Weather/water-proofing nice wood stocks?

[Blackwater]

I've long glass bedded all my hunting rifles, and at the same time, used oil or poly to "seal" the end grain at the butt, grip, inside the action mortises, and the barrel channel, in an effort to keep the wood from soaking up moisture/humidity (here in Ga., it's hard to tell the difference sometimes). Do any of you have a better technique/substance to use for this? Nothing will ever be more beautiful than figured walnut or maple, but wood CAN absorb moisture, and that CAN cause POI shifts and other problems. I have a few rifles I'd like to "waterproof" as much as I can, and I just know someone out there has the technical knowledge and expertise to have found a better way, at least hopefully. What do you guys do, and how do you "weatherproof" your wood stocks?

[jcren]

Minwax makes a "hand-rubbed" polyurethane product that I have used a lot on cedar arrows and a couple stocks. Will look at the can later, but is a very thin finish that absorbs deeper into the wood than anything I have tried, 5-6 coats will give a oil finish satin appearance and it is a hardwood floor grade poly.

[44man]

I have dipped stocks in Wood Life to soak. But the best finish has always been True Oil.
Paste wax has always worked too. Stuff the barrel channel with it.

[seaboltm]

I use poly in the areas you mention. I know of no better way.

[waksupi]

I experimented with just about everything on the market. None of them will keep moisture out. Closest thing was heavily waxed marine varnish.

[Jack Stanley]

I did a Set of wood for a Garand once with thinned spar urethane so it would soak as deep as possible . Since it would try to bleed back out while it was drying I would keep wiping off anything that surfaced until nothing came out . Wait a couple weeks between coats then do it again . I think mine took four coats and each used less material than the one before .

It seems to work very well and the finish is somewhat dull like it was a military finish .

Jack

[fecmech]

Closest thing was heavily waxed marine varnish.
Marine Spar varnish is your best bet. Tru oil and other linseed oil finishes are water resistant but not waterproof.

[Artful]

When I lived in Oregon you hunted in the rain - all day - everyone of the old timer's I learned from advised paste wax on the metal and the wood - buff it with a cotton rag to heat it and flows and forms an even coating - worked for me.

[M-Tecs]

The very best I have found is West Marine two part clear epoxy. http://www.westmarine.com/buy/west-system---105-epoxy-resin--P004_120_001_503

[gnoahhh]

I combine West System epoxy + marine grade spar varnish. Epoxy on the raw wood, blocked out, and successive coats of gloss spar varnish (blocked out between coats) until the finish is as I want it. Rub out final coat to knock down the gloss, and then a good paste wax to top it off and restore a luster to the finish. Pretty labor intensive for sure, but the end result is worth it.

Gloss spar varnish rather than semi-gloss? Gloss has a skinch better UV resistance. Use the best (most expensive) spar varnish you can get. The better grades (such as Epifanes) have a seriously high solids content. Avoid polyurethane if you can help it. It drys harder than spar varnish and has no "give" in it, which can lead to checking if subjected to extremes of moisture.

Oil finish? Beautiful and warm as all get out, but if the stock is headed outside for serious hunting in all weather, no oil finish for me. At least wax the bejapers out of it if you do.

The few times I use an oil finish I mix my own with pure tung oil (or linseed oil- no real world difference between them), spar varnish, and mineral spirits to adjust viscosity. I also always fill the pores first as a separate operation by using either varnish or epoxy and sanding back to raw wood surface leaving pores filled. Epoxy is best as there is then no risk of the pore "fillage" contracting over time. I then proceed with the "oil" treatment.

Wet sanding in oil finish is a rather poor means of filling pores, IMO. Shrinkage is almost bound to happen, and I have watched oil finish-filled pores wash right out in a monsoon-like rain storm I got caught out in once. Tru Oil was the culprit then.

Oil finishes used on military and factory guns for centuries? Yep, because they all wanted the cheapest/quickest finish possible not necessarily the very best finish possible.

[Blackwater]

Thanks for the observations and experiences. I'll probably only get in a sprinkle here, but this has been a sore spot for all of us who love those nice oil finishes, and I have a stock that I really want to make sure is preserved to the best level possible. I'm thinking the marine spar varnish - the most expensive I can find here - will likely be thinned and it'll get multiple applications as has been suggested. You guys who hunt in constantly rainy weather have been a BIG help. THANKS!

