Refinishing a rifle stock

[Doog]

Going to refinish a rifle stock (walnut). Any advice on finishes? Should I use a stain and then tung oil? Or a stain and polyurethane? Or just natural wood and tung oil?

It will be sanded to bare wood.

 

[redbone3]

The last one I did I used clear epoxy glue. Rub it in and finish with steel wool when dry.

 

[Wheel]

I'd leave out the stain. Walnut usually looks good enough raw. As far as tung oil vs. poly, what are you looking for in the finish ? Tung oil will always require maintenance, as well as a long time to initially finish. I think it has a 'depth' to it that brings out subtleties in the wood. Poly is much more water-resistant, and will be done pretty quickly. It looks nice and shiny, but is different than tung. I also think its slick for a rifle that gets carried a lot.

My preference is a drying tung oil, but I don't mind its limitations and maintenance.

 

[userfriendly]

I buy 3 colors of tung oil. Neutral, dark brown and bright red. You never know until you try the different colors, or a blend of them what the wood likes. After stripping off the old finish I remove the old oils from the stock with boiling water. Sanding alone will result in a ripple finish as more summer growth is removed than the much harder winter growth rings. Scraping with broken glass or a hunting knife makes for a smooth wood finish. Once I have the oil color and finish as good as it is going to get, I seal it with wipe on poly. How old is the wood, and what did the stock come off?

 

[Boomer]

Do you hunt a lot in rainy weather? Do you wipe your stock down after a day of hunting in the rain?

I think tung oil is OK for a showpiece/take it to the range gun. But for a serious hunter who is exposed to all kinds of weather, a matte finish waterproog outdoor urethane is really a must if you want to protect the wood stock.

 

[userfriendly]

You hit the nail on the head Boomer. Synthetic camo is the way to go for serious hunting. Sort of a love/hate co-dependent relationship, if you know what I mean.

 

[hatt]

I can't help you with the finish but I know sandpaper will mess up a stock if you don't know what you're doing. I have a couple rifles I got cheap because of the mucked up wood.

 

[tc1446]

I've used Birchwood Casey stain and also their stock finish for some time.The stock finish is a highly processed linseed oil that drys to a hard glossy finish. Rub in on with your fingers. If you want it more satin, run it down with 4 oh steel wool. Put on several coats if you like a deep finish.

 

[tom slick]

What style rifle is it? Does it need some type of period correct finish or just something tough for the field?

 

[Robenstein]

Most "tung oil" finishes out there are not Tung Oil at all, just a finish that resembles it, usually a linseed based finish.

If you want a low sheen "hand rubbed" look, one of my favorite products is Minwax Antique Oil Finish. It is a boiled linseed oil and varnish blend. It can take quite a few coats to fill the grain, but it leaves a beautiful finish that is more durable than just oil alone, but not as plastic looking as thick polyurethane. And unlike polyurethane, it can be easy repaired.

I sometimes make my own blend. I take some Formbys Tung Oil finish (which is really a wiping soya based varnish) and mix it with boiled linseed or tung oil and mineral spirits. I mix it as follows.

50% Formbys
30% BLO or Tung Oil
20% Mineral Spirits or Turpentine

I recently redid an old warped and water damaged table I found in my aunts basement in this blend with black lacquered legs. It is holding up well and looks wonderful. It has about 6 coats on it. I applied it after sanding lightly with 320 and then steel wooling smooth with OOOO. I would hit it lightly with steel wool, again 0000 between coats, and the last coat was done with steel wool and johnsons paste wax and then buffed with a soft cloth to give a satin sheen more than a gloss one.

 

[DBMaster]

Nice job, Robenstein. I will have to remember your mad scientist blend next time I want to use Formby's Tung Oil.

 

[userfriendly]

One reason I buy red, old Winchesters had a reddish color. Other stocks turn almost black with brown stain. Then, red with the neutral might work. If you get the color wrong, rinse with boiling water and start over.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
One reason I buy red, old Winchesters had a reddish color. Other stocks turn almost black with brown stain. Then, red with the neutral might work. If you get the color wrong, rinse with boiling water and start over.


Varathane has a red stain that you can mix with some of the brown ones to get the red winchester look. Just depends on the wood tone. SOmetimes you miss the mark, especially if you varnish over it. It adds more amber tone and can turn things a bit orange or darken it too much.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Nice job, Robenstein. I will have to remember your mad scientist blend next time I want to use Formby's Tung Oil.


Thank you. Nothing really beats an oil finish for beauty. If you do it right the wood almost shimmers. Usually I just lacquer or use one of the new water borne acrylics with my HVLP set up, but for small pieces like this, I don't mind the extra elbow grease involved.

 

[userfriendly]

I like walking around the hood looking at the different colors people have chosen for their log homes. In our national parks, the retro dark brown, and painted log structures are being renovated and stained for a brighter look.
My parents and grandparents painted over wood furniture and kitchen cupboards mental hospital green. My mother spray painted everything else gold.

 

[Robenstein]

Originally Posted By: userfriendly
I like walking around the hood looking at the different colors people have chosen for their log homes. In our national parks, the retro dark brown, and painted log structures are being renovated and stained for a brighter look.
My parents and grandparents painted over wood furniture and kitchen cupboards mental hospital green. My mother spray painted everything else gold.


The table in my picture was painted with an opaque brown stain when I got my hands on it. I never understood why anyone wanted to hide pretty wood grain with opaque colors either.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
Do you hunt a lot in rainy weather? Do you wipe your stock down after a day of hunting in the rain?

I think tung oil is OK for a showpiece/take it to the range gun. But for a serious hunter who is exposed to all kinds of weather, a matte finish waterproog outdoor urethane is really a must if you want to protect the wood stock.


The stock is off an old marlin and going on another one that is custom. So it is a straight bolt on. But I will use it in all types of weather so durability is #1 so I think I'll take your advice on the urethane finish coat maybe in a semi gloss and do 3-4 coats with 0000 steel wool in between each coat.

A friend of mine recommended 2-4 coats of marine grade urethane to stand up to weather and some abuse.

 

[Doog]

Thanks everyone for the replies!

 

[dave123]

2k poly would be best in this app.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: dave123
2k poly would be best in this app.


Yeah if I can find a local source for a spray can of it. I don't really want to get into mixing the A+B.