

Von Gruff.

[BobT]

BLO looks great and it's really easy to touch up as well.

Bob

[Hardcast416taylor]

How did that old adage go about putting an oil finish on a gun stock go? A coat a day for a week. Then a coat a week for a month. Then a coat a month for a year. Then a coat a year for the rest of your life. Don`t throw rocks at me! I heard it from an old gunsmith years ago!Robert:roll:

[flounderman]

I have used a lot of different finishes and the toughest, most waterproof, scratchproof I have found is polyurethane. I use the spray can, gloss.

[gnoahhh]

Oil looks great, sucks as a moisture barrier, but is entirely apropos for a military stock. Polyurethane is harder than spar varnish and as such less able to shift when the wood moves (and it will), and doesn't have the UV protection that a good grade of spar varnish provides. Bottom line, given enough time, poly will fail quicker than spar varnish, but it is more scratch and chemical resistant.

My point is there is no perfect finish that does it all.

[Nora]

I'm currently working on a new stock for a Bubba'ed Mauser. I bought a basic unfinished walnut stock from Brownell's to use for a brush gun. and will be using Watkins Danish oil till the color is right then use a spay on Polyurethane to keep the moisture out and give it a mat finish.

MtGun44 is correct, it's Watco, not Watkin's

[MtGun44]

Watco Danish oil.

Bill

[Antietamgw]

Watkins Danish oil till the color is right then use a spay on Polyurethane to keep the moisture out and give it a mat finish.

+1
Poly doesn't have to be left as a gloss finish. Lightly wet sand when dry with about 400 paper, then 0000 steel wool for a nice finish.

[TNsailorman]

First, make sure all the grease is out of a used military stock that you can possibly get out of it and let it dry good. If you can, dry under a heat source of about 120 to 130 degrees. A hot attic in the summer time works great. When all grease is gone, it is time to work down by sanding or by 4 Ought steel wool or both. If not a oil soaked military stock but good bare wood, this step is not needed of course.
I like to take my time and see what I can do when finsihing a stock so I go the longer, harder route. After the final sanding with a grit as fine as or more so than 600 grit, I use a steam iron to de-whisker the stock, I do this more than once to make sure it is done right. I then, depending on the finish I want, start by putting on a fairly heavy coat of either poly finsih(Watco being my favorite) or BLO(handrubbed into the grain) and let it dry for a minimum of 3 days. Then I use 4 Ought steel wool back by a hardwood block to take the finiah down to the grain or until I see the first sign of wood dust. I then let the stock sontinue drying for a day or two. Then I go thru the first step again with the poly or BLO again. I then repeat the 4 Ought steel wool, except this time I take it down to just a super thin layer just above the wood. I then let it dry again for a day or two, and rub it down good with a coarse cloth(burlap works best if your've got it). I continue to add very thin layers of finish for about 4 more layers, drying very good between layers(hand apply the BLO by rubbing with the grain until it has a dry feel). I then det it dry completely and its back to a light smoothing with 4 Ought steel wool again. What you are after here is to get the finish smooth and even. Then I repeat the layering of the finish again for about 2 ore layers for poly and 4 layers or more for the BLO and repeat the drying and light 4 Ought steel wool again. Then I take a smooth, close weave cotton cloth and hand buff the stock good to make sure no damp finish is left. Let dry again for at least 4 days. Then If I want a nice high shie to the stock, I take polishing paste from Brownell's #3 or #5 and a soft close weave cotton cloth back with felt and with light pressure polish the whole stock. Then I let it sit and dry for at least a week or 2 and using a stock cleaner, I clean the whole stock good. Then I use John and Johns paste wax or a good stock wax from Brownell's and polish the stock and I'm done. A lot of work but the results are well worth it to me. I have been highly complimented by several gunsmiths and the only stock maker I know on the results of my stocks. It is the method I learned years ago from Jim Carmichael that they were complimenting--not me --anybody can get the same results if they are willing to go the extra mile. James

[rtracy2001]

Well, I went looking for Tung oil, and came up blank, so I went looking for BLO, and came up blank (refused to buy a whole gallon). Stopped by the local smith and he suggested something called Arrow Wood Finish. it is an oil based finish that smells like it was cut with a little alcohol. The guys there showed me a stock or wto they wer working on, and the results looked and felt promising, so I decided to give it a shot. As per their directions I treated the raw wood with a Birchwood Casey sealer, sanded that off (lightly) then applied sparingly. Before and after 1 coat shown below.

Before:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/tracraym/IMG_0443.jpg

after 1st coat:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/tracraym/stock3.jpg

closeup:
http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t23/tracraym/stock2.jpg

Not bad to my eyes.

[gnoahhh]

Not bad. How durable is that finish? Plus, I gotta ask, why didn't you grind/fit/sand the recoil pad before you started finishing? (Maybe the finish is just to see what it'll look like when done, no?)

[largom]

Nice looking stock, recoil pad needs some work. The hardest finish for a stock that I have used is the automotive "clear coat" that is applied over automotive paint. This is a two part epoxy finish and when cured is very hard. You can leave it glossy or buff with oooo steel wool for a satin finish. It is not the easiest thing to work with but gives a very hard finish.

Larry

[rtracy2001]

Not bad. How durable is that finish? Plus, I gotta ask, why didn't you grind/fit/sand the recoil pad before you started finishing? (Maybe the finish is just to see what it'll look like when done, no?)

I was anxious to see what the stock would look like. I will be grinding the recoil pad on a belt sander after tracing the outline of the stock with a scribe.

Durrability claims to be excellent, but everybody says that about their own. I'll have to put it through its paces when I finish the rifle. OTOH, it has held up well to my butterfingers (I dropped it :oops:)

[nanuk]

Nice looking stock, recoil pad needs some work. The hardest finish for a stock that I have used is the automotive "clear coat" that is applied over automotive paint. This is a two part epoxy finish and when cured is very hard. You can leave it glossy or buff with oooo steel wool for a satin finish. It is not the easiest thing to work with but gives a very hard finish.

Larry

in the wooden bow archery world, there is s mix using 2 part epoxy cut with acetone. can't remember the ratio. Supposed to be very tough and flexible.


another "Trick" was to cut tung oil with acetone, and soak arrows in it. adds weight but supposed to make them very water resistant as the oil really soaks in

[TXTad]

Linseed oil.

[hornsurgeon]

i have done many and keep coming back to true oil.

[nanuk]

on a dirty old bubba'd mauser, I used shoe polish and a heat gun.

melted gobs of it in, and buffed it up... it was irridecsent and somehow kind of camo'd

looked very neat. I'd try it again on clean wood.