[M-Tecs]

I combine West System epoxy + marine grade spar varnish. Epoxy on the raw wood, blocked out, and successive coats of gloss spar varnish (blocked out between coats) until the finish is as I want it. Rub out final coat to knock down the gloss, and then a good paste wax to top it off and restore a luster to the finish. Pretty labor intensive for sure, but the end result is worth it.

Gloss spar varnish rather than semi-gloss? Gloss has a skinch better UV resistance. Use the best (most expensive) spar varnish you can get. The better grades (such as Epifanes) have a seriously high solids content. Avoid polyurethane if you can help it. It drys harder than spar varnish and has no "give" in it, which can lead to checking if subjected to extremes of moisture.



I will have to try the spar varnish. I have always used Deft Satin polyurethane over the West System epoxy. This is mostly on NRA match rifles or M14/M1A service rifles so none have ever been subjected to extremes of moisture. I stated using the West System epoxy solely for point of impact stability but it the toughest most attractive finish I am aware of. Like you stated it is labor intensive. Also when you block the epoxy looks like hell until you apply the top coat of finish.

I have not tried checkering on the epoxy but that defeats the water proofing.

[44man]

Having had many wood boats and canoes along with the oak threshold at my garage door. Spar varnish has been tossed. I actually use interior urethane varnish at the door now. It gives me 5 years over spar.
Best for stocks is Tru Oil. Next is epoxy or vise- versa. Epoxy is hard to use and the clean up is horrid if you spray.
Tru oil has one problem, you will get layers if you rub it out. I found the solution. Fill the grain first until all grain is filled. Then thin tru oil for a touch up spray gun. Mineral spirits. Spray a coat, prop it up until it sets but does NOT dry, spray again and do it over and over for 5 or six coats. Never let it dry fully. Each coat will melt into another so at the end you will have a thick, one piece coat.
Now let it dry until you can not smell it, might take two weeks or more. I have propped stocks in the truck cab in the sun to speed it up, you will not hurt it.
You can rub it out all you want without breaking layers.
Seal the end grain under the butt plate with as much as needed to soak it up several times.
I have used everything you can buy on custom stocks but found nothing better. Some stuff never dries. Some dry so fast you can't blend it.
I would not waste the work with spar varnish.

[M-Tecs]

A hand-rubbed Tru-Oil finish can be truly beautiful but Tru-Oil and durable or well sealed shouldn't be used in the same sentence.

For really good sealing and hardening of wood much better products are currently available.

Double Guns method for using epoxy as a sealer http://doublegunshop.com/stokeld1.htm

[44man]

We hunted a week in driving rain (No luck either, deer were smarter then us!) I had my .54 with Tru Oil, no damage at all.
My friend had a TC Hawken and the stock was ruined, finish gone and the wood swelled 1/8" or more. I had to refinish it for him.
But the toughest finish is what Remington used. It was epoxy of some kind.
That was a good article and I can see the work involved. Acra Glass hardly ever goes bad to where it can't be used. Heat it up if it thickens and it comes back to clear liquid. Let it cool and it still works.
The best heat gun to use is the one made for plastic model airplane covering. They only get to 400° max. The others get to 1500°, not good.
I don't sand filler coats, I use 0000 steel wool but epoxy is harder.147149147150 Try the sanding on one of my custom ML stocks!
I will stay with Tru Oil on these. This rifle is 35 years old now and still looks new. I can't see for beans to do this anymore. Same with my checkering. 147151

[44man]

I had some punky wood to checker, just one side of a rifle. I soaked the wood with super glue but still lost a diamond here and there. I use Accra Glass and the stain to build the wood back and re cut the diamonds. You will never find them!
Notice I don't use borders on checkering.

[Markbo]

If you don't want to refinish with Tru Oil and like the finish on the gun already just use Johnson's Paste wax inside and out. Super thin waterproof barrier.

[44man]

I found a better wax called bowling alley wax. But never let it dry before buffing. You will NOT remove it. Like old car wax that you did small areas at a time.

[Blackwater]

44man, when you speak, I tend to listen. And BTW, did you do the woodwork and carving on that nice ML'er? BEAUTIFUL, whoever did it! Those are the most beautiful arms ever made by the hands of man! Spent some time, over half a day, at the Smithsonian once, just communing with the spirits of the old ML'ers they had on display. If you sit and listen, they really DO have stories to tell!

[Char-Gar]

You cannot water proof a gunstock, but you can make it water resistant for a period of time. Like others said, Tru-Oil is about as good as it gets for this purpose.

My solution is simple. Don't take fancy wood stocks out in the rain. Have a backup rifle with a non-wood stock...use that one when it rains. You do have more than one rifle, don't you?

