Finishing A Stock

[TNHagies]

I ordered a custom laminate stock for my 700ML and it came in yesterday. Looks nice but obviously it came in unfinished. (They call it 99% inlet) I haven"™t refinished a stock since I was kid and my dad and I refinished my first .22 so I"™m a bit out of practice. In a quick search I see that a lot of people are using boiled linseed oil. What are your preferences of material and methods?

It"™s a huntin"™ rifle so it will be used. I need something that will hold up to weather. I don"™t want something with a lot of shine so it scares the turkeys away. But it is a pretty wood so a little shine would be ok. I guess a semi-gloss look is what I"™m after.

If you have examples of stocks you've done I'd like to see 'em.

Thanks in advance!

[yakfisher]

I would use Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil. You can knock the shine back with oo or ooo steel wool. This stuff really brings the grain out. It has linseed oil in it.

[bronko22000]

TN - Before any finishing starts. Assemble your action (everything) to the stock and make sure everything fits properly. You may have to do some minor wood removal in some places. Also check to be sure the barrel is free floating up to the chamber.
Once you're satisfied with fit, then sand the stock with coarse, fine, super fine and finally steel wool to get the surface free of all nicks and dings. A good thing to do at this point when you are satisfied with the finish is to dampen a rag with mineral spirits and wipe the entire surface of the stock out. Including the trigger area and barrel channel (all exposed surfaces)
As for the finishing, Birchwood Casey's Truoil is good. However for a durable, non-glare finish, the past couple stocks I have done I used nothing more than satin finish polyurethane (spray or brush on). I first stain the stock to the color I want then let it dry for a couple or threedays. Wipe off with the mineral spirits again and let dry completely for another day. Then apply the polyurethane. Either one or two coats.

[FG]

Go to my forum link and check out Muzzleloaders, I redid coreys Hawken and did a complete type up on it.

With tru-oil, dip your finger in and put little dots over a 2 or 3 inch section of stock and rub it in, keep doing that until you have the entire rear of the stock done on one side. Let it sit over night and do the other side. Its a whole lot easier doing it one section at a time and comes out smoother. I did 7 coats i believe on coreys hawken and then finished it off with 2 coats of tru-oil in a spray can.

[lemoyne]

Linseed oil is ok a lot of beginners use it Tung nut oil is better, when you make sure the stock is ready that sand it with very fine sand paper then rub out each coat of oil as you put it on and leave it set for a day before you put the next coat on. Not many do this any more but I still scrape the whiskers after the first coat with a piece of broken glass. Lee

[bronko22000]

Here is a walnut stock from a Hawken I finished using only the satin polyurethane. The wood was sufficiently dark and nice grain. The poly enhanced the grain and sealed the pores of the wood.

[TNHagies]

Sweet, thanks guys! I will get to sandin' this weekend...

[Buck Hunter 1]

What doies this mean lemoyne?

Not many do this any more but I still scrape the whiskers after the first coat with a piece of broken glass. Lee