So for a wood stock, what would you recommend? Clear coat, satin, oil?
What would be a pretty stable finish?
TIA
What would be a pretty stable finish?
TIA
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Wood stock finish?
- Thread starter Jakeonthekob
- Start date
Birchwwod Caseys Tru Oil is pretty damn good. Inexpensive and easy. Several coats applied with fingers. 0000 steel wool between coats. Use wood filler before applying a finish.
JFR
JFR
Boiled linseed oil is traditional, and will also protect the wood.
I would probably stick to an oil rubbed finish for ease of refinishing and repair, although i may stray from BLO. I would not use a poly finish or any hard varnish.
I would probably stick to an oil rubbed finish for ease of refinishing and repair, although i may stray from BLO. I would not use a poly finish or any hard varnish.
The best finish that I have used is a sprayed auto clear. Spray Max makes a can that has an activator can inside. Puncture the inner can, shake it up and spray. You have a SUPER hard beautiful finish that doesn't take a week to do. It comes in several gloss levels to suit your likes. About $20 a can.
Thanks guys. I'm having a Cerus stock made and was wondering about a good wood finish on a gun stock. I may go ahead and do oil since I live in southern Cali and don't have to really worry about humidity.
Will quoted about 6 months, but he's moving to a bigger place so that may be longer or shorter. But he makes one hell of a nice stock.
Tru Oil will give a glossy finish, but it has a yellow tint to it...so depending on the wood you’re using, you may or may not want that. You can knock the sheen down a bit with scotchbrite pads or steel wool, but that takes away from the clarity a bit.
This stock is finished with tru oil, both aerosol and hand rubbed. The aerosol is basically the same thing, just thinned out more with mineral spirits. It’s easier to build up the base coats with the hand rubbed oil and final coat with the aerosol, I wet sand in between coats with 1500-2000 grit automotive sand paper.
The biggest problem with tru oil, if you scratch the finish...you won’t be able to repair it without having some witness marks. It’s not an evaporative finish, so each coat builds up on top of the previous one, it doesn’t meld with previous coats like some finishes do.
Another excellent product is Minwax aerosol lacquer. It’s 100% clear, dries extremely fast (so it’s easy to get a smooth finish free of dust and debris), and unlike tru oil, you can make repairs and no visible marks will be left. You won’t get as high of a gloss finish as you will with tru oil, but it’s a harder finish and is much easier to apply.
I finished this shotgun stock with the matte minwax lacquer.m. I didn’t want any tint to hide the character in the wood, nor a super glossy finish.
I’ve since finished a few dozen stocks with both tru oil and the lacquer...different products for different projects. Some need a high gloss finish, some don’t. Tint matters on some wood, not so much on others. I’ve tried BLO (boiled linseed oil) and wasn’t a fan personally, but others swear by it.
First, figure out what look you want (glossy, matte, clear or tinted) and then find a product that fits that. The lacquer is very easy to apply, it’s literally dry within minutes where tru oil needs a day in between coats.
This stock is finished with tru oil, both aerosol and hand rubbed. The aerosol is basically the same thing, just thinned out more with mineral spirits. It’s easier to build up the base coats with the hand rubbed oil and final coat with the aerosol, I wet sand in between coats with 1500-2000 grit automotive sand paper.
The biggest problem with tru oil, if you scratch the finish...you won’t be able to repair it without having some witness marks. It’s not an evaporative finish, so each coat builds up on top of the previous one, it doesn’t meld with previous coats like some finishes do.
Another excellent product is Minwax aerosol lacquer. It’s 100% clear, dries extremely fast (so it’s easy to get a smooth finish free of dust and debris), and unlike tru oil, you can make repairs and no visible marks will be left. You won’t get as high of a gloss finish as you will with tru oil, but it’s a harder finish and is much easier to apply.
I finished this shotgun stock with the matte minwax lacquer.m. I didn’t want any tint to hide the character in the wood, nor a super glossy finish.
I’ve since finished a few dozen stocks with both tru oil and the lacquer...different products for different projects. Some need a high gloss finish, some don’t. Tint matters on some wood, not so much on others. I’ve tried BLO (boiled linseed oil) and wasn’t a fan personally, but others swear by it.
