Help with stock finish please!

Gibbs505

Gibbs505

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I recently aquired this 7 mag by FN. I belive, but am not sure that the stock was a militry one. The finish has been worn away in several areas and I wish to refinish it, but need help identifying the finish.

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This is the best photo to show how the finish is worn away

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Another photo

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The stock bolt filling has also worn away and needs refilling

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Other side. Also note the worn finish.

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lightly sand down the entire stock and then have at it with a TRUOIL or Tried and True from Lee Valley. Looking at the wear on the existing finish it reminds me of the stock my dad had done years ago on his Parker Hale 270. Not to offend any furniture refinishers, but he used a finish that was not water resistant nor repellant, 2 deer seasons later and stock that the finish was worn off, literally and very similar to what you have there.
 
Wood is wood. Use the same products and techniques used on fine furniture. Go easy on the sanding. Just enough to rough up the wood a bit.
Tung oil(pure, not Tung Oil Finish) gives a near water proof, shiny(the more you rub in, the shinier it gets), finish when rubbed in properly. It'll fill the wood to about 1/4", so any staining must be done before you put any oil on.
BLO(boiled linseed oil) gives a flat finish. BLO isn't nearly as durable as tung oil. It needs periodic re-applyling. Tung oil doesn't.
The advantage to any oil finish is if you scratch the stock, a bit more oil rubbed in will fix it. If you opt for polyurethane(plastic), a scratch means the whole thing needs to be re-done.
 
If you really want a first class job on the whole stock lightly sand to remove old finish or use fine 000 grade wire wool, coat wood with Oxalic acid diluted in water and then lightly sand when dry.
Repeat this using finer grades of sand paper, the Oxalic acid will lift the fine grain that is normaly invisible, each sanding will lift the the velvet grain leaving a beautiful finish, now rub the stock with boiled linseed oil and alow to dry over night, buff and then repeat, several times over the next few days. final finish should bring a beautiful deep semi gloss sheen to the stock that will last for many years, it will also smell correct.
 
While I am a huge Tung oil fan (I use more of it than anything else in my shop, hands down) I wouldn't use it on that stock. The original finish is undoubtedly Linseed oil, so I would do a version of what rtaylor said above.

Use a chemical stripper to remove any oil/finish thats on it.
Use steel wool only....no sandpaper. If there are dents, steam them out (wet rag and a soldering iron)
Once its clean and smooth, wipe it down with lots of distilled water (melt snow or empty you dehumidifier for a cheap and easy source)
Let it dry, sand off the "fuzz" that occurs with more steel wool...then repeat.

Lay on a bunch of BOILED linseed oil (not raw), let it soak in for 30 min, wipe off, then let it sit overnight...repeat. For the first coat, thin the BLO 50% with mineral spirits.

For the final coat, apply another thinned coat (50%), allow to sit for 10-15 min, buff off the excess and let it sit for a week. Give a light rub with 0000 steel wool, then apply a coat of decent furniture paste wax (minwax is fine), then buff the crap out of it. Once a year, give 'er another coat of wax....it'll look and smelll right, be historically accurate, beautiful, and durable (Hell...how many enfields still look good today? Yup....BLO).

Can't tell about the crossbolt...what's it made of/whats wrong with it? Let me know and I'll tell you how to fix it :)
 
Thanks WrongWay, for the linseed oil tip.If you look at the last photo, you can see that the crossbolt needs to be covered or filled in again, after refinishing the stock. What would have been used here?
 
You have a military stock that has been reshaped. It is linseed oil finished. Remove the metal and wipe the wood down with a cloth and lacquer thinner in a plastic tub as it will make one hell of a mess if it gets on your floor or furniture. Do this in a well ventilated area...preferably oudoors. Do not sand the stock!!!!!! Easiest is to finish in a Tung oil...Lee Valley sells an awesome product.....I use their sealer only and apply in coats....use steel wool in between coats and it will look fantastic. Lots of heavy fiddleback in this stock. If you need more info, pls PM me.
 
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An old gunsmith in Ottawa taught me how to make what he called a "linspeed" stock finish. It involves 3 elements: boiled linseed oil, turpentine, and tint. Since it is an oil/penetrating finish it will draw the stain into the wood. You should not sand if you do not need to. For the first coat on virgin wood 50/50 cut of oil and turps. The best tint I found is Burnt Umber. Add a 1in squeeze out of the tube(same as artists use to paint canvas with-not acrylic but oil based)and I use the same for later coats. Following coats are 75/20 or less oil/turps. 0000 steel wool between coats to burnish. You should feel heat build up as you rub firmly. Once an area feels warm go on to another.
Do this for about 6 coats . Wait till each coat is slightly tacky and wipe dry wait 24hr.The last few coats are applied and rubbed in with the palm of your hand again till your feel the heat and just wipe firmly with a soft cloth.
Takes at least a dozen coats before the satin sheen comes up and it is tough. Stripper will only dull it. If the finish is dull you have not gone all the way. You are, in effect, polishing the wood and the heat from your hand polymerizes the oil to set it up. Worth the effort though for the effect it has on grain-like 3d. A lot of work but well worth it.
 