[duckey]

I'll second jcren on the minwax poly. I have not used it on a stock, except for sealing the butt prior to installing a pad. I have used it on a dining room table and it came out real nice and with 6 coats has stood up to. You might be able rinsing finish with this as well.

[44man]

44man, when you speak, I tend to listen. And BTW, did you do the woodwork and carving on that nice ML'er? BEAUTIFUL, whoever did it! Those are the most beautiful arms ever made by the hands of man! Spent some time, over half a day, at the Smithsonian once, just communing with the spirits of the old ML'ers they had on display. If you sit and listen, they really DO have stories to tell!
Yes, it is what I used to do. I got wood from a kiln in Ohio, they sent a post card when they opened the doors. I would get a thick, long plank of curly maple for $30, enough to make many stocks.
I ran out of money once and had to pass on a wonderful curly cherry plank.
The long rifle also has a swamped barrel, darn thing took two weeks to inlet. It is a Douglas .45.
I made all the brass, silver inlays and parts except the butt plate and trigger guard. I have silver rings inlayed in the barrel too. Undercut and beat in.
The checkered rifle is my 6.5X55 Swede. The wood is cherry from a tree in my woods that fell. Wonderful wood to work and checker while maple must be cut cross grain or it will chunk.
I made all my own tools, store bought would not cut.
The best "V" cutters are made from triangular files. Those you buy will slip and tear.
I left the ML's 1/8" thicker for the carving and had to take wood down to dimensions between carving.
I built many "KIT" rifles for guys, Lyman the best rifles. Hard to carve when the stocks are at final dimensions.
I also engraved the inlays. The home made patch box has a turkey on it.147238

[44man]

POOR pictures, cheap camera and I am not a photographer. Never get light right!

[44man]

Here is another picture of the Swede.147239147240
Out of focus mostly. I never figured out how to get full pictures.

[quilbilly]

When I lived in Oregon you hunted in the rain - all day - everyone of the old timer's I learned from advised paste wax on the metal and the wood - buff it with a cotton rag to heat it and flows and forms an even coating - worked for me.
Dittos to that - I put a couple coats of Johnson Paste Wax on all of the wood stocks I carry in the rain then re-wax once a year. I also hunt in a high quality green poncho and keep the rifle inside. The shiny dark green poncho has the added benefit of being the best camouflage I know of during the PacNW monsoons since you look just like a rain soaked small Sitka spruce tree. The deer (and elk) get really confused when a Sitka spruce moves and a rifle appears.

[44man]

Wax is great. I did a lot of flinter hunting and pan powder got wet. I found water was going in the barrel channel and back to the lock. Even with extreme tight fit I had. You have to peel my barrels out.
I put paste wax in the channel and squeezed the barrels in and put the excess all over the gun. It sure helped.

[Blackwater]

44man, that is some AWESOME work! I used to be able to draw, but never develped it, so have little talent for it now. I'm just good enough to really screw something up, it seems, and THAT is the worst of all possible states for anyone who's ever toyed with the idea of engraving. Your work stands on its own, as does the carving. A local man recently moved here from Ohio, and had a number of highly carved guns that he's selling off now, and they are VERY impressive! Very much like the old work seen on the KY & PA rifles, and some of the German sporters of the past. His style is unique, and not copied. Some I like, taste-wise, and some not so much, but even the "worst" (in my mind) is very well done, and is impressive. All gunmaking and gunsmithing involves the artistic sense, and usually temperament, and that's one of the things, I think, that keeps it so interesting and relevant. Artificers of all types have always been a very unique segment of humanity - very talented, goal oriented, serious and just generally capable. What's NOT to respect about them? Yeah, some get grumpy in their old age, but they come by it quite honestly. I'd rather sit and talk with a real gunsmith or other type artisan than any other general class of people I know. They're MUCH more knowledgeable, don't mind sharing, and they're just plain interesting.

No matter what men may find themselves wanting, the final question always winds up being "how to get it." The gunsmith and other artificers are the folks with the answer to those questions, and that really isn't a small thing!

