help with getting dimples in tru oil

[whomeno]

Hi guys,
I have done 4 stocks so far with tru oil and they have all came out great. I am doing one know that has me pulling my hair out ( what I have left that is). these are my steps. cleaned stock of old finish. sanded to 400. whiskered. covered in tru oil till it did not take any more, wiped off access. filled pours took 4 times. lightly went over it with 0000 steel wool. cleaned stock of steel wool left over. put 1st coat of tru oil on, and get dimples in finish. this is the second complete go around. the frist go i used my finger to apply like i did to all the other ones. this time i used a rag to apply. and got the same results. someone please help me with this before i go insane.it is hard too see in the pic.

[quack1]

Might be getting some oil from your steel wool. Degrease your steel wool or use the finest grit of scotch-brite in place of steel wool.

[whomeno]

what would be the bets way to degrease the steel wool? i have some acetone

[GhostHawk]

You may have just gotten a hard one. When I refinished my Yugo SKS stock I hardly sanded at all as I wanted to preserve the carved name, battle damage, etc. It seemed to take 4 coats before I started seeing any shiny.

Keep putting on hair thin layers with extra attention to where it is thin. I do a light sand/rub between layers to level it out. Just keep filling those holes until they fill.

You may not be able to just put 3-4 light coats on and be done. It might have had dry spots, a crack that did not quite come through to the surface, etc. Don't give up, take a deep breath, give it a coat every day until those dimples go away. Once an area is smooth and shiny, shift focus to the next problem area.

[Rick Hodges]

Pores not filled. I sand the oil in ,with the grain, then use tissue to wipe across the grain forcing the slurry into the pores and let it dry. I will keep this up until none of the pores "wink" at me as I examine them in a strong cross light. I can't tell from your picture exactly what "dimples" you are seeing, but sanding the finish into the wood is the easiest way to fill the pores with True-oil. Before I learned this method it was not unusual for me to use 40 or more coats before getting a decent finish. Once the pores are filled three thin hand rubbed coats cut back with steel wool put the semi gloss oil sheen on the stock that I look for.

[whomeno]

Rick, I have done the same thing with filling the pores. but still getting dimples in the finish.

[Outer Rondacker]

I did one a while back on a old 340 savage. Same thing stripped it then sanded to 800. Sanded with oil and filled the pores. Four coats later hit it with 2000 grit light to take off the oils from my hands. I used hot soapy water for a wet sand with the 2000g. I put all my coats on by finger but make sure you have rubber gloves on not to get oil back on the stock after drying. I cut one finger off the rubber glove to apply the oil. Worked for me.

Did you steam the old oil out?

[waksupi]

I've finished a couple hundred guns with Truoil. Use your steel wool more aggressively. Once you have done that, rub it down with a paper towel. Even on exhibition grade guns, I have never found it necessary to sand beyond 320. I never wet sand. Not necessary.
Put on a fairly heavy coat the first time, then lighter coats two more times. Rub out, repeat as necessary. I don't remember ever doing more than 12 coats for a good finish. Be sure to let the finish dry real well before rub out, that is where people usually run into problems.

This is the last one I finished.

163535

[whomeno]

outer, i have never steamed any. could you give me the details on steaming them?

[whomeno]

waksupi, I have done a few so far with out any problems. the last one was an ithica ls55, which came out great. i'm now working on the sister gun of the ls55 and run it to this. i just sanded down with 600, put another coat on,and it is looking better then the last coat. i guess this is just an oddball stock this time

[Outer Rondacker]

You can do it over a hot tub of water or with an iron. Lay a very damp rag over the stock and run a iron on it lightly. This will also take dents out of the stock if you have any. I should note I have never done it after putting on any tru oil. Older guns that had been packed in grease are the worst. You have to do this a few times. Stocks that had people put rem oil on them or other oils are the worst.

I have also just used the steam feature on the iron then pat with a dry rag to soak up the oil. Good luck.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

There's good information in all these posts. Probably the dimples are from unfilled pores. I guess everyone who refinishes stocks has a different method and technique. Lots of years ago I attended a gunsmithing school and was taught two stock finished, a high gloss and a satin. The high gloss used Tru Oil and took about a month to get right. Every morning one would sand back the glossy finish and apply a thin coat in a circular manner using the fingers and let it dry for 24 hours until the next morning when the process was repeated. Eventually the pores would fill and a really nice finish would be obtained, but a month is a long time. The satin finish involved using Varathane Plastic Oil Sealer and pore filling using 400 w/d sandpaper. A dab of the VPOS and then rubbing the sandpaper in a circular motion, working up a paste, and smearing it into the pores about a couple of square inches at a time. The paste was allowed to dry, was sanded smooth, and a light coat of carnauba wax applied. They seemed to have discontinued making VPOS, but one could probably get a similar finish using tung oil. Anyway, as the years passed I found both methods to be too time consuming to be commercially profitable and developed my own compromise between the two which was to proceed much as you've done. First I remove all of the deep dings with a cabinet maker's wood rasp, then use a palm sander to bring the finish to 320. I whisker it twice, lightly hand re-sand to 320 and, depending on the individual piece of wood, the pores can be very noticeable. I apply 4 coats of Tru Oil using my finger and rubbing in a circular pattern to smear it across and into the pours. I let it dry for at least 24 hrs. between coats in a warm room, and sand it back lightly between coats so as to just dull the surface but not sand the oil back out of the pours. The coats are heavier than the thin ones we used in gunsmithing school, but not so heavy as to drip or run. After the fourth coat I apply a thin coat of carnauba wax, again in a circular motion with the fingers, and then buff it off with a soft dry cloth. Not as shiny as a high gloss finish, but not as dull as a satin. Some advantages are that the finish is easily repaired in the event of mishap, and when it begins to look a little dull one only needs to apply another very thin coat of wax and buff it off again. Water really beads up well on the surface and doesn't penetrate. Over the years I found out that the trend among hunters was away from the very high gloss finishes as flashes and reflections from the surface could spook animals. So, there...for what it's worth...my 2 cents worth. Rifle in attached photo was finished as described.
163545