First, figure out what look you want (glossy, matte, clear or tinted) and then find a product that fits that. The lacquer is very easy to apply, it’s literally dry within minutes where tru oil needs a day in between coats.
Thank you, those two turned out really nice. I’ve refinished probably close to 50 stocks over the last 15 years, and those two are ones I’ll never let go.
Here’s tru oil straight out of the bottle, the brown/amber tint to it gives a yellow cast once dry. It looks great on certain stocks, but on highly figured wood, such as that claro walnut 870 stock set above, it would have completely muted the gold hues in the wood. If you’re trying to preserve the true color and figure in some wood, lacquer is a better choice since it’s absolutely clear.
Here’s tru oil straight out of the bottle, the brown/amber tint to it gives a yellow cast once dry. It looks great on certain stocks, but on highly figured wood, such as that claro walnut 870 stock set above, it would have completely muted the gold hues in the wood. If you’re trying to preserve the true color and figure in some wood, lacquer is a better choice since it’s absolutely clear.
Anybody who will be finishing a stock, take a gander at some of the information posted here. I’ll try to dig up some more helpful discussions that he started also.
www.rimfirecentral.com
Noremf (the guy who put that together) was an invaluable wealth of knowledge when it came to wood working and finishing. He had a long career in the chemical industry that produced many wood working finishes, and also had a long career repairing and restoring antique high end furniture. I’ve picked his brain countless times for advice and techniques, and he helped improve my skillset greatly. Sadly he passed about a year ago, but the information he shared will be around for many years to come.
He was pretty vocal about his dislike for tru oil, he said it made a good piece of wood look like it was dipped in plastic, which had no place on a gun (and I disagree with this point)...but there’s no arguing with his knowledge and experience.
The School of Woodworking Knowledge (questions? try here!)
Welcome to the School of Woodworking Knowledge. The links to Noremf's works are in PDF files, so you can adjust the size for easier reading on your screen or if you'd like a hard copy, the print quality will be much better... however, if you would like to enter the respective RFC thread to...
www.rimfirecentral.com
Noremf (the guy who put that together) was an invaluable wealth of knowledge when it came to wood working and finishing. He had a long career in the chemical industry that produced many wood working finishes, and also had a long career repairing and restoring antique high end furniture. I’ve picked his brain countless times for advice and techniques, and he helped improve my skillset greatly. Sadly he passed about a year ago, but the information he shared will be around for many years to come.
He was pretty vocal about his dislike for tru oil, he said it made a good piece of wood look like it was dipped in plastic, which had no place on a gun (and I disagree with this point)...but there’s no arguing with his knowledge and experience.
I loves a hand rubbed Pure Tung Oil (Real Milk Paint) or a Cold Pressed Linseed Oil (Williamsburg) on my woodies.
It gets better with age and any scratches or blemishes get camouflaged on the next coat applied.
With Tung oil you get better weather protection and can build it to a shine if you like.
My .308 M40 with Tung Oil......
Linseed oil wont shine as easily but it ages better, changing patina over time hopefully to that red milspec look of old.
My .223 M40 with Cold Pressed Linseed oil.....
I rub my wood vigorously and often......
It gets better with age and any scratches or blemishes get camouflaged on the next coat applied.
With Tung oil you get better weather protection and can build it to a shine if you like.
My .308 M40 with Tung Oil......
Linseed oil wont shine as easily but it ages better, changing patina over time hopefully to that red milspec look of old.
My .223 M40 with Cold Pressed Linseed oil.....
I rub my wood vigorously and often......
PMC, always like when you post pictures of your wood. I believe it was you that said (referring to oil rubbed)... Once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year for the rest of your life... I like that.
It’ll take a little practice to figure out the correct distance to hold the can from the stock, and how quickly to move it...being it dries so fast, it’s a bit different than spray painting technique. But once you get that down, it’s super easy to use. If the surface has a rough feel after a few coats, you’re holding the can too far away, if it runs...you’re too close. The good thing is, some 1500 grit paper will knock it down easily between coats, which you can apply every 10 minutes or so.
And make sure you don’t apply it if the humidity is very high or if it’s raining...it has an odd reaction and will leave a milky appearance instead of drying clear.
Tru Oil or wipe-on polyurethane.
The advantage of both is that you can rub them into the wood as if they were oil but will provide 10X the moisture and wear resistance of an oil finish.
