Wood Finishing techniques

[Charleslv]

Post your wood finishing techniques here:
Mine is as follows.

Sand the stock to at least 400 grit. (600 grit for the stock to recoil pad making sure the plastic part of the recoil pad is nice and smooth)

Remove the recoil pad and apply the initial sealer coat of 1 part tung oil to 5 parts mineral spirits. Not applying to areas I will be steel bedding.(Approxiamately 2 tablespoons of mixture)

Reattach recoil pad and begining with 400 grit wet sand paper and 1 part tung oil to 3 part mineral spirits mixture.(one tablespoon of mixture) Repeat this process with 400 grit untill the stock is completely filled (laminates 2-3 times and depending on wood as many as 20)then begin with 600 grit untill it is as smooth as glass.(laminates 5-8 times and wood can take up to 20 times) Wait two full days between coates. Tape the recoil pad during this phase leaving the plastic spacer exposed.

Bed the action at this point. This prevents bedding material from filling the pores. Even when I have tried tape at an earlier phase I would alway get bedding material in a few pores and if done at this phase of the finishing process its easy to wipe of the bedding material with wite vinegar.

With 600 grit sand paper soaked in mineral spirits lightly sand all build up from the recoil pad area. This is where the sludge will collect during the wet sanding period.

Then topcoat this is Mix 1 part Danish oil with 2 parts mineral spirits or use straight truoil. (teaspoon of mixture)Dip fingers in to mixture and apply to stock and rub in with the palm of your hand working small sections at a time when completed use a lint free cloth and wipe of the stock. Let dry out of the sun for two days and repeat. Do this untill satisfied with the depth of the shine. Yes it will be looking like glas after 10 or so coats and even if you want a satin non gloss finish keep going untill you are satisfied. (I am never satisfied so I will go up to 20 coates on some stocks) Yes do this even if you want a nonglare finish it will give depth to the wood.

Wait at least a week before topcoating.

For non gloss or semi gloss finish soak a felt pad with boild linseed oil using a saltshaker apply pumice stone to the pad rub the stock down using the felt pad the more you rub the duller the shine will get after rubbing down the stock using a cloth dampened down with mineral spirits wipe off the residue and linseed oil. I do it it lightly the first time to see how the wood reacts and then depending on the shine repeat untill satisfied. Once done let dry for 2 weeks and apply stock wax and install the action into the stock. (The same results can be achieved using a baby diaper and Brownells triple F stock rubbing commpound wipe of the excessive compound in the same matter as the pumice stone)

For high gloss finish soak a felt pad with boiled linseed oil and using a saltshacker apply rhotten stone to the pad and rub down the entire stock untill it is smooth. Wipe off exessive oil and rhotten stone with a cloth dampened with mineral spirits. Then apply by hand 1 part danish oil to 1 part mineral spirits wiping down with a clean soft cloth. Once done wait two weeks and apply stock wax and install the action. (The rhotten stone and feltpad can be substitued with Brownells 5F stock rubbing compound)

(Safet warning: Wear a dust mask when working with Pumice or Rhotten stone this is a fine dust like abbrasive material and will tear up your lungs and the inhalation of large quantities of dust can be fatal.)

The Tung oil I use is Old Master and can be purchased from Brownell Old Masters (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1138&title=OIL+STOCK+FINISHES)
It must be a 100% pure tung oil most tung oil sold at hardware stores are not 100% pure and will not fill the pores appropriately.
The Danish oil is from Lawer Custom Weapons Danish Oil (http://www.lauerweaponry.com/index.cfm?Category=860&Subcat=Danish%20Oil) Yes the makers of Duracoat.
The felt pad are from Brownell or Midway depending who has them on sale.
Stock wax I use is Gale Lock (http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=6705&title=CARNAUBA+GUN+WAX)
Boil linseed oil and mineral spirit can be bought at Lowell or Home depot and is in the laquer and stripper are of the paint section.Baby diapers are from BabysRUs.
Brownells stock rubbing compound is from you guess ;)

I know this is a long process but well worth it. So why do I do it.
1. The finish is in the wood not on it and the wood becomes virtually waterproof and protected from the harshes elements. Many of wooden ship has been soaked in tung oil and it is not uncommon to find wood on ship that have been sunk for 100s of years.
2. Does not show scratches, gouges and scuffs as bad as polyurathane. And in most cases can be rubbed out with stock rubbing compound at worst case a wet sanding of the area with a tung oil mineral spirits mixture will remove the scratch or fill a gauge easily. Poly usually means resanding the entire stock.
3. Poly is just two hard on my ceckering tools. It dulls it faster because of the fillers within the poly plus if you mess up checkering a poly stock it is real hard to hide or fix the flaw with out resanding the stock.

