Epoxy grain filler? Then what?

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flying pig

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I'm trying to learn how to finish a nice sporter stock and I want to do a perfectly smooth high gloss and preferably stain the blonde coloured wood a bit redder.

I normally use water based stains on my milsurp restorations that I do, but I find that it gets very plasticky looking. It doesn't seem to penetrate well either. I want to figure out a stain that will work with whatever grain filler I end up using.

What do you guys suggest I use for a finish? I've never used shellac, but am getting pretty proficient with raw linseed for a matte finish and have figured out a technique with BLO that works for me for a medium gloss finish, but for this project I really want a nice high gloss.

I tried using the water based stain and egg whites as grain filler. It's a ton of work and doesn't seem to fill the grain well at all. So I'm done with that program.

The wood I'm using this time is blonde European walnut.
 
Buy high gloss epoxy paint, clear. Klass Kote. Spray on two or three wet coats letting each flash in between. If this does not fill the grain then sand to 320 and spray on more. Sand down to 2000x with wet or dry and rub out to a high gloss with compound. Of course stain first if you like.
 
Cheap wood with sap wood (the blonde colour) can be painted before finishing and look pretty good in the end.

If you don't have equipment as suggested in post 2 try Flecto Varathane as a finish and use it to fill the grain as well.
 
Do not forget first step most important one. You absolutely must eliminate pores on the wood for smooth high gloss you trying to achieve.
You can use traditional method with alcohol and eggs or use water based lacquer. Basically it is process of apply - cure - strip - repeat about as many times as required depending on wood density.
 
I've used Spar Varnish to seal wood. Apply,let dry then take it back down to the wood with 0000 steel wool. Repeat as neccessary
 
Go buy or hit the library for a book about fine furniture finishing. Same products and techniques. Most high gloss finishes seen on modern commercial hunting rifles are some kind of plastic. Poly something. Varathane is plastic. Yuck.
A handrubbed tung oil finish shines like glass and protects the wood. No filler required either.
 
Hey!

Have a look at midwayusa's youtube channel: there are numerous videos on stock finishing using different techniques, from shellac to oil and bar-top varnish finishes.

One technique that is related to your question that I learned there and will definitively have to give a try is the sanded-in finish. As the name implies, you sand a first coat of wood finishing oil on your stock using a fine sand paper: the "wet" dust from the sanding is pushed into the wood pores and thus act as a pore filler. You let everything dry and repeat where needed. You then proceed with a regular finishing routine.

Seemed simple enough for me and easier and cleaner than applying a thick coat of wood filler and then sanding it all off.

Hope it helps.
 
Birchwood - Casey (Makers of Tru-Oil) make both a decent walnut stain ( apply with a cloth & rub off while still wet) & a wood sealer ( I put it on with my fingers & remove
when dry with 0000 steel wool )

For a very high gloss finish, I've used a lacquer based product called "Deft" ( on canoe paddles & decoy bottoms ) that is both tough and durable. It is often used on
bar tops. Brush on and sand when dry ... 240, 320, 400, 600, 1000, 2000 then white rubbing compound.

Birchwood-Casey I get from my local gun shop. Deft from Lee Valley ( they also carry a better grade of steel wool), my local C.T.C. carries 0000 steel wool, all the wet/dry papers to 2000
and the rubbing compound. (Turtle wax red compound is generally a little too aggressive, the white finer grade more to my liking )
Alternatively, a good paint/paper or hardware store should have the steel wool & an automotive finishing supplier should have the finer apers.
 
I use a water based aniline dye rather than a stain. It penetrates better than stain. Get it from Lee Valley tools, mix according to instructions, keep in a cool place out of the light and it will keep forever. When I use it, I mix some of the concentrate with more water, about 10 to 1, and find that I can control the colour well this way. By the way, their "Russet Amber" is an exact match for Husqvarna stocks.

For a sealer, I use Wood Shield brand marine spar varnish. Mixed 3 parts acetone or naptha to 1 part varnish, it gets sucked deeply into the wood, and dries very quickly.
 
If you use steel wool, especially Bulldog brand be sure to degrease it in acetone or lacquer thinner. You will be amazed how dirty it is and this keeps the next coat form bonding properly.
 
Well guys, I'm trying the Varathane over oil based stain right now and so far it's coming to my liking. I'll know better in a week or so though. If it doesn't turn out how I want it you guys have given me a ton of other methods to try. Thanks a bunch to all of you.
 
Varathane is in my opinion the toughest finish you can use if you want the high gloss finish. Like Dennis said, just spray or brush it on, let dry and sand back to achieve a fill, once will usually do it but twice if it is a porous wood. Once filled, two more coats with 600 grit wet sanding in between and you have a finish that looks like a 700 BDL. If you want a deeper look just add more coats with the 600 wet sanding in between.
My absolute favorite stain is Minwax, it penetrates very well and comes in 100 different wood colors and you can mix it to the exact color you like. It is far and away the best wood stain I have found.

What are you doing about the checkering?
 
Funny story, but its Minwax stain that is on there now. Its too bad I didn't find my Red Oak colored stain until after I already started the Varathane but the color it ended up is pretty nice anyhow, ranging from chocolate brown to a few light spots that are a dark honey brown. Don't know why I'm so obsessed with red stocks but I am. Maybe its because I think the M-10 is the prettiest sporting rifle ever built.

Anyway, on the checkering I'm not too sure yet. I'll need to do some more research before I buy my tools and then I'll be practicing on some relic Lee-Enfield wood before I take it to this Ross stock. This stock is just a test bed but I'm hoping to use it next elk season so I don't want to ruin it either.
 
sunray said:
Go buy or hit the library for a book about fine furniture finishing. Same products and techniques. Most high gloss finishes seen on modern commercial hunting rifles are some kind of plastic. Poly something. Varathane is plastic. Yuck.
A handrubbed tung oil finish shines like glass and protects the wood. No filler required either.
Click to expand...

And easy to fix if something bad hapen
 
tjsudbury said:
I use a water based aniline dye rather than a stain. It penetrates better than stain. Get it from Lee Valley tools, mix according to instructions, keep in a cool place out of the light and it will keep forever. When I use it, I mix some of the concentrate with more water, about 10 to 1, and find that I can control the colour well this way. By the way, their "Russet Amber" is an exact match for Husqvarna stocks.

For a sealer, I use Wood Shield brand marine spar varnish. Mixed 3 parts acetone or naptha to 1 part varnish, it gets sucked deeply into the wood, and dries very quickly.
Click to expand...

Same finish I use to refinish, and I steel wool between coat's.Take's awhile to build up but very durable.
 
So I'm getting the finish pretty close to filled and built up how I wanted it now. Its sanding out just fine. I've been dabbing it on with the brush then wiping it around with a gloved hand building the varathane up slowly. For an experiment I tried the 2000 grit on it. It smoothens the finish up considerably but does not restore any of the gloss. Will pumice restore the gloss or do I have to figure out how to get a thin coat of varathane evenly over the surface, and if I do is there any way of doing this besides spraying it? I don't have the equipment for that.
 
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