Stock refinishing...which stain / oil?

G

gedenke

New member
Well, I took the plunge and stripped my riflestock last night. After I do my prep work, I'll be ready to stain and oil. Question is, which stain and/or oil should I use...Tru-oil, linseed, tung? I'm looking to really bring out the nice grain and have a medium reddish-brown finish. Oh, yeah, I don't want a glossy finish, but more of a satin. Any tips or links would be appreciated.
 
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I have used Birchwook Casey producs for years and the finish is holding up rather well. I have also used Tung Oil and Minwax products. Brownell offers many choices and you might want to go there. The Polyurethanes can be tricky but they wear like iron. Make sure that whatever you use, is rated for the outdoors. Also don't forget to protect the butt plate contact area of your stock. Think you will find that everybody has a favorite product. Might add that Tru-Oil is very easy to use and apply at least four coats. Be safe !!!
 
Thanks Pahoo. I can get both Minwax and Tru-oil here in town, but I've noticed that Tru-oil only comes in one color, walnut. I don't want the finish to be too dark. I've used Minwax on furniture before with decent results, but for this rifle, which will be hunted with, I want something very durable, yet attractive.
 
There are numerous finishing agents available, just be sure to use one that is resistant to solvents. Permalyn or Pro-Gun are available from Brownells, and produce a good quality finish. TruOil is probably the best known and most widely available stock finish available off the shelf. It will produce a good quality finish if you put a modicum of prep work into the refinishing job.

Strip off the old finish, sand to 400 grit, de-whisker, then apply a light coat of finish and let dry. Sand with 400 wet/dry paper, wipe with a tack cloth between coats. After the wood is sealed, apply lighter coats of finish. Once the grain is filled, you will begin to see a gloss to the finish, and you can stop at any poin that matches your wishes for dloss, satin, or low-gloss finish.
 
I've done many exotic wood scluptures and something I've found that is hard as glass and brings out grain like a 3D hologram is the 2 to 1 ratio epoxy resin used for laying up carbon fiber. It's a thin syrup when mixed and soaks about 1/8" inch into the wood and stabilizes it (strengthens it, I noticed thin veneer pieces soaked with the stuff get crazy strong) so it would have all the benifits of a composite stock, think of the wood fibers as replacing the carbon fibers. You mix it up, brush it on like poly, and hit it lightly with a propane torch to pop out the bubbles. Then let it get sticky and do a few more coats the same. I only use it on bare wood like bubinga and bloodwood that has a great natural color but the resin can be dyed any color. After I discovered this stuff even polyurathane seems primitive.
 
Minwax Tung Oil Finish is yellower than Formby's, which is redder.

I use Formby's. TOF is very easy to work with. You can do one coat every day until you get the look you want.

Here's a tip. After you're done, let the finish cure for a couple of weeks at least before you start to use it. The finish becomes harder and smoother during curing. Just wrap it in a cloth and put it in a closet.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys, I've never attempted a rifle stock before and need all the help I can get.

BM - That method sounds like it would be interesting to try. I'm getting alot of recommendations for Tru-Oil, which sounds relatively easy, so I think I'll go with that.

Oh, and Wild, I'll post some before-during-after pics as soon as I can. Here's the before:

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Oil would probably be best for a walnut stock. I'd save the resin for a nice colored laminate stock that you can baby. Damn! Now I have a new project stuck in my head!
 
Tung oil

I'm past the fork in the road,I jsut sanded down the 7x57 Mauser stock and ,I have applied 2-coats of low gloss Tung-oil,"Formby's" ,I used no stain....I will suggest using 0000 Steel wool as it does a wonderfull job of smoothing out the stock,I'm using the steel wool between each coat and then blowing off the small amount of dust.....I figure 4 more coats and she'll be done.....The barrel and action are at the gunsmiths being trated witha spary and bake coating in a matte finish.....This is an ole Mauser,That is used mostly during foul weather ......it is an accurate rifle,but was butt ugly ,it needed a face lift ....good luck with you project ...BB34
 
Tack rags are best for removing wood dust and steel wool splinters. (I use 400 sandpaper instead of steel wool.)

you make a tack rag by slightly moistening a lint-free cloth with mineral spirits (maybe a drop of TOF too, to make it sticky).
 
I went down a similar path with my CZ. The brown gunk factory finish really masked the figure in the wood. I went with an in-the-wood finish as opposed to the on-the-wood factory finish. I used Var-Oil. Hand rubbed 12 coats and wet sanded 3 times. Then put two coats of Johnson's Paste Wax over the finish. It came out pretty nice.

Refinidhedstock1.jpg
 
flash, that's a fine looking rifle, well done!

As for mine, although it's not as nice as yours, here it is after just two coats of Tru-Oil, with a 0000 steel wool rub down in between. I decided to NOT use the Birchwood Casey walnut stain and I'm glad I didn't. The color of the Tru-Oil only is just what I wanted. I'm really impressed with how the Tru-Oil brings out the grain and how easy it is to apply. I'll put on one or two more coats and post some finished pics.

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What grit should I use if I wet sand between coats? I have some 400, 600, 800, and even some 1000 grit. As I mentioned before, I'm looking for a satin finish rather than glossy.
 
I use 400 grit on a small sanding block between coats. I use a large pink pencil eraser as a sanding block because it is flexible and doesn't use up a lot of wet/dry paper.
 
I used 600 grit because I had it on hand. The gloss factor will be a function of the finish material you use and it should state how it looks when cured.

I can see the same kind of porosity in your stock that I saw in mine during the refinishing process. The wet sanding took care of it but it took 3 rounds of wet sanding to make them go away completely.
 
Thanks guys, I appreciate the tips! I think I'll try that tonight instead of the steel wool, then I'll put on another coat of Tru-Oil or two (or three :rolleyes:).
 
Just keep at it. You will never do it to this gun again so take your time. I'm in your camp, I like the natural color of walnut a lot better than an dark stained walnut and your's is looking pretty good. I wish I had taken a "before" picture of mine. I had no idea the difference was going to be as dramatic as it ended up being.
 
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