Other Recomendation:
Anually strip the wax used through out the year with mineral spirits and hund rub a 1 part danish oil to 1 part mineral spirits mixture in the stock to keep it nice and shiny reapply stock wax after the oil dries for a week. For non-gloss use tung oil instead of danish oil.

[SuperChuck]

Charleslv,

I was actually regretting the loss of that article in the crash, thanks for putting the details back on the site.

I'll be cutting and pasting the more detailed posts, just to be safe.

SC

[CaptnDan]

I was glad I had already saved it as a work file.

SC, can't you just have the the shop where you work take care of it? The finish on my wife's Ethan Allen furniture looks pretty good.

Dan

[JimD]

I have not done a lot of gunstock finishing but I build furniture as my other hobby. I put a new fore-end on a double barrel shotgun and have added a few coats of tru-oil to my flintlocks stock. I also built a forend for a single shot shotgun years ago and checkered one side of it (got tired of it half-way through and then moved on to the double barrel). For furniture, I like wipe-on poly and a water based pre-catalyzed lacquer from Hydrocote. The latter needs to be sprayed. You can brush it but it dries fast and does not flow-out well. You could put on a coat an hour and then rub out, I guess. For wipe-on poly, the cheapest way is to just buy some oil based poly and thin it 1/3 with mineral spirits. It will protect just like regular poly but can be wiped on with a paper towel to product a surprisingly smooth finish with very little effort. You can use linseed or other oil under the poly or lacquer but you must let it dry throughly first. I let some jewelry boxes dry for a week after a coat of linseed oil and then applied lacquer and had no problem. The tests I have seen were favorable for oil enhancing maple but it seemed to make attractive grain in cherry and walnut kind of muddy. Linseed darkens walnut which I like. Walnut will lighten with exposure to sunlight. Cherry darkens. Using an exterior varnish or poly with a UV blocker would slow the lightening of walnut.

The only thing I see "wrong" with the method described above is it will not completely seal the wood. If the stock is pretty stable through humidity changes, this may not matter. With some stocks, I would expect to see some change in POI. Maybe it will slow humidity changes enough that the net movement will be very small.

Sanding in a finish is a pretty good way to create a filler for open grain woods but the resulting filler will be darker than the wood. Not unattractive but the combination of finish and wood dust will not be the same color as the wood. You can also smooth out wood with enough coats of finish, then sanding with 600 grit and then finer sandpaper then pumice and rottenstone but it will take awhile. You can also use automotive rubout products. A tinted filler, usually oil based, can also be used underneith the protective finish.

Jim

[SuperChuck]

Dan,

They told me the secret to a perfect DIY finish was a $2 rattle can of clear coat... I'm off to walmart now...... j/k

SC

PS. Dan... chunks7mm works at Ethan Allen.. I process Zirconium Silicate-LOL but figured I'd play along.

[Charleslv]

Jim I agree. and actually if some one one wanted to scip the wet sanding part and keep aplying oil to fill the pores it works. Infact on some stocks I have used different filler products to speed up the finishing process if I do not plan to checker the stock. Fillers are just hard on the checkering heads. As far as completely sealing the stock I have to disagree. By mixing the first coat with mineral spirits it bring the oil deep into the wood. Recently I broke a an english walnut stock that I had finished in this way. The tung oil had penetrated a good 1/4" into the wood except where the steele bedding was and that is sealed by the bedding material. While most of what you describe is top coating the wood and would provide no protection once the surface finish is warn, chipped or scratched. Also Danish oil dose have some poly in it and if you rub in as much as I do it does provide some sufficient protection. Also the trick is propper bedding. I steele bed all my actions with Pillars from the recoil lug back to the rear action screw. I free float the barrels and the tang and have yet to have a wood stock change point of impact that I can notice.