I wish someone had told me this on my first few lacquer projects - I was too far away. Fortunately, 1500/2000 grit will knock it down nicely and you can still get a decent gloss if you polish it out.
If you want a traditional stock, linseed oil is it!
But for something that jumps out, a pro would go to a sprayer and use a high end water-based lacquer like this:
Absolutely state of the art chemicals here for the best finish. You could get a sprayer on Amazon for $300 or so that would do an excellent job.
If that price point isn't your budget, I think the Minwax aerosol lacquer gets you 80% there at a fraction of the price.
But for something that jumps out, a pro would go to a sprayer and use a high end water-based lacquer like this:
EM7000HBL High Build WB Spray Lacquer - Target Coatings
Water-Based Non-Yellowing Lacquer trusted by Pros for a self-leveling wood finish for furniture, cabinet, interior architectural and custom woodworking.
www.targetcoatings.com
Absolutely state of the art chemicals here for the best finish. You could get a sprayer on Amazon for $300 or so that would do an excellent job.
If that price point isn't your budget, I think the Minwax aerosol lacquer gets you 80% there at a fraction of the price.
Wait, you mean boiled linseed oil is good right? Cause from my understanding, raw linseed oil is super slow to dry.
Nope I use pure cold pressed linseed oil.
Specifically this stuff
Dries fine, not sticky.
Im going to Cerus Rifle Works now to look at some beautiful wood.
If you like wood for its properties beyond aesthetics, like its recoil properties or especially its grain/texture for grip, then the only real answer is boiled linseed oil. Wood fiber and roughness makes it still a top grade material for pistol grips, and a material that you can roughen up to your grip liking. If you want that property to shine through then BLO is the only real answer. If you are rough on a gun and wear through the finish and need to repair the finish, BLO is again the best answer.
Linseed oil is criticized for some purposes because it doesn't have good film buildup; this is good if we don't want film buildup so we can use the wood texture for grip. Linseed oil also enjoys a major advantage for heavy wear/use because it is easy to maintain, you can apply fresh BLO over an old BLO finish without adding finishing thinners to it that will affect and eat into old finishes, this means that you don't get the problems other materials have with new coats and their solvents eating into the old finish and turning into sludge/gum and ruining the finish. The BLO tends to adhere to where the old BLO finish has worn through, only resealing worn down spots while not having increasing film build every time new material is applied for maintainence. Old tool handles or wood stocks may get a bit of dirt and a darker complexion over time, but you can have a nice wood grip with little care to keep it useful for decades or longer.
For aesthetic purpose use what you think looks nice. But if you are going to treat your wood stock rifle like a real combat rifle and give it the rough treatment (for those rare of us in this day and age of synthetics and metal), BLO is your best, if not only true, option.
Linseed oil is criticized for some purposes because it doesn't have good film buildup; this is good if we don't want film buildup so we can use the wood texture for grip. Linseed oil also enjoys a major advantage for heavy wear/use because it is easy to maintain, you can apply fresh BLO over an old BLO finish without adding finishing thinners to it that will affect and eat into old finishes, this means that you don't get the problems other materials have with new coats and their solvents eating into the old finish and turning into sludge/gum and ruining the finish. The BLO tends to adhere to where the old BLO finish has worn through, only resealing worn down spots while not having increasing film build every time new material is applied for maintainence. Old tool handles or wood stocks may get a bit of dirt and a darker complexion over time, but you can have a nice wood grip with little care to keep it useful for decades or longer.
For aesthetic purpose use what you think looks nice. But if you are going to treat your wood stock rifle like a real combat rifle and give it the rough treatment (for those rare of us in this day and age of synthetics and metal), BLO is your best, if not only true, option.
you can ask to see test like paint on little strips of paper to pick the one you like or if your doing it test it on scrap wood to see what you like texture and color wise .It took me 9 tries to find on combo i liked the look of . good luck and have fun please if you would post a pic or several of the finished product .
+1 teak oil or tung oil, both really accent wood grain and are easy to reapply later to enhance protection or touch up scuffs.
For a pure working gun that may see some moisture, rub in some matte spar urethane like Helmsman.
For a pure working gun that may see some moisture, rub in some matte spar urethane like Helmsman.
