I have a benchrest stock I'm doing a little summer project on, installing adjustable buttplate and cheekpiece, and re-doing the finish. What kind of clear coat/lacquer do you recommend? Something relatively easy to use and can be brushed on, since I don't have access to a air sprayer. Thanks.
Refinishing a laminate stock.
- Thread starter Alpheus
- Start date
Wood is wood. Use the same products used on fine furniture. No brushes though. Use a clean, lint free, cloth.
I'd be using pure tung oil(not tung oil finish), even on a laminate. Tung oil soaks into wood to about 1/4" so it'll work nicely on laminate. It gives a nice sheen when rubbed in properly. A litre, more than enough, runs about $18.
However, any wood finish product will do. So will Krylon paint.
I'd be using pure tung oil(not tung oil finish), even on a laminate. Tung oil soaks into wood to about 1/4" so it'll work nicely on laminate. It gives a nice sheen when rubbed in properly. A litre, more than enough, runs about $18.
However, any wood finish product will do. So will Krylon paint.
Lots of stuff other than lacquer will work. Avoid lacquer as it simply dries too fast to apply well.
For a low lustre "thin into the wood" look I'd go with the stuff suggested by the folks above. Tru Oil for a little more shine and the raw tung oil from Lee Valley for a dull oiled wood look.
For an inbetween sort of sheen I like the Lee Valley Polymerized Tung Oil finish. Thin the first two coats with mineral spirits or low odor paint thinner for better penetration. Than use full strength for another 4 coats. You apply the PTO by padding it on with a little rubbing glob of steel wool so it de-fuzzes the earlier dry coat while applying the new coat. Apply then buff off the excess right away with some paper towel or a lint free rag. Give it AT LEAST 24 hours between coats. By coat 5 or 6 you'll have a nice low lustre "in the wood" sort of finish that really looks great.
On the other hand if you want the "dipped in shiny plastic" look then the finish of choice would be Flecto original style Varathane in the gloss style. Again thin the first coat about 1 part varnish to 1 part thinner. And in this case you'll use a good varnishing brush or a wide and fairly thick sable hair artist's brush. For brushing like this I like to thin it slightly with about 15 to 25% paint thinner to the tin of varnish. The thinning makes it flow out nicer and lay a little more flat.
For this stuff you'll want to let it dry well then remove the gloss with some 500 to 600 wetordry sandpaper before applying the next coat. By coat #4 or 5 it'll be looking pretty thick. At that point add one more coat. Then let the whole thing fully dry for AT LEAST a week. At that point wet sand with some 1000grit wetordry sandpaper. Then polish using a lambswool cover on a sanding pad in your hand drill and using the rust red rubbing compound from automotive outlets. When it's as good as it'll go switch to a new lamb's wool mop and use the white "Polishing compound" to further clarify it. By the time you're done with that it should be looking pretty good. Finish it off with a good quality automotive paste wax.
Use a lower speed for all this polishing and take your time. You don't want to use a high speed and burn or melt the varnish. And it takes longer to do the job right than you think. When you figure it looks great keep going for another few full passes before moving on to the next step.
For a low lustre "thin into the wood" look I'd go with the stuff suggested by the folks above. Tru Oil for a little more shine and the raw tung oil from Lee Valley for a dull oiled wood look.
For an inbetween sort of sheen I like the Lee Valley Polymerized Tung Oil finish. Thin the first two coats with mineral spirits or low odor paint thinner for better penetration. Than use full strength for another 4 coats. You apply the PTO by padding it on with a little rubbing glob of steel wool so it de-fuzzes the earlier dry coat while applying the new coat. Apply then buff off the excess right away with some paper towel or a lint free rag. Give it AT LEAST 24 hours between coats. By coat 5 or 6 you'll have a nice low lustre "in the wood" sort of finish that really looks great.
On the other hand if you want the "dipped in shiny plastic" look then the finish of choice would be Flecto original style Varathane in the gloss style. Again thin the first coat about 1 part varnish to 1 part thinner. And in this case you'll use a good varnishing brush or a wide and fairly thick sable hair artist's brush. For brushing like this I like to thin it slightly with about 15 to 25% paint thinner to the tin of varnish. The thinning makes it flow out nicer and lay a little more flat.
For this stuff you'll want to let it dry well then remove the gloss with some 500 to 600 wetordry sandpaper before applying the next coat. By coat #4 or 5 it'll be looking pretty thick. At that point add one more coat. Then let the whole thing fully dry for AT LEAST a week. At that point wet sand with some 1000grit wetordry sandpaper. Then polish using a lambswool cover on a sanding pad in your hand drill and using the rust red rubbing compound from automotive outlets. When it's as good as it'll go switch to a new lamb's wool mop and use the white "Polishing compound" to further clarify it. By the time you're done with that it should be looking pretty good. Finish it off with a good quality automotive paste wax.
Use a lower speed for all this polishing and take your time. You don't want to use a high speed and burn or melt the varnish. And it takes longer to do the job right than you think. When you figure it looks great keep going for another few full passes before moving on to the next step.