If I could find a better way to do it and still have all the appearance of hand rubbed oil I would.

[Curtis]

For the last 10 years i have been using a product called DEFT, it comes gloss or semi gloss. Wood soaks this snuff up better than anything i have used to date. Its very easy to apply an it fills the pores flat as a piece glass, an sheds water like a ducks back. Try it , very user friendly. You will like it.

[JimD]

Deft is a brushing lacquer. I used it on oak and was a bit disappointed with the water resistance (on kitchen cabinet doors). With more coats it would have been fine, I suspect.

Spray can finish is fine but very thin. You will need more than 3 coats (which is enough with thicker finishes). I would try for at least 6 or 7. If you do not mind the slight yellowing of oil based poly (would not be noticable on walnut, IMHO), you might want to consider that alternative. It really is both easy and cheap (and durable). You could also get an exterior version to slow fading of walnut (not much of an issue if your gun is in a safe out of the sun most of the time).

FWW has a test of how fine to sand wood in the current issue. Their conclusion is that 220 is normally enough but it varies a little by the type of wood. 400 is certainly enough. I usually stop at 220 or 320 - not a big difference IMHO.

Jim

[CaptnDan]

Deft is a brushing lacquer. I used it on oak and was a bit disappointed with the water resistance (on kitchen cabinet doors). With more coats it would have been fine, I suspect.

Spray can finish is fine but very thin. You will need more than 3 coats (which is enough with thicker finishes). I would try for at least 6 or 7. If you do not mind the slight yellowing of oil based poly (would not be noticable on walnut, IMHO), you might want to consider that alternative. It really is both easy and cheap (and durable). You could also get an exterior version to slow fading of walnut (not much of an issue if your gun is in a safe out of the sun most of the time).

FWW has a test of how fine to sand wood in the current issue. Their conclusion is that 220 is normally enough but it varies a little by the type of wood. 400 is certainly enough. I usually stop at 220 or 320 - not a big difference IMHO.

Jim


Actually Deft is a brand name. Deft makes everything from stains, laquers, polyurathane, danish oil, and teak finishes.

Dan

[JimD]

I'm sure you are right, Dan, but all I see in the places I shop is their brushing lacquer. Maybe that is not what the other individual has but I am guessing it is.

Jim

[CaptnDan]

I'm sure you are right, Dan, but all I see in the places I shop is their brushing lacquer. Maybe that is not what the other individual has but I am guessing it is.

Jim


I wonder if that's what they started with? That's what they seem to be known for.

Dan

[DBailey]

This was posted by "savparts"? on one of the old forums.

Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2005 3:54 pm Post subject: Some info on acraglas stocks

I feel that acraglas is the best stock finish for gun stocks that will be used in the field. The finish is tough, impervious to just about any type of chemical attack, it reduces dents and abrasion in finished wood, and it makes questionable wood take finer checkering. This finish can be made to look like oil, epoxy, or any other type of finish by properly manipulating the top coats of finish. That being said, I do not recommend it for every gun. I would never use this finish on a Holland and Holland. It just does not seem right, even though the finish would be superior to the traditional English oil finish. I am a very pragmatic person, but I am just too much of a traditionalist to use this on a gun like an H&H.

I make no claims that this is the best way to use acraglas as a stock finish. It is the best method that I have found to date, but the process is always evolving. Please contact me if you find other methods of application that you feel are superior.

Sand and whisker the stock as usual. Always use a sanding block when sanding. For long, straight sections, I use a 5" piece of micarta with a piece of 10 oz. Leather glued to one face. The micarta block will keep straight sections straight, not pretty straight. For smaller areas, I use an artgum eraser. If I need to get into a tight area, I cut and grind a piece of hard felt to fit my needs. This may sound like a lot of trouble, but it makes a difference in the way a finished stock looks. I dry sand with the following grits: 100, 150, 220, 320, 400, 600. I use only the eraser as a sanding block for the 400 and 600 grit papers.