[quack1]

what would be the bets way to degrease the steel wool? i have some acetone
That will work, just make sure it's completely evaporated before you use the wool. As you said you have finished stocks before with no problems and have completely filled the grain, I still think your "orange peel" dimples are from some oil or silicone contamination. Also, be sure to wash your hands before applying any finish. If you want to finish without using any steel wool between coats, google "how to use cabinet scrapers".

[whomeno]

Thanks for all the help and all the information.

[pietro]

.

FWIW, I rub a dollar-size spot (one big drop) of TrueOil into the wood with one fingertip, rubbing back/forth & around until the oil dries a bit under the fingertip (a "squeak" can be heard) - then move on the an adjacent area & do the same thing all over, until the entire stock has an even coat of TruOil; then, after every time I rub down a coat of TruOil to the bare stock with 0000 steel wool, I run a strong magnet all over the stock to ensure no steel dust remains to mess up the following coat(s).

Be sure to allow each coat of TruOil to dry a bit (8hrs, or overnite), before rubbing down & applying the next coat.


.


.

[Blackwater]

Much good advice above. Only thing I can add is that most folks seem to forget to rub, scour, the buildup of each coat back down to the bare wood between coats. It takes more than just making it look flat, but really getting back down to the bare wood. The eurethanes or whatever they add to linseed to make Tru Oil take a few days between coats to set up fully and harden right. Most don't have the patience for that, either, oftentimes. An oil finish on a stock is not something a person needs to do when "in a hurry." It's just not going to look like a really nice finish if you hurry it up. And Waksupi's work is exemplary, and Rick's comments are also particularly noteworthy, but all are spot on. I listen when these guys talk.

[gnoahhh]

Dollar to a donut hole somebody along the way wiped that stock down with a silicone-based product, or kept it in a silicone-infused gun sock, or sprayed the metal parts with WD-40. You can strip/prep/sand 'til you're blue in the face and if any of that stuff was on the old finish you can't get rid of it 100%. It is insidious stuff. I don't allow wd-40/ArmorAll/or anything of that nature within a pistol shot of my shop for that reason. All it takes is one molecule of that stuff and bingo, you got a fisheye. In instances such as the OP's, I strip back down to bare wood, wash with TSP, wash with naptha, and finish by washing with mineral spirits. I've had projects where I had to repeat that process three times before I stopped getting fisheyes in the finish. And they wonder why I despise WD-40...

As for oily steel wool. Degreasing hardware store steel wool in acetone is kinda ok, but not 100% foolproof. I just buy quality cabinetmaker's steel wool that comes without any oil in it. Slightly more expensive but oh-my-god worth it. I use Liberon brand, available from most of the good woodworking outfits.

[Wayne Smith]

And one more trick for raising dents with steam. If you have a finish on it take a pin and put pin holes in the finish in the dent and then raise it. Sand lightly and refinish.

[whomeno]

163712 The finished product.

[Walter Laich]

Looks great to me

I'm amazed that you were able to finish it in a couple of days.

Tell us what you did

[whomeno]

I kept sanding it down between coats in the problem areas. not the way I wanted to do it but it worked this time, glad that stock is done and gone. customer was very happy with it.

[44man]

I love Tru Oil. Never had those problems. I fill the pores with it until dead smooth. Steel wool between, all the silly grits to 2000 are a waste of time. Might of just as well use newspaper!
Once filled I thin Tru Oil and spray coats on with a touch up gun. Let it sit until tacky and spray again, over and over without letting any coat fully dry. Each coat will melt into the previous coat so you will have one thick coat at the end. If you use fingers and let dry, rub between, you will break into layers that show.
Once you get all the wet coats on, set the stock away for a length of time until you can not smell it anymore. Might take two weeks or more. I speed it up by sticking the stock in my car in the sun. Just don't let it touch anything. Heat will not harm it.
Now you have a thick coat and can rub it all you want without seeing layers.
I got sick of breaking through layers that can't be hidden, I never got bubbles but after filling pores I gave up finger application and drying fully between. I never use sandpaper but sanding filling coats should work fine. To even go to 400 grit is too much and finer does nothing at all.
There is a difference between filling and final finish.

[44man]

Never shake your finish. Like many finishes, you can stir it slowly but to shake makes bubbles that do not go away. Store Tru Oil bottles upside down. Use as it is, never shake it.

[johnson1942]

please see your pm/s