Need some advice on wood finishing

[Rodney Moorhead]

I picked up a sportizied Savage No4 Mk1 not long ago for $30.00.  Anway I managed to get all the right parts for her except the proper grooved hand guard.  Anyway I have a used beech Savage stock and new beech wood fore end.  What should I use to make them match.  I am thinking Tung Oil.  I will post some pictures. 

Rod

[Rodney Moorhead]

Sorry can't get any photos to post they are too big and I don't know how to resize.

[Dan W]

I have had good results using Birchwood Casey TRU-OIL hand rubbed (applied with my fingers) on my trap shotgun stocks. Just let it dry good between coats. It is easy to fix any screwups.

The one  problem I later figured out was,  I should have sealed the raw new wood better as the grain fills in faster, and it takes fewer coats of finish for a nice smooth surface

[Dan W]

Sorry can't get any photos to post they are too big and I don't know how to resize.

Yes the max size allowed is 640x480 . I use photobucket and it has an editor built in that will resize big pics

[bkoenig]

I refinished this Enfield with tung oil a couple of years ago.  Actually, refinish is a stretch.  I just cleaned it up and applied multiple coats until it wouldn't take any more.  It still has lots of dents & dings but it preserved the original character.



I'm using tung oil right now on the stock of my 1864 Snider.  It has 5 coats so far and it's still sucking it up like a dry sponge.  I rub it into the wood vigorously with my bare hands - the friction heats up the wood and helps it absorb.  After an hour or so I wipe off any excess and then let it dry.  Depending on the temperature and humidity this may take up to 24 hours.  Repeat that until the wood won't absorb any more, or until you're sick of doing it

One BIG caution with using tung oil.  Don't throw any oil soaked rags in the trash.  They WILL spontaneously combust and burn your house down.  I made the mistake once of leaving a rag sitting on the concrete pad next to my garage.  When I got home from work there was a pile of ash where it had cooked off.  Luckily it was a still day and it didn't blow the flames into anything flammable.

Real tung oil (not tung oil finish, there is a difference) will give you a deep, non-glossy finish after it dries.  Boiled Linseed Oil is similar and easier to find - it's usually in the same aisle as the paint thinner at hardware stores. 

[AAllen]

Question for those that have used the Tung Oil.  I've read where the stocks have a tendancy to "sweat" oil on hot or sunny days after going that route, how bad is it?

[bkoenig]

Question for those that have used the Tung Oil.  I've read where the stocks have a tendancy to "sweat" oil on hot or sunny days after going that route, how bad is it?

They do tend to sweat a little on hot days, or if you shoot fast enough to really heat up the barrel.  It goes away with time though.

[Bill]

Oil finishes like tung oil, boiled-linseed, Watco Danish oil, and the like are great for adding color, and protecting the wood from water but they don't give you a hard shell finish, so the won't protect the wood from abrasion and they won't really fill the pores of the wood.  Also, unless the oil says it has color, don't expect it to appreciably darken the wood.

Polyurethane isn't bad, but it it's a little soft.  It does however give you a gloss (if desired) and it gives a thicker shell finish.  Each layer of poly is distinct though, they don't bond together.

Shellac and such is what high-end furniture makers and woodworkers consider to be "best".  It gives a hard shell, it can be tinted, you can tweak the gloss, and each layer bonds to the lower which gives a deep buffable finish.

For a knock-about rifle I'd give it 2-4 coats of oil, wait about 3-4 days, then hit it with a couple coats of spray poly with gloss level of your choice.

A show piece, well that would take some time to write up and I don't think you're planning for that.

[Rodney Moorhead]

Here are the pictures

[Bill]

Assuming you haven't put anything on the forestock yet, here's what I'd do.

I'd sand the forestock up to about 220.

2-3 coats of Watco Danish oil Natural  (this is a relative of tung oil, but has 7% varnish)

Wait 3 days.

Then you have a choice. 

1)  You can go with tougher Polyurethane.  The downside is any touchups will involve more work.  That looks like a "Satin" finish, or maybe a semi-gloss.

2) You can use Watco wax finish.  This is a rub on liquid wax finish.  Give it a good heavy coat, let it sit, then wipe off the excess.  Then wet sand it with 400 or 600 grit sand paper,  with the liquid wax providing the "wet" part of the equation.    Wipe of the excess, and maybe give it another non-sanding coat of wax.  This finish will not be as protective as the poly, but any dings can be reoiled and rewaxed and it will blend right in.  This will give you a deep warm finish with a satin sheen.

3)  Decide it's "good enough" and go shoot.  You can keep adding coats of oil to it to build gloss, but a word of caution about that.  Each additional coat will take longer to dry because the solvents in the varnish need to evaporate, and as the finish builds that process slows down because it can't get to the wood any more.  There's really no limit to the number of coats you can do, but your dry times can get excessive.   As you build more layers the finish will build towards a gloss sheen.

These are just what I'm used to using.  There are zillions of ways to finish wood.  You're lucky in that the butt stock doesn't appear to have any coloring stain.