Unfinished Wood Stocks

WhelanLad

WhelanLad

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Hey any of you Blokes, sanded back the original stock and either refinished it or done something other than the Gloss look thats coated over the wood?

particularly the Ruger, i have a hawkey, i think i want to sand it down to the walnut an lose the shine.....(too late i did)

What needs to happen after this sanding? i assume the wood may begin to rot over time if neglected an left bare..... some kind of oil i think would suit?

anyone done it, i kind of like the walnut look...minus the shine...


Have seen quite a few on here refinishen rifles an such, be nice to hear
 
i sanded down an old cooey 22 and just finished it with some leftover stain i had in the garage. Turned out pretty good. A friend i know uses mink oil or linseed oil, but he said its a long process. Google seems to say Tru-oil is the best, but i don't have any experience with it.

curious to hear what others say
 
You can do something like a stain combined with a polyurethane coating (such as Miniwax PolyShade) which I've done on my refinished SKS and it came out a beautiful blonde after I applied several light coats of pecan-colored finish. Per what you want, you can accentuate the natural color of the wood by just going with boiled linseed oil. It may take a few days but it's worth it. I would sand very fine after each coat of linseed and do multiple coats for the best look.
 
Generally speaking, sanding is to be avoid as wood removal can compromise fitment (think butt plates, etc) and chemical stripping is usually the first step. I see youve already sanded the finish off which isnt a big deal - so my next step would be choosing an oil finish. Oil finishes vary significantly, there are pure oils and oil based products. When it comes to pure oil you want a DRYING oil, such as linseed oil or tung oil. These oils will polymerize and dry into a finish, as opposed to say regular vegetable oil. These can be applied lightly and rubbed in vigorously and any excess wiped off, followed by a drying period between coats. If youre looking for more information, try googling for "hand rubbed oil finish" and that will yield some helpful info.
 
Some folks (myself included) would just knock the shine off the original finish and thus not removing any wood by sanding.
 
littlehughey said:
Generally speaking, sanding is to be avoid as wood removal can compromise fitment (think butt plates, etc) and chemical stripping is usually the first step. I see youve already sanded the finish off which isnt a big deal - so my next step would be choosing an oil finish. Oil finishes vary significantly, there are pure oils and oil based products. When it comes to pure oil you want a DRYING oil, such as linseed oil or tung oil. These oils will polymerize and dry into a finish, as opposed to say regular vegetable oil. These can be applied lightly and rubbed in vigorously and any excess wiped off, followed by a drying period between coats. If youre looking for more information, try googling for "hand rubbed oil finish" and that will yield some helpful info.
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i did see this Tru oil, may be able to get it here for sure i think, i totally seen that you shouldnt sand the stock, lol, right after i came in from doing it :) thats me in a nutshell....... as you guys proberly pick up with my posts..
i trust some of u blokes more than google!
Thanks mate

SuperCub said:
Some folks (myself included) would just knock the shine off the original finish and thus not removing any wood by sanding.
Click to expand...

This i did basically, took the shine off an havnt 'rubbed' the wood bugger all.... it looks nice an redish? haha

it looks very old schol blued and walnut natural! i friggen like it.

it was guna be for sale but perhaps a client gun for sambar! at worst , to hold its place in the safe!
 
I believe Tru-Oil leaves a gloss finish, if you are going for a less shiny finish it might require additional steps as compared to boiled linseed oil. I hope one of the real experts chimes in, most of my experience is general woodwork - not rifle stocks.
 
Try tung oil. Its very thin, and goes on thin. You can build up the finish with several coats, it will end up in a semi gloss state. If you want less shine, rub the stock with very fine steel wool. Dont use linseed oil, it cant handle getting wet.
 
You can turn a glossy stock into a nice matte finish without refinishing by using a white/ light grey scotch brite pad. It is fine enough that you won't see scratches but will fog over the high gloss finish.
 
I have stripped the gloss finish off and oiled many of my rifles over the years. I tried Tru oil once, indeed it is rather too glossy for my tastes. Tung oil is great. It will take several days to a week or two to get a good finish with it. Actually, it is not really time consuming applying it, rather about 5-10 minutes a day. A couple minutes to wipe a coat on, and a few to wipe off the access/rub it in 10 or 20 minutes later. One or two coats a day maybe, too many and it won't dry fast enough and it gets gummy.
 
Due to sq footage and odor complaints from using tung or linseed oil I have used Tru-oil exclusively. If I want the gloss look use it straight, if I want to have a duller hand rubbed oil look I dilute it with lighter fluid about 50/50. Just sop it on, wait 10 min wipe off. wait an hour or two-repeat till it's where you want it. This Marlin from an inletted blank was done that way.

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I have used beeswax to finish walnut stocks in the past and it worked great. Toilet wax seals used to be made from beeswax but I don't know what they are made of today. You can probably get it at a candle or craft store. Take the beeswax and put it in a glass jar and add turpentine to make a paste and then just rub it into the wood. You can even buff it if you want.
 
I've been using Tru-Oil since the 70's and can dull it down or gloss 'er up as needed. Naptha makes fer a decent thinner with the stuff.

Me dull look MN 91/30.
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Same rifle glossed up.
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Use something like circa1850 to strip the stock to bare wood with out sanding, raise and and lightly knock back the raised grain followed by hand rubbed tung oil is the way to go and actually pretty easy.
 
I have used a product called Minwax antique oil finish with good results. It gives a warm glow to the wood but not to shiny. Also gives a in the wood finish with only a little build up on the surface of the wood. Giving you a real oil finish look.
 
Try-oil for me too. Dries quicker that other stuff too, so you can sand and do half a dozen coats in a weekend instead of just one.
 
As mentioned don't sand a finish off.

I use a chemical stripper and acetone and a toothbrush on stubborn bits.

I also like Tru-Oil. You can use it as a grain filler by thinning it with Naphtha or Mineral spirits and "wet" sanding with the thinned tru oil. You can finish to Matte or high gloss depending on your technique as well. It is a great product.
 
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