Crucial ingrediant missing
cheapshot,
I spent the first 26 years of my working life in the paint and coatings business. In that time, I've used everthing mentioned above, plus a lot of others. Most of the so-so and really bad projects ended up that way because they were rushed or shortcutted in some way. All the finishes above will work fine, and all the advice is spot on, but the most important ingrediant is to pay attention to detail, and don't try to rush things. Apply, let dry in an even temperature dry area, with as little dust as possible, steel wool lighlty with 0000 steel wool, and use a tack cloth to pick up the dust. Oil finishes can take 24 to 72 hours to dry between coats, depending on the oils used. French polish, which is a wax/oil/shellac mixture dries immediatly, while 100% pure tung oil or raw linssed oil can take months to set. One of the advantages of a product like Formby's is that they used controlled amounts of solvents, inert ingrediants and oils,as well as asmall amount of "varnish"(to speed drying, and add a UV resistant finish) and can reliably predict drying times. If you go the make your own route, my best advice is to double the drying time listed on Formby's just to be safe. Adding a final coat of a hard wax will also protect the oil finsh while it darkens. Oils from your hands can artifically darken gripped areas and cause a blotchy finish. Flitz makes an excellent non-abrasive wax that doesn't buid up. Beeswax works fine and is cheaper, but it will build higher and is softer than the Flitz. The Flitz is also easier to open and squirt than beeswax. HOWEVER! Beeswax has a feel and a smell like nothing else. It's well worth the extra trouble when you grab the gun and bury your nose next to the finish *Sigh*. It's one of those unique smells, like Holiday Turkey, that you just have to experience.
On areas where the end grain is exposed, like the portion behind the reciever and the end of the forestock, using a very diluted mixture, known as a wash coat, for the first coat will seal the grain and give a little more even finish. Remember to take all the hardware off before you start, and recheck the fit between each coat. Each coat will penetrate and swell the wood. From first hand, I can tell you it ain't fun to have to sand away a months worth of hard work just casue the sidelock sits a bit high and doesn't hit the nipple dead on.
Other than that, take your time and enjoy the project. One last suggestion though. You might want to try this out first on a used beater type from the gun store. I've ended up with 2 real nice looking .22's that way. Lots of the older .22's used Walnut, and look like a million bucks when they're done right.
[Edited by RAE on 12-20-2000 at 07:17 AM]
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