I whisker the stock with either denatured alcohol or hot water. For a heat source, I use a hairdryer or a propane torch. Be careful when using the torch with alcohol. If there is alcohol standing on the surface of the wood, the torch will cause a flame-up when it gets too close. This is very exciting. I start whiskering after the 320 grit step in good wood, and after the 220 grit step in not so good wood. I whisker and resand with the same grit two times. I switch to the next finer grit after the third whiskering. This is done until no scratches show up in the 600 grit finish. Do not sand after the last whiskering on the 600 grit. We want the pores to be as open as possible.

The acraglas used is the original kind (not the gel). Mix it according to the instructions, but do not add the flock. All we want is four parts resin and one part hardener. I use the "itty-bitty cups" sold in the Brownell's catalog for mixing. I fill the resin up to the one dram line, and then I add ¼ dram of hardener. This last measurement is not very accurate. I just eyeball it, and it turns out ok. This amount of glass will be more than enough for a regular rifle stock. It might be enough for a Mannilicher, but it will be too close for comfort, My philosophy is that acraglas is cheap compared to the time I have in a stock, so I mix more than I should need. A 2-gun kit of acraglas, as sold by Brownell's, should do one regular size rifle stock. I buy it in bulk-28 oz. of resin, and 7 oz. of hardener. This stuff is great to have around the shop. I used it for attaching my knife handles when I made custom knives, and I still use it for attaching tool handles or any other task that calls for epoxy. It is stronger than the Devcon epoxy that comes in the dual syringes. Keep in mind that the resin and hardener does not have an infinite shelf life. It will go bad in time. I would not use acraglas that was over two years old. I have had trouble with it when it went beyond that age.

After the glass is thoroughly mixed, pour a dab on the stock. I pour a line about 4 inches long on the side of the butt. I then work the acraglas into the wood with a piece of T-shirt. I cut a square about 9"x9" and fold it into a ball. The smoothest side of the ball is used to spread the glass. I add more acraglas to the surface of the stock until it is completely wet. Be careful here. You want full coverage, but you do not want runs. Runs are a nightmare to sand off after they harden. When the entire stock is wet with glass to the point where it wants to start to run, I apply a good deal of heat. The heat will make the glass as thin as water. This allows the glass to get maximum penetration in the wood. Only apply heat until the glass gets runny. Keeping the stock hot too long at this stage of the finish will cause the glass to set up before it has gotten full penetration Let the stock stand for a few minutes, then wipe all excess acraglas from the surface. Set the stock aside to dry. I put the stock in a cabinet to keep it from getting dinged up and to keep the dust off of it. The dust really does not hurt anything at this point, because it will all be sanded off later. Wait 12 to 24 hours, and repeat the process. These two sealer coats should be sufficient, but I am a worrier by nature, so I usually use three penetrating sealer coats.

At this point, you have several options. If you want the traditional oil finish, wet sand the stock with your oil of choice and 400 grit paper for the first coat. After it is dry, wet sand with oil and 600 grit paper. This will get any dust and built up acraglas off of the surface. If desired, stain the stock at this time. This is another advantage of acraglas. Solvent-based stains will not lift the finish out of the pores. This is a problem with most other stock finishes. Proceed with the oil finish as normal from this point on. The acraglas sealer coats will make the oil finished wood more stable and the wood will be less prone to dent after an impact.

There is another way to get the look of oil with far more impact resistance, greater stability, and greater resistance to abrasion. If the pores are filled level to the surface of the wood with glass, the finish will be much more durable. The pores will stay filled even under hard use and abuse. The acraglas will make the wood take fine checkering better. This is especially true of wood with large pores. The glass is hard and cuts well with checkering tools. The increased amount of glass is also what helps to seal the wood against moisture migration. Acraglas will not make wood act like a fiberglass stock, but it will move much less than a stock finished with more traditional methods. This is something I have proven in the controlled environment of a humidity cabinet.