Again, great work. I'd very much like to meet you one day, and sit and talk over a cup of coffee. I think we could relate to each other very well. Either that, or we'd wind up arguing over some fine point. But that's part of the artistic tempearament, and no antidote has ever been found for it yet. Ain't it funny how that works? ;^)

[44man]

We would never argue and I stand by that.
There are things I would never attempt, engraving a revolver or such. Inlaying gold into engraving, HOW DO THEY DO THAT. I am simple and know when to quit.
Look at the real old guns that are works of art. I still feel good but have never advanced to the world of masters.
My feeling for the old PA gunsmiths is admiration, heck they made their own barrels and rifled them.
You would find me a plain old Fart that prefers Scotch over coffee. We would be the best of friends but don't expect magic or an artist.
I might work harder but my claim to fame is loading over 150 bags in the front of a 737 when the load planner told me zero rear.
I am just a guy that can do most anything but a master of none. But I might be one of the best at soldering copper water lines.
Want to get a 700# gun safe down the basement stairs? I can do it myself with no strain. Might need a little help to start but I will ease it down. If you think you can get it back up without me, good luck.
I am no different then all of you. You can do it.

[Blackwater]

I dunno, 44man, most of the artists I've ever known denied what they really were, like my buddy that I've been teaching to tie flies. He was a mechanic of one form or another most all his life, along with being a roughneck on oil well rigs on land and at sea. He's one of a kind, and a mixture of very interesting traits. He's fighting cancer now, and I keep him in my prayers, along with many others. I have a sense that really GOOD artists always think they're also-rans, simply because they never seem to be able to quite reach their own impossible standards. And like you, those old 'smiths that made the PA/KY rifles have always been a source of great wonder for me. They did so VERY much with soo very little to work with! Even small amounts of steel were treasured. Even the smallest bit could be made into rifling cutters, etc. Dillin's book is one of my all time favorites. I always sit and marvel at the simplicity of the "machines" they made, mostly if not entirely of wood. They had to know what woods would stay stable, like cherry for one, and what would happen and how to deal with it when humidity changed and affected the very fine stuff they did like rifling barrels. Amazing talents, and storehouses of very practical and consequential knowledge! And so very underappreciated these days. But there'll always be a few who'll always understand (at least partially) and appreciate what they did, and how they had to achieve the things they did. They literally contributed heavily to the very formation of this country! Without those "squirrel rifles" picking off redcoats, things would be a LOT different now!

And about the scotch, I've never drank enough to appreciate it like its devotees seem to, but I'm always willing to try! Enjoy, brother. Wish I was there to buy you one!

[44man]

I read about a gun maker in PA back then that had a water wheel for power. His wood rifling machine was set up to it and he would set up and go to bed. In the morning the barrel was done. How did he index and move cutters?
To rifle they made a shallow cut and added a shim to cut deeper, over and over, then start again with the next groove. How did he control cut depths? How did he bring the rod back to the same groove until it was done, then reset.
It can twist your brain and it makes me feel so stupid. They would build a rifle and make a mold to fit by hand, making the ball cutter and filing the cutting edges out of poor steel and making it hard enough to cut iron. They did not have a micrometer. Measuring tools were hand made.
History shows we have not advanced much for thousands of years. What was done by hand now takes machines and robots.
But if you can sand a stock and put a nice finish on it, you deserve admiration. Fix things in the house or car is the same, don't need to be an expert.
I have a problem to solve for a neighbor. He bought a huge mower with all the roller cutters and had a broken line. he had the wrong easy outs so I gave him mine. He got the piece out. But he has a broken off street elbow drain broken off. can't fit an easy out. There is a plate only 2" from the broken piece. I asked if he could remove the plate or drill a hole to get an easy out in but do not know yet. How do I make one to fit the space and grab the piece? I need to go look at it, have not seen it yet.
Put yourself back a few hundred years. Could you build a cabin with an axe? Could you dig a 100' well by hand? Not me! Then after all the work the Indians killed all of you.
Life was harsh and short but they could make use of it and the smartest created our constitution.
Look what runs our government today. They are a tick bite in history.
I was out of work for a while, got a part time job making poured basements. The small forms were 45# and the long ones 90#. Had to take off the truck and carry to the hole and let them down to setters. They were full of form oil and I used a leather pad on my shoulder. I was there when the concrete trucks came and the boss would keep saying "add water" to flow 40' or 60'. NO, never add water to concrete. I knew that. He had basements fail with heavy rain with water shooting like rivers. No re rod in the walls. That is what we have today. Profit only.

[nekshot]

I settled the rain issue with a couple fiberglass stocks, no worry!

[Clay M]

I use laminated stocks and stainless rifles to hunt in the rain, but I rarely bother.
When I was young I use to hunt in the rain, and my father laughed at me..
Back then I would hunt in 15F or any weather.
Now not so much.
I care very little about hunting..
I am a shooter.
I wouldn't walk across the street to shoot a deer.
I occasionally kill one for meat,and I still go just for the experience.
I rent my best land to hunters who still enjoy it more than I do.

