gunstock finishing

[ulav8r]

I used the same same oil for the sanding//filling as was used for the final finish. Mixing products might or might not work with each other.

[AviatorTroy]

I’m pretty traditional with stocks, but certainly no fine woodworker. I’ve been happy with the following technique..

Sand down to about 320 grit, before the final sanding wipe down the stock with a slightly damp cloth to raise the grain. 3 fairly thick coats of tru oil, 24 hours apart. After a few days I wet sand with 1000 grit and mineral spirits, lightly wipe off but leave some residue. 3 more thinner coats, do the same thing again. Final coat true oil thinned 50-50 with mineral spirits. One could rub this out with rotten stone but I burnish it with a piece of denim and maybe a little paste wax. I’m not after the ultra glossy Weatherby type finish but more of a classic sporting type firearms stock finish which this does well with.

The great thing about this technique is that after a few years at the range and in the field you can do another quick wet sanding and thinned out coating and it will look better each time.

Here’s the last one I did like that. Bishop stock on a Mauser.

https://ibb.co/wg4xsBr

Currently de-bubbaing a No1 Mk4 chopped down sporter stock, soaked to the core with 80 years of oil, not sure this is going to work out. But one thing I know is my son will definitely enjoy shooting it!

[gnoahhh]

I did the Epoxy Finish on stocks before.
It comes out looking like a Weatherby finish.
It took a LONG time to finish.
But it is just not the look that I prefer.
But it is almost as weather resistant as a plastic stock.

Note I didn't advocate epoxy as a finish, merely as a pore filler. Sand it down to the bare wood surface without intruding into the pores.

Someone mentioned rubbing out a finish with 0000 steel wool. That's fine if you don't mind microscopic steel fibers being embedded which will truly turn into little brown rust freckles the first time it gets wet. Rubbing out is most properly accomplished with rottenstone and a felt pad.

[DonHowe]

There are also traditional fillers as sold by Brownells and others. These are applied to bare woodfilling the pores prior to application of finish.
When finishing my last stock I used Timbermate wood filler thinned with water to a thick slurry. I applied this liberally, let dry and sanded back. I did this twice. When sanded back all that remained was in the pores.
This stock was finished with Wipe On Poly.

[Outpost75]

I was taught to wet sand and use steam from a teakettle to raise the grain, then dry sand smooth. Then dilute a good grade of marine spar varnish with equal parts by liquid volume of gum spirits of turpentine and use as sanding lubricant with 400-grit wet or dry paper, working the mud into the cross grain. Let dry until tacky, then use rag of washed burlap to apply 50-50 mixture of boiled linseed oil and the diluted spar varnish in a spitshine fashion covering stock. Let dry overnight until tacky, repeat on successive days until desired depth of finish is achieved. If you want a shiny finish coat apply last using with wet parachute silk then after drying to tacky buff and remove excess tack with dry silk. Old school method.