To fill the pores with acraglas, apply it in the same manner as you would a sealer coat. However, do not add the heat to thin the glass. After a few minutes, wipe all excess glass from the surface of the wood. All you want to do is wet the wood and get the glass in the pores. Any glass that dries on top of the wood is going to come back to haunt you. Hang the stock to dry for at least 12 hours. Repeat this step at least four times. Dry sand the stock with 400 grit paper. (NOTE: I find the acraglas sands better after a full 24 hour cure. Due to the chemical process involved in the hardening, either cure time will be hard enough for a good finish. I just find that the 24 hour cure cuts a little smoother with the sandpaper.) You should sand down to the top of the wood, but no deeper. If you sand too deep, more pores open up and you get into an endless loop. Repeat the process until all pores are full. I suggest adding one or two more coats than you need. Just don't build it up too high before sanding. When all pores are level with the top of the wood, lightly dry sand with 600 grit paper. If staining is desired, do so at his time. Mix up another batch of acraglas and apply a thin coat to the surface of the stock. The key word here is thin. All you want to do is get it wet. Do not let dust get on the finish from this point on. Apply at least four of these thin surface coats. At this time, the finish will look like a dull factory on a Winchester or Ruger. If this is the look that you desire, lightly dry sand with 600 girt (just to even out the surface) and you are through. If you want a high gloss finish like Remmington's RKW finish, sand with 1200 and 1500 grit paper between the next few coats. Use a rubbing compound to get that final bit of shine.

I personally do not like the finishes mentioned above. They have a dead plastic look to my eyes. I prefer to use oil as a topcoat. I use the slacum oil in Purdey's Warthog kit. It isn't magic, I just happened to have it handy and I've gotten used to using it. More importantly, I really like the way it smells. The first step is to wet sand the stock with the oil and 600 grit paper. Tread lightly. All you want to do is sand the thin coat of acraglas on top of the stock. If you break through to the wood, it will show up and look terrible. If this happens, you will have to build up the glass before you can go on to the oil. After the stock has been wet sanded, wipe off all oil and sludge. Hang the stock in a place where it will not be exposed to dust. After 2-3 hours, wipe down the stock with a clean, soft cotton rag. Hang until the next day. Repeat the process above at least one more time. After the day of drying, inspect the stock for irregularities in the finish. If the finish looks even, put a few drops of oil on the stock and rub it in with your hand. Do not build up a thick layer of oil. All you want to do is get it wet. Set it aside to dry for 2-3 hours. Rub down with a soft cotton cloth. Hang the stock and let it dry for at least two more hours. Repeat this process until you get the desired look. After the last coat of oil, continue to rub down the stock with a soft cotton cloth several times a day. Be very careful to only use a clean cloth for all rubbing operations. A little grit on a piece of cotton can destroy days of hard work. If the coats of oil start to look uneven, lightly wet sand with 600 grit paper.

The oil can be applied without the buildup of acraglas on the stock. This finish will look 100% like an oil finish. It will be more weather resistant than straight oil (due to the glass sealing and filling), but it is far inferior to oil on top of built up glass. The thin layer of glass goes a long way in slowing down the migration of water into and out of a stock. The only thing you would do differently with this method is to not build up the 4+ thin top coats of acraglas. After all pores are full, dry sand to the top of the wood, being careful not to get too deep and open up the pores. Lightly wet sand the first two coats of oil in the wood. If desired, stain at this time. Proceed as you would with a normal oil finish from this point forward.

It is possible to fill the pores in one coat. After the first two sealer coats, Apply a thick coat of acraglas to the entire stock. If the pores are small enough, all pores can be filled in one step. However, the acraglas must be left above the surface of the wood in a very thick coat. It will have to be sanded down to the bare wood before the finish can be built up again. This is incredibly hard work. When I made custom knives, I sanded hardened steel on a regular basis. I would rather do that every day than sand one more stock that had a thick coat of acraglas on it. It took me over five hours to sand the last stock I treated in this manner. Never again! You spend fewer days in the finishing process, but you spend more hands-on hours doing it this way.