I spend what little time I have left trying to figure out how to make a gun shoot more accurately, or how to play a particular jazz standard, and make it come out in a way that someone would enjoy listening to it.

But ultimately, if I was going to hunt the rain, I would use my Ruger #1 .45/70
in stainless laminate. That or one of my Steyrs that are impervious to the weather.

[725]

There used to be a product called "Armadillo" for sealing gun stocks. Been a long time, but as I remember it, it was good.

[avogunner]

On my 03 and Garand, only BLO.
http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armorers-corner/wood-cleaning-article/

Semper Fi.

[Blackwater]

44man, I caught that story about the nice curly cherry wood. Just thought I'd relate a little story to you about how I really messed up on a really nice piece of cherry once myself. I dropped by an old farmer's house who let me hunt on his land. Before I left, I asked if there was anything he needed help with, and he said as a matter of fact, he was about to go cut down a big tree, and would appreciate the help. Naturally, I vounteered. It turned out to be a huge old cherry tree, so big around I could barely get my arms just over half way around it. I thought for a moment, and asked him to cut it up far enough to leave the stump, where most curly grain is, long enough to maybe make some gunstocks out of if I could get it dried. He was game for that, and we took the tree down. I got the chain saw and cut the roots, and we managed to ge the stump up with plenty of room to make some gunstocks, handles, or whatever. Getting that stump up into the loadbed of my pickup HURT! It was VERY HEAVY! One of many reasons for my back problems today, I guess. Anyway, I got it home, and tended to my aching back first. It rained that night, and I left the stump in the loadbed of the truck, since I couldn't get it out in the shape I was in. Couldn't get to it for several days, though did manage to push it out in the back yard. A few days later, I went to check on it, thinking I was well enough to deal with it then, and found it was checked so badly it was nearly about ready to disintegrate! Talk about SAD! I'm sure that would have been a very nice chunk of wood to make some really neat stocks out of, but .... well, you know. Handling big chunks of wood without the proper tooling CAN hurt ya'! AND destroy the wood as well. Wound up burning what was left of it in the fireplace. Waste not, want not, right?

[44man]

Sad to lose wood. I had a friend give me Manzenita (spelling) roots. Half a truck load too. No way to cut them with all the rock and gravel grown into them. Turn a chainsaw into a rag!
Yeah, sometimes the best wood will check and it takes a lot of effort to control it. There is too much stress there.
Too bad you could not get the rest of the tree. I hate the Alaskan mill, takes forever to cut planks.
I have a 30" bar and need a rip chain but it is so slow to cut you are worn out fast.
Yet I built a lot from the wood. I found to pre cut and stack, sticker in the basement for a month or more before final cuts. Dry down here. 37 to 41% humidity.
Even kiln dried was not ready for a stock.
I read long ago there is an Ethylene glycol product to soak wood in and it will keep it from cracking.
I made this pie cabinet for Carol from white oak.147974 I also made our coffee table from oak. Get moisture right and it will never change.

[Blackwater]

Great work. A man just can't appreciate furniture, gunstocks, knives, etc. nearly as much if he doesn't make it himself, and cutting the raw wood, splitting/planking it and drying it makes us appreciate the "little" things we have more than just going out and using money to buy it. It MEANS something when you have sweat invested in it, and not so much if you don't. I'm sad to report that I've got a yen (call it "temptation?") to go back into knifemaking to make some for myself, a few good friends, and my son and the grandboys now. Whenever the yen hits me, I always think of David Boye's comment in the final chapter of his book on knifemaking, where he said, "Once you complete your first knife, and look at it, and realize how beautiful it is, the second thougt that strikes you is your NEXT one will be just as much work and trouble as the first!" Lot of truth in that, but it's what makes it all worthwhile. Good knives you've made yourself MEAN something more than just being a tool to cut with, and you get to shape it so it feels just right as you progress through all the steps. And you KNOW there's nor shortcuts or compromises to economize involved, too. Just made my youngest grandson a kinve from one of the little Scandi blades that was sold by Dixie Gun Works as a "patch knive." Used aluminum for a small guard since he's so young, and just got some mosaic pins to add a little "class" and "shine" to it. He's still at the stage he likes that sort of thing, and if he doesn't break that sometimes rather brittle blade, it'll last him a lifetime or more, and make a great little usin' knife. Has a deer antler handle I made from one I shot, and he really likes it, but it needed a little "dolling up" for one so young to be really satisfied, so ol' grandaddy just got those mosaic pins to satisfy him. He's not into rustic looking stuff just yet.

