filling pores in a stock that has inlays

[whomeno]

ok, I got a stock from a remington 788. I belive it is birch, it has walnut inlays on it. how would I go about filling the grain? the inlays are a dark walnut.would I do the stock, then do the inlays?
Thanks

[bangerjim]

Use a professional wood filler. It is avaialble from Woodcraft. I use it all the time for open grained woods. It is silica dust suspended in a fast drying oil that sets up and fills the grain nicely. Once dried you can sand and rub it to your little heart's content. Yields a perfectly flat smooth surface on open grained woods. It is avaialble in light and dark colors.

That is how I get glass-like finishes with sprayed lacquer on walnut, mahogany and oak surfaces.

Please note: wood filler is NOT that horrible pastic wood carp you can buy in bog box stores!!!!!!!

[pietro]

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The proper application of a common stock finishing product (like TruOil) will fill the pores of both the stock & the inlays at the same time.

The app involves applying the finish via rubbing it into the wood (using a fingertip instead of a cloth will prevent the finishing oil from being pulled out of the pores while rubbing), section by section, until a coat has been evenly applied to every area of the stock & letting it dry overnite B 4 rubbing/cutting each coat down to the bare wood with a clean/new pad of OOOO steel wool.

The steel wool residue should be removed from the stock (I use a horseshoe magnet) before starting the next coat.

Repeat as req'd until the grain/pores are filled.


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[bangerjim]

"Repeat as req'd until the grain/pores are filled."

That is the time-consuming problem using oils and VOC-based finishes to try to fill gaps and grains. They are NOT designed to fill voids or grains.

A true wood filler as I described above actually and completely fills the grain pattern with material (ultra-fine silica dust) and hardens. One application and you are done. No rinse and repeat needed.

This is the stuff we professional wood refinishers and antique restorers use to get the job done right.

There is a HUGE vast world of materials (both wood and metal) and techniques outside the micro-sized universe of just "gun stuff" that is very useful. Think outside the ammo box - and be amazed what is available to make your tasks and projects much easier and more professional.

Good luck with your project!

bangerjim

[Ballistics in Scotland]

It would be useful if any of those inlays have come out or been chipped, to show how thick they are. If they have been made of thin cabinetmakers' veneers, and sanded a bit, they may not be thick enough to sand any more without something embarrassing happening.

I don't know that a magnet would totally guarantee removal of steel wool fragments, and rust will discolour light inlays. Bronze wool, available from Brownells, would probably be better.

I agree, you need something better than the ordinary hardware store plastic wood (cellulose based) or wood-filling epoxy, as they won't enter the grain properly. If it is wood with unusually coarse pores, I suppose plastic wood thinned with cellulose thinners might be some good. Varnish or cellulose lacquer thickened with talcum powder can also be a useful filler. But you can be lucky with any of these and it still won't be any better, if no worse, than the products bangerjim recommends. They all work better on a newly exposed surface than on pores with dirt in them.

[Geezer in NH]

Silica fills pores super.

But when you are going to checker the stock after it is tuff on the cutters other than the carbides used in a rotary tool. But cutters are relatively cheap.

Not checkering I will use it every time!

[Jeff Michel]

Brownell's carry's a product call French Red, It was a combination of filler and stain. It very closely matched the pre-64 Winchester shade of reddish hue. I've used it on birch and it looks pretty good, depending on the grain pattern, on birch there won't be much. Like suggested earlier, put it on, I use a brush, let it dry and buff it of with a cloth ACROSS the grain, if you go with the grain, you will wipe it out of the pores. Mix it well with a stick, the silica will settle to the bottom. Then just apply your favorite finish. Don't rush it and it will turn out super. Good luck

[bangerjim]

That stuff ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ sounds like professional wood filler like I use. Applicaiton is the same. And results sound similar. I use Colors in Japan to achieve the colors I need by mixing them with either light or dark filler. With 12 different Japan colors, I can get anything I want.

Sounds like Brownell's has something that is targeted to a gun stock color specifically.

Banger

[HangFireW8]

Brownell's product is one of the survivors of the Herter's empire. I have some, and it really does look like the older Winchester red finish.

For filling wood that is going to be checkered (not sure if that is the case here), I don't use silica fillers, I use Roy Dunlop's method. Before final sanding, when you've moved from coarse to medium sandpaper, sanding is done wet with the finish, making a slurry of wood sanding dust and the finish. Make sure it has good coverage, let it harden and then then cut it down with the fine sandpaper until smooth. Repeat if necessary. The wood pulp provides the filler bulk.

If you're dealing with birch or beach, as already mentioned, it doesn't stain worth a darn, you have to mix in the color with the finish. I like to do it during the initial coats, so it's under the final clear coats. That makes for a finish that looks more realistic and not just painted-on... which it is.

Back to the original question... I'd have to see the inlays, and ask what level of refinishing you're doing, is there checkering involved, is it in the wood or the inlays, etc.

[Wayne Smith]

If you are gonna use a colored filler be sure you seal your inlays first. An artist's brush and shellac will do it.

[whomeno]

here is the finished stock. I did not do the inlet work.165506

[HangFireW8]

Looks like it already has a gloss finish?

If so, it's a little late to fill the pores. You can try more clear gloss coats and sand them down smooth, but you'll still see unfilled pores underneath. Or, you can sand it all off and do it all over the right way. But for me, the right way would start by using a better grade of wood.