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Gibbs505, without seeying more details of the stock it's hard to say if it's a military stock. The inletting around the barrel will be a good place to look since from the pics it looks like the barrel has been changed to a modern contour sporter and if the inletting is done nice and close to this you can be pretty shure that the stock is not the original military stock, never the less on to the refinishing questions. For what it's worth I think that you have the potential for a very pretty stock, ther is lots of tigerstriping and the colour of the stock is a nice shade of brown that will finish up really nice, the detailing isn't there but there seems to be enough wood to work with. The forend is a little on the long side and the grip area is too shotgunish but that can be sanded down and a grip cap can be installed. The crossbolts can be done in two ways, either flush with the surface of the wood or driven deeper and caps installed and finished flush, a couple of ebony or rosewood plugs would look great here, the same for the forend either rosewood or ebony. I am getting carried away her but it looks like a great winter project to me. If all you want to do is finish the surface as quickly as possible Gunpro mentioned Truoil and I would agree with his opinion as a gdecent finish that doesn't get too complicated.

Sorry guys but the Linseed oil recipies have never worked for me. I have never seen Linseed oil actually dry unless it get lots of help from being cut with a varnish, the Pure Tung Oil that I have also does not dry. They will penetrate with the help of heat and time but once that is achieved there is no surface built up that can be acheived unless again the varnish is introduced as a carrier. This is pretty well what the Linspeed and various Tung Oil product do. Now if you want to pursue a nice finish on that stock there is alot of work to do for a proper finish, the stock will require extensive sanding and the pores will require filling before you can even think what product you can use for the finish. If that is the direction you want to go then that is completely different matter. I am presently refinishing another stock on a Pre64 M70 that has great potential as does yours.
JMHO
bigbull
 
You may be right bigbull but if you look at the instructions what causes the oil to set up is the heat from the rubbing process. You must rub with either the 0000 wool or the soft cloth/cheesecloth until the area gets warm. That is the trick and if you dont do that it will never really set. My first Remmie 870 came back from the bush with a small scratch and when it next came out of the case the plastic finish had lifted all around. It works and it lasts and the first one came out just fine -lovely satin perfect for the blind. Old finish but you have to go all the way or dont bother. Judging from the comments I got from it for years other people liked it too. Surface finishes will hide grain and are tough to patch up when you scratch. Done correctly it is a tough and pretty finish. For some it is a lot of work but it only has to be done once. My $0.02
 
Thanks for all the help everyone.

I have tung oil and I am going to berform a test on the forearm area where the finish is worn away.

If you look at photos two and three, I think that you will see that the finish has been applied rather skillfully. So the test with tung oil as a refinishing start. I will let you know how it goes!!
 
Gibbs505 said:
Thanks for all the help everyone.

I have tung oil and I am going to berform a test on the forearm area where the finish is worn away.

If you look at photos two and three, I think that you will see that the finish has been applied rather skillfully. So the test with tung oil as a refinishing start. I will let you know how it goes!!
Click to expand...

Be aware that once you go with tung oil, there is no turning back....I'm sure you already know.

Just a note for anyone reading. Once tung oil is in the wood, you don't get it out.
 
Gibbs505: actually I don't think the finish has been applied very skillfully and the open pores show that best as well as apparent coarse sandpaper scratches. Boiled linseed oil on it's own never dries completely no matter how hard you rub. In addition it is hygroscopic (absorbs water), will leach back out with heat and is great attractor for grime. Over time the wood will continue to darken from it and it can develop mildews and fungi in the right cliamatic conditions. Modified BLO can be made to dry but why bother when there are so many good, commercially available stock finishes on the market? Tru-Oil, Pro-Custom are a couple that work very well and will enhnace that nice fiddle back grain.. I went through the BLO stage 45 years including additives ago and concluded it is not suitable on it's own and not worth the bother to modify so it will work properly. Don't really care how many military rifles have been supersaturated with the stuff (and look bad because of it) it's still not the best choice for a sporter.
 
It is coming along thanks.

I discovered that the stock was cracked around the tang and between the trigger and the mag well. So I am in the process of fixing that and hope to get that finished this weekend.

The oil work, which I had started, has had to wait for me to get this completed before I can finish it.
 
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