What wood sealant do you use for rifle stocks?

What kind of finish is on the rifle now?

I just refinished a Marlin 39A with tung oil and 'sealed it' with some paste wax (regular maintenance with tung oil). Needless to say, this gun will not be sitting out in torrential downpours.

I am pretty happy with the outcome.
 
geologist said:
I want to seal the wood stock on my BRNO 602.

Which wood sealer do you guys use?

Can I just use Thompsons?

Please excuse if this is a dumb newbie-like question.
Click to expand...

I can't help you with the Thompsons.

When refinishing a stock, I strip the old finish and sand to about 320 grit.

I use a mix(about 1/3 each, total one liter) of Interlux Marine Spar Varnish(Schooner), Deft Marine teak Oil and paint thinner. I line a shallow cardboard box with plastic, lay the stock in it and soak the stock for 8-10 hours turning regularily. I'll let it dry for a couple of weeks then fill and finish using the same solution. Actually, the filling and finishing are for looks only.

My wood stocks stay dry.
 
I use a minwax product called Helmsman {its a spar urethane} for a multilayered base coat.Then Birchwood Casey Tru-oil for a multilayered topcoat.0000 steel wool used if matte finish desired after stock dries for a week.RB
 
Depends what kind of finish I'm after. Raw Linseed for authentic milsurp finishes, or sometimes Tung (depending on how it was originally finished).

I'm not a big fan of glossy finishes, but Spar varnish is quite robust, so it ought to be OK. It might be available in different sheens, I don't really know.
 
Circa 1885 tung oil on my 602 looks really nice, many coats hand rubbed with 0000 steel wool. For the inside, 50/50 tung + Varsol after the bedding job, the wood sucks it right in. The stock has a great sheen to it without being high gloss. This oil has no coloring agent so you'll keep close to your original blond wood color.
 
Tru Oil is easy to use and gives a very nice finish albeit not that waterproof and requires reg. maintenance. Very easy to repair dings in finish.

For a almost waterproof finish, look at any of the polyurethane products. Very water resistant but if you ding up the surface, the only way to refinish is to strip and start over. Will be attractive to look at and matte finishes are now available.

Some can even be rubbed in for that oil look. Neat.

For a waterproof finish, clear epoxy thinned with a bit of rubbing alcohol. Use the thinner laminating stuff. usually a 10 to 20% alcohol added to epoxy will be thin enough to paint and will cure in 24hrs. The tubes you get from HW stores can work but need more thinning and are expensive for the volume you get. Remember to get something that sets up slower then 15min.

Not the prettiest of coatings (quite yellow) and I usually paint over but it is durable and waterproof (I don't sit in downpours very often). Repairs require you to strip and reapply. Kind of like car body work.

Fiberglass resin is the cheapest of these two but will crack if a thick layer is put on. Can be used without thinning and seals very well. Again, painting over is the best way as it does discolour wood.

Jerry
 
If you use I.F.'s S-I epoxy,you can finish over top of it.The walnut won't have the deep coarse grained metallic sparkle of a good hand rubbed finish.Still no one would guess it's an epoxy finish.
 
bees wax

I have used something simular to the winchester site listed earlier.

I used Beeswax (from a craft store) turpentine and boiled linseed oil.

Add the turpentine 50/50 to the beeswax and it will turn into a cream like mixture. Add about 25% boiled Linseed oil (artist grade if possible) to the mix.

Hand rub and polish. the more coats the better.

Last winters project ended up with a soft natural sheen that is fairly water resistant. It is not as hardy as spar varnish but is much easier to look at.

Before applying any finish sand to the highest grade paper you can find. The stock should shine before you add the finish.

mb
 
If it's walnut.....do the following: 1. Package it up.
2. Send it to me at Rare Wood Creations
3. get out your cheque book.

J/K (sort of)

Chemically strip/clean the stock with stripper, follow the directions.

Wipe down the entire stock with LOTS of mineral spirits to remove any stripper.

Allow to dry overnight, then steam out any dnts with a soldering iron applied to a wet facecloth.

Sand to 220, then wet the entire stock down with distilled water, then let dry. The wood will go "fuzzy", so sand again...180, then 220

Repeat the distilled water (Do NOT use tap water), only this time sand 180-220-320.

Pick up some 400 grit wet-or-dry paper from the automotive section, slather the stock liberally with minwax tung-oil varnish, and sand the living crap out of it with the 400 grit paper, adding more finish as it starts to absorb. When you think you've sanded enough with the 400, do it again.

The stock should be a big slimy mess at this point (this is good), let it sit for 20 minutes then wipe off the excess with a clean rag. Dont over-do it...you dont want to strip the slurrry out of the pores.
Allow to dry overnight, then aggresively rub it down with a piece of burlap to burnish the surface...should almost be shiny.

Allow it to dry another two days, then get a can gloss of wipe-on poly (doesnt matter if you want it matte...get gloss) and apply a coat. wait 4 hours then apply another coat (don't sand), allow to dry overnight. Lightly scuff the surface with another piece of 400 grit wetted down with water, wipe dry, and repeat the "coat...wait two hours...coat...allow to dry" process once more. You now will have four coats of wipre on polly. Sand the entire surface with more wet 400 grit, being carefull not to go through the poly. Just rub until the finish has no more shiiny spots. If you want a matte finish, give it a rub with some 0000 steel wool at this point, and give it a coat of paste wax.

If you want more gloss, follow the 400 grit with 800, then 1500, then 2000 grit papers (use lots of water), give it a coat of turtle wax POLISHING compund (yes, for cars) and buff the crap out of it., re-aply TW, buff it again (Burlap works good for this)

Finally, apply a coat of paste wax, and buff with a cotton cloth.

I still like option A better though!

Ryan
 
A number of years ago I stripped the finish off a stock, raised the grain with a about three applications hot water and sanded down the raised grain after it was dried. Then I used a product called Rez to seal the wood. It was about the same consistency as gasoline. It soaked in very well and as long as it kept soaking in, I kept applying it. I let it dry good for a few days and then for a finish coat, I used satin finish Varathane. Prior to doing this, I used the same process on a practice piece of wood. The Rez soaked in over 1/8" so the end result was a very durable moisture resistant. Seemed to work really well.
By the way, what calibre is your 602? I have one in .458wm.
 
Great options so far. What is the best way to address the checkered areas ? Fine wire/nylon brushes ? Checkering will no doubt 'flatten out' some ?
 
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