Stock refinishing

Cleftwynd

Cleftwynd

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I have refinished a few stocks over the years, all turned out great, however I didn't recut the checkering. I have used boiled linseed oil, tung oil, tru finish, a few other oils and wax. But never on what I would call "nice" wood. The furniture I have built out of hardwood I always use oil and wax as I prefer the look of something more traditional and I don't mind topping off the finish every once in a while. Plus any dings, dents, or scratches are easily repaired with steel wool, steam, or sanding and touching up the oil and or wax.

What finish would bring out the grain the most? I am looking for the most contrast possible to really make the grain "pop"! Any suggestions? Or is my current method adequate.

For checkering, is there a certain brand or style of tools you would recommend to someone like me that is learning? I have a few I want to recut, and a few plain stocked rifles I want to add checkering, tastefully.

Thank you in advance, Bill
 
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Never ever done checkering but here was a good vid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BkzkobHifo

I did my SV10 stock which it came with oil finish. used super fine wet sandpaper with oil and slow and steady was the key for me. covered with linseed oil after. let it dry and it gave a light shiny tiger print strip to the wood. However, since it only had an oil as top coat, i used to whipe the whole stock down every month or two with the same linseed oil and it kept up with me for awhile.
Sold the shotgun to one of my fellow sproting shooter and he loved it.

Have also done few wet sanding maple table on gloss finish and turned out amazing. As far as oil finishe goes, few furnatures i have stripped down the oil, went through with 220 grain sandpaper and stained first coat with Light Oak finish.. forgot what it was called but gave a very light yellow tint to it. Than went back with 320 grit to go over the wood and used Dark Walnut stain on top of it. Let it dry and start applicating oil. I used to let oil dry, then apply few more coats of oil finish.

just like wet sanding on a car to make it shine and get all the scratches dissapear. Top with with car wax and you got a new veichle ..
Learned few stuff from my ol carpentry days but i am sure there are better methods that woodworking guru's would tell you tho.
 
Thanks kimmer82!!

I tried some watco oils on a piece of walnut tonight with decent results after quizzing a friend with some experience working with this stuff. After sanding it smooth, I applied a very light coat of clear oil and rubbed it in with a cotton cloth, then for the next coat I used an oil with a med/dark tint in hopes that it would soak into the more porous wood that wasn't saturated by the lighter oil. It looks like it might work with a little practice to bring out the grain more than just using one color of oil.


I will report back once I try this some more (need some more oils) and attempt to perfect the finishing and applications.

I am still hoping someone will chime in with a method for accentuating the grain.


Regards, Bill
 
I have really good luck with the Min-Wax products.
I have done a half dozen log bed frames, some potato boxes and
a few other kibbles and bits.
Eight or so stocks and the least grief I have had is with the product stated.
 
I have used min wax as well on furniture, it's crazy easy to work with isn't it! I made a solid oak bed frame for the missus using old techniques with oils and beeswax, that turned out great!


Still wasn't the end result I want in these rifle stocks, I might be asking too much, but I know very little about woodwork.
 
Experiment with dark stain first, sanding much of it off so it only remains in the end grain figure. Then apply your light stain/oil. Remember that if you are using oil, it will fill up much of the grain so if you want to use the 2-tone process (which I personally love), a dye is probably a better choice since it won't fill the grain much at all. If you want that shimmering/figure movement, you will need several layers of a very translucent top coat which could be light oil. The darker it is will end up obscuring the light more.

Try some experiments on scrap and let us know how it goes.
 
I have been using Permalyn stock finish, really does dry as stated so you can get on with the job. Only problem with anniline dyes is that depending on the colour they very much do fade in the sun.
 
I hear over and over that aniline or water based dyes/stains are the best for contrasting grain, and linseed oil was used for its appearance rather than it being a tough or waterproof finish. The Minwax stains, with their pigment suspended, are said to muddy and cloud the grain instead of enhance it. So a proper stain, then some sort of Linseed oil-based finish (like Minwax Antique oil) would probably do what you want.
 
Over the years I have tried a few different finishes, finally settled on Tru-Oil only do something else if asked.
As far as popping up the grain,, should that piece of lumber have any,, it does a good job. If the stock is plain jane
it will likely stay that way and look odd. Short of actually painting on a "fancy grain" I don't find staining etc. very appealing,
wood is what it is. JMHO FWIW --- John
 
Since Brownells won't ship what I want any more I have started playing with locally available stuff that does not have "gun" on the label. Most of the urethane varnish is actually much tougher than the gun stuff which is softer probably to make it easier to sand. You can do the same if you add some boiled linseed oil to get something like Tru-Oil although the dry time gets a bit longer. I am sure than adding BLO will certainly make a softer weaker finish but it does darken the wood a bit more than straight urethane if you like that look. I use a hot box and it all dries hard over night.
 
In my experience and readings there is no great secretive magic to this. Just personel preferences as to what "look" you like. I think the methods you expressed in your initial post have you on the right track.