And BTW, I've heard, but have never tried it, that paint or even boiled linseed, heated and thinned, poured over the ends of fresh cut stumps CAN stop the checking problem. Can you comment on that? Best is to cut it up immediately into planks, which relieves much of the pressure, and if checking takes place, it'll usually be in only a few pieces. There are some big old trees around, but I hate to cut them, and won't unless they're coming down anyway, which usually means other people are just determined to cut them. We just don't have much good wood any more, and it's a shame to cut what's left. Where it's inevitable, though, I'd like to know for sure how to do it right, and preserve as much as I can for more appropriate use than just firewood. With my back problems now, I'd have to get others to load it up, and maybe even do some of the cutting, but ... concessions to gettin' older and the "sins of the past" have to be paid, and if this is the way it has to be, I darn well earned every scar. Can't rightly complain about that, can I? I'm just glad and happy to still BE here! That kind'a firms up a man's values, and clarifies his focus on the things we have and do, and one day leave behind. That's not a bad thing, at all, either!

Any info you can provide on preserving good pieces of now rare quality woods would be appreciated. I've talked to folks at commercial sawmills, but their techniques are "hurry up and git'r done" types, and don't necessarily translate over to the big trees with huge compression in the stumps, like most nicely figured woods, so ... the search for knowledge in this continues.

[44man]

I bought some stuff you paint the ends of logs with to slow moisture release from the ends. Sort of like a latex stuff.
Got it from Wood Craft, called green wood end sealer.
Made some knives over the years myself. I found bayonet blades and made a skinner and left one whole.
I made the folder from tool steel and scrap brass from a scrap yard. I inlayed rose wood into the handle. 148049 The other handles are lignum vitea.

[Ed in North Texas]

If you truly want to keep moisture out of wood to the greatest degree possible, there's a product called Rot Doctor Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES). It is a water thin two part epoxy with resin which the company claims is made from wood. I've used it for boat repair and it really is about as thin as water and penetrates bare wood very well. Never tried it as a finish and don't know what finishes would work over it (if desired). I'm sure the company would be happy to answer that question.

[Blackwater]

Thanks for the tip, Ed. I'll have to look it up and see. There are so many new products out there, and I've been out of the loop long enough, that I suspected some new stuff had come out that I wasn't aware of. Thank you.

[huntrick64]

I used to be a tru-oil follower, then spar urethane, then epoxy finish, but now I am just sold on simple paraffin wax (true canning wax is 100% paraffin). I heat the wood up with a blow drier (or heat gun set on low) enough to melt the wax as I rub it on the finish. I chase the melted wax around with the blow drier. As the warm wood draws in the paraffin, I add more. I keep doing this until the wood is satisfied, then wipe the excess wax off with a soft cotton rag while the wood is still warm. Then buff to whatever luster you want. You can do sections at a time and overlap applications.

It is so simple and quick that you don't feel it would protect the wood. It does! I started doing this to my self bows after reading about Dean Torges' moisture tests. He compared all of our traditional finishes and completely submersed the wood samples for something like 24 hours, then tested with quality moisture meters Paraffin and shellac were the two winners and paraffin is a whole lot easier to apply and more durable. Plus, if (read as "when") you stock receives a hard ding, you simply attack it with more paraffin. I have never seen anyone who wasn't amazed at it as a wood finish for the outdoors. The last few stocks I have refinished, I used paraffin and the water still runs off like it did when I finished it.

Another plus for stocks is that it is easy to grip a stock finished with paraffin.

My 2 centavos

[Markbo]

Id sure like to see some pics if you have any. :)

[44man]

I have a product made by Young Country made to use alone but darn if it doesn't appear to be the same as the patch lube and sizing lube they sell.
Someday I will try it on scrap.

[FromTheWoods]

Pure Tung Oil (no additives or distillates) and Mineral Spirits mixed 1 to 1. Leaves the stocks looking beautiful, and doesn't gum up, slough off, get slippery in the rain.
I do hunt Oregon's Coast Range, and this is the best I've found.

Be careful of those products that can increasingly darken or harden your wood.

[Ed in North Texas]

Thanks for the tip, Ed. I'll have to look it up and see. There are so many new products out there, and I've been out of the loop long enough, that I suspected some new stuff had come out that I wasn't aware of. Thank you.

Glad to help.