Acraglas can be wet sanded in an attempt to more quickly fill the pores. One way to do this is to thin the glass with heat. The problem with this approach is that the heat causes the glass to set up before much sanding can be done. If you try this, only do a small piece of the stock at a time. Another method of wet sanding is to sand the stock when it gets tacky, This should be about two hours after the glass has been applied (will only work if no heat has been added). Try these if you like, but I get much more even finishes with less time and effort by using the build-up method.

Use caution when coating the inletting with acraglas. It is imperative that you do not let any glass harden above the surface of the wood. The best way to apply the glass to the inletting is to heat the cup of mixed acraglas until it gets thin. Do not heat any longer than necessary. Doing so will cause the glass to set up before it soaks into the wood. Wet the inletting, being sure to wipe the excess from all inletting surfaces before the glass hardens. If any acraglas gets built up in the inletting, you will have to remove it with scrapers before the metal can be put back in place. Inletting protected with acraglas will be very hard and impervious to all gun oils. One coat of glass should be enough for the inletting. I often just use Laurel Mountain Forge Permalyn stock sealer on the inletting. It depends on the gun and the application. It is not as strong and chemical resistant as the glass, but it easier to apply and it is not as prone to excessive build up. However, if you need maximum strength and protection, use the glass.

The easiest way to clean acraglas from the hands is to wash with straight white vinegar. After the glass has been removed, wipe your hands off with a cloth towel. Do not use water yet. Next, use Go-Jo on your hands. Now wash your hands with soap and water.

WARNING - the dust generated by sanding acraglas is not good for you. It will make you very sick. Respiratory protection should be worn during all dry sanding operations. This is especially true if you fill the pores in one step. Doing this will generate a lot of sanding dust. This is another reason not to fill the pores with one coat of acraglas. If you breathe enough of the dust, you will feel like you have pneumonia.
_________________
Shooting is all about hitting the target with accuracy and efficiency

[444afic]

Birchwood Casey makes an excellent stock refinishing kit that is probably available at your local sporting goods store. No I don't work for them, but I have used it on 3 or 4 guns and the results have been excellent to outstanding (no Savages; sorry, all my Savages have Duramaxx's or the factory synthetic stocks). My old Remington Sportsman 58 is my crowning achievement in stock refinishing. I actually don't want to take it hunting. My father has used Linspeed with excellent results as well. Personally, I think a hand-rubbed oil finish can't be beat for looks, and you can seal the inside portion of the stock with it or marine spar varnish to keep it stable.

JV

[driead]

I restocked my savage with a Boyds stock. I used a Pachmayr Decelerator and sanded it to fit on a bench sander protecting the stock with masking tape. I then sanded the stock using 150 then 220 sand paper. I used Minwax's new color "Gunstock" I let it dry for 24 hours. I then applied a sealing coat of lacquer. After 30 minutes, I sanded the stock lightly knocking down the fur with 220. I was careful not to remove the lacquer dust as this fills any imperfections. I then sprayed another coat of lacquer and repeated the sanding. After I checked for smoothness I applied 4 additional coats of Deft rattle can satin lacquer. Here are a couple of pics.

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc193/driead/ButtPad.jpg
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc193/driead/Magazinecutout.jpg

[urbaneruralite]

Be careful when using the torch with alcohol.


;D

Good thread. Got some ideas that will let me finally find a use for the Brownell's Acra-Coat I bought that you can't use with anything oil-based.

[jrg]

can a laminated stock be sanded and refinished? I have one that has a few dings and scratches and would like to refinish instead of replace?

Thanks

[kslefty]

JRG, we meet again. A laminate can be sanded, reshaped and refinished. I have a friend who has taken the wide forearm off of 3 Ruger VT models making the stock more loki that of a VLP savage. The stocks do not accept stain very well though.

[jrg]

thanks for the info...after sanding could i just use tung oil or something.? I like the color it is. Im still interested in your stock though..just in case i mess something up. Im a mechanic, not a woodworker, hehe

[urbaneruralite]

Oil'll work if you have to sand. Sometimes dings will come out with a damp towel and a hot iron. Sometimes that clouds the finish and you still have to sand, though.

[pa_guns]

Hi

A lot depends on how good your stock is at the start. Files and scrapers are a good thing if the stock is not nearly done when you first start out on it.

Bob