Personally I rarely use any sort of stain on a gun stock as I like to see the natural colours of the wood. I have found the grain comes out the best for me with oils like linseed and tung. "Linspeed" oil, is a commercial gun stock finish which I have used and have good results with. Linseed oil basically with driers added.

Pure natural tung oil is actually my favorite as it has the best water repellantcy features of the two oils. Polymerized tung oil is also a product I have used with good results. Basically a commercial tung oil product with driers. Very high percenatge of tung.

All of these oil based (linseed and tung) that contain driers, will initially dry to the touch in a few days but the finish will remain soft and damage easily for several months depending on relative humidity. Thats because natural oils like linseed and tung take along time to actually dry, if at all. The less oil and more commercial driers and other additives in the product the faster and harder it will dry, (True Oil).

There are other formulas of natural oils and mixtures of varnishs etc. The oils and the varnishes are all linseed and or tung oil based anyways. You would just have to spend several years experimenting on scraps of wood to get the best formula that pleases your eye and needs.

Tung oil all though my favorite tends to dry leaving a dullness. For your purposes for maximum grain enhancement I would go with a Linseed based product such as "Linspeed" (google it). You could use several coats of linspeed to seal and fill the grain of the wood and then put boiled linseed on for the last applications, or go all Linspeed. Either way Iam sure will give you the desired results. Take the time to "completely" fill the grain of the wood, most folks don't do this and the end result is a stock with open pores which is rough to the eye and hand and allows crud to build up in them changing the appearance of the finish. So take the time to fill the woods pores.

In my early days I reasearched and played with this stuff as an interest and hobby. In the end it all came down to personel preference of look, what was easy to apply, and what was durable and repelled the moisture the best.

All these finishes wear and mark up in time. The factory finishes are the worst. Especially that epoxy based high lustre crap. But the easiest finishes to repair, and maintain is a nice oil finish. Might take the most time to initially apply it, but with yearly maintenance it will keep on looking good for years.

CHECKERING Another area I played around in alot until my excellant eye sight was no more. Anyways I always got my checkering tools, cutters etc. from "Dembart". (google it) I just phone them and they send it. The folks are very helpfull and friendly.

Most factory checkering is 18 point. Recutting is fairly straight forward, but be carefull and pay attention because it is still easy to screw it up. To recut I mainly used single line cutters, and lots of them as the old finish and crud in the old checkering dulls cutters quickly. Cutters are not carbide tipped as there to dam small.
Best to order a basic instruction book at the same time to educate yoursef on the finer details of checkering and the different types and uses of cutters available.

Hopes this helps somewhat.
 
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Unfortuately Linspeed is no longer retailed in Canada you have to order it in from the states. It's no big deal, no different in buying a can of varnish. Comes through customs no issue's from either side.
 
If you really want the grain to pop, try to find a product called NGR (non grain raising) dye stain. this WILL need to be sprayed on as it will penetrate like no tomorrow with any other method.
the closer to the natural wood colour the stain is the more traditional the finish will look.
It doesn't seem to matter what finish goes on top from high performance lacquer to double boiled linseed oil it seems to give the wood life. We use NGR dye stain in ALL of our stained finishes at my shop. www.dreamhomecabinetry.com
You will need to know someone in the trade as this is not available to the public. Although Lee Valley sells a basic powdered version in a few "bright" colours.
Hope this helps.
Greg
 
I have had good results from the following process. Sand to 400 grit then wipe on whatever aniline water-based stain gives you the color you want. I like the Antique Cherry color from Lee Valley for use on maple and cherry wood but have not tried it on walnut. Brush or swab on several coats of stain until the wood is saturated then let it dry. Now, wearing rubber gloves, take a wet cloth and bucket of water and wipe down the stained wood, removing some stain and all the uneven drips, etc until just slightly lighter than you want the final product. While wet, it will look close to the final result. This water will lift whiskers so go over the wood lightly with 400 or 600 grit to remove whiskers. Be careful not to sand sharp edges and lose your stained wood. Once dry and smooth, apply 4 or 5 coats of WATCO Danish Oil - good instructions on the can). I prefer clear but have also had okay results with Light Walnut, when I wanted to darken down the stained wood a bit more. The Danish Oil also comes from Lee Valley but is available elsewhere. A week or two after the Danish Oil is dry, apply a coat or two of Tried and True (beeswax and linseed oil) furniture finish - also from Lee Valley and good instructions on the can. Now that hockey is back you can watch hockey while you give that stock a nice warm hand-rubbed classic finish...
 
Interesting reading here.

I have some box elder burl (manitoba maple) which Ive cut and have drying to build another enfield stock or two with (Ill keep it a little more conservative this time, closer to the sporter styles) and I've been wondering what product to use for them, I think Ill grab some tru oil from Lee Valley.

They don't have very much red to them but there is a heap of character in the burl.
 
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