I haven't done it in a while, but my long preferred method was Tung Oil. There are lots of different things to finish a rifle stock with, and I was thinking about trying one with Bona hardwood floor finish. I've put it in numerous homes, and it'll stand up to plenty of foot traffic. It seems ideal for a rifle stock. Particularly because we've been using their water based with great success.

I may just do it the way I always have, but the Bona sure is tempting. About the only other poly related product I'd think of using would be Spar Urethane.

The other thing I've thought about is epoxy, I used it a lot at my previous job, and you'll see it as a bar top, among other things.

I'll probably go Tung. Or not.

Pure Tung Oil is my choice as well.

If you're wanting to try something different, have you ever tried wax? Something like Gunny Paste or Tom's 1/3rd Mix can be applied as a final coat over an oil finish, or you can just use 2 to 3 coats of the wax mixture with no additional oil.

http://thegunstockdoctor.com/

Oh yeah, I've waxed, on and off even.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Pure Tung Oil is my choice as well.

Pure Tung Oil is the best, but the drying time for a good finish is in weeks. The polymerized product dries much faster, but IMHO, the pure product produces the best finish.
 

I've done a few stocks and my preferred method is 10-12 coats of rubbed in tung oil, followed by a few coats of johnsons paste wax to protect it afterwards. I did a rifle in tru-oil once, and ended up stripping it off and redoing it with the tung oil.

That's interesting, I've had good luck with True Oil. It's a polymerized something of an oil, and you can control the level of shine with multiple methods.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
That's interesting, I've had good luck with True Oil. It's a polymerized something of an oil, and you can control the level of shine with multiple methods.

There was no problem with the finish itself, I had just decided I didn't like the high gloss on the particular rifle I had put it on, having had many scratches in a high gloss trap gun that I shoot a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Oh yeah, I've waxed, on and off even.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

A vote for tung oil.

what type of rifle?

I had TruOil on a gun I got and didn't like it. Stripped it off with acetone and did a refinish with Watco Danish Oil after talking to my local Woodcrafters guys about tung oil or BLO. Dried very nicely and did a finish coat with Mahoney's Walnut oil for a rich, matte finish.

My vote is Tung Oil.... but then again that's all I've every tried. Like henryaz mentioned, the downside is weeks of drying time and multiple coats.

I'd be very interested in what you finally decide to use and the process of your project.
Cool thread, keep us updated.

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
what type of rifle?

It's for a laminated birch stock, one where I'd like a hard clear coat.

I do have a cup gun, and experience with epoxies and other finishes, but gun stocks are a bit of a different ballgame. The display work I've done is all large flat or gently curving pieces, almost any gun stock is a lot of tight curves.

There are a few options that can be applied just like I would the Tung and other treatments I've done in the past, but I'm wondering what might be better, particularly for a laminate.

I may even try an automotive finish. I'd rather not spray, but it might be the only way to get the right, nasty, chemicals that will do the job.

That's why I was contemplating the Bona, I know it's hard and long lasting, and easily applied.

Really, unless I oversand something, you don't really "ruin" a gun stock with a poor finish or mistakes, but you do have to strip it, if you've botched it bad enough.

Tung is ideal for a solid wood stock, I'd go right back to it, the next time I do one. There are lots of options for solid wood, the one I'd not recommend to a friend is BLO.

I just did a Marlin 336 stock with Watco Danish Oil. Looks great, but I don't know how it wears yet, I haven't had much occasion to handle it since I did the work.

Tung or linseed oil, I have used both on different projects and have been happy with both.

ARman

I just started on target grips for a Browning Challenger with Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil.

They have checkering; how should I rub it down ( what material? ) between coats?

The manufacturer's website mentions " polish cloth".

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:

quote:

Originally posted by lyman:
what type of rifle?

It's for a laminated birch stock, one where I'd like a hard clear coat.

I do have a cup gun, and experience with epoxies and other finishes, but gun stocks are a bit of a different ballgame. The display work I've done is all large flat or gently curving pieces, almost any gun stock is a lot of tight curves.

There are a few options that can be applied just like I would the Tung and other treatments I've done in the past, but I'm wondering what might be better, particularly for a laminate.

I may even try an automotive finish. I'd rather not spray, but it might be the only way to get the right, nasty, chemicals that will do the job.

That's why I was contemplating the Bona, I know it's hard and long lasting, and easily applied.

Really, unless I oversand something, you don't really "ruin" a gun stock with a poor finish or mistakes, but you do have to strip it, if you've botched it bad enough.

Tung is ideal for a solid wood stock, I'd go right back to it, the next time I do one. There are lots of options for solid wood, the one I'd not recommend to a friend is BLO.

I would skip the BLO, RLO or Tung oils on a laminate,

did a laminate with linspeed once, did not work out like I wanted, the epoxy lamination would do better with another finish

Well, I've made some progress, notably in finding what I'd like to use for a finish, which is Varnish.

Now, finding varnish might sound simple, but the key thing is that many products with the word "varnish" in them, aren't.

This is in part to "varnish" being a verb, and in today's world, the move to low VOC ingredients.

I found a brand that still contains what you want in Varnish, which is Alkyds primarily. In essence, it is colorless oil based paint.

In other news, I called the stock mfger, and they're going to send some scrap pieces along with the stock when it ships, so I can try things.

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Well, I've made some progress, notably in finding what I'd like to use for a finish, which is Varnish.

Have you looked at Spar Varnishes? It's been a long time since I used the product, but it might be worth checking out the various offerings there to see if you find the right ratio of ingredients.
 

If you go to your local hardware store and by Spar Varnish, you're buying one of a host of things. This is what I was describing in my post about "varnish" and Varnish.

Spar varnish, like varnish, can vary wildy with what is actually in it, but the key thing about spar varnish, is that it is typically a strong honey color. Finding a clear or near clear spar varnish is tough, because that color is part of what helps it resist UV.

Also, you might be interested to know a number of spar varnishes contain tung oil.

Again, when a can says Varnish, especially now with the whole push for low/no VOC, and water base, consult the label or even the SDS, if you really need to know.

What I use Spar Varnish for routinely in my work, is oak threshholds or "saddles" as they're sometimes called. over a natural wood, a spar varnish is going to be a look most people will like.

A polyurethane, or oil modified polyurethane like Bona that I mentioned earlier, is something that I may try. But generally the polyurethanes available at Home Depot or similar, aren't exactly what you might put on a rifle stock, or a guitar, though you could I suppose.

I do know, that I could go the automotive finish route, because for a clear hard finish, that's basically about as tough as you're going to get. An epoxy like West System isn't something I'd put on a rifle stock, as the open time is very short and I'd be concerned about filling in areas where the action goes.

A local gunsmith who works on high dollar double barrel shotguns get fantastic results with True Oil. I've seen super high gloss as well as matte finishes he done and they all look great.