What are folks who used to use Flecto #66 Varathane using these days to seal the wood before applying stain & the oil fininsh

Danish tung oil made by Watco or Formbys
Works well for me Or straight linseed oil

I use "ship n Shore" sealer by Dalys out of Seattle.

Made special for wooden boat rails, decking, etc.

Kind of depends on what I'm using as a finished top coat . As I prefer plural component urethane epoxies like Aerospace or Marine finishes for their outstanding durability . They can also be " Knocked down " and a modified oil finish applied over the top for that Super English Oil finished look . So as not to appear to be Plastic finished .

For decent sources of Wood Sealers as well as finishes take a gander at Floor finishes .

Tough super durable and relatively inexpensive for the quality super shiny too flat mat they cover you .

Personally prefer Bonakemi or Dura seal products , the people who own and maintain gymnasium's the world

over can't all be wrong .

http://www.onlinefloorstore.co...rethane-Floor-Finish

quote:

Originally posted by Abob:
What are folks who used to use Flecto #66 Varathane using these days to seal the wood before applying stain & the oil fininsh

I've been using thinned minwax satin spar urethane for many years with no complaints.
I tried PERMALYN on my last stock and finished up with the minwax. The permalyn seals well and could do as the finished product too.

I see that Urethane is being mentioned here.
You guys are better then me as I've had zero luck with that stuff. I tried it on and old shotgun that I didn't care to much about and could only get the finnish to look like a cheep piece of furniture. That is why I typically only use oil finishes on wood. They are more time consuming but are much more forgiving.
Please pass along any tips you may have They will be duly noted and retained

I have been using "Deft" for quite a while now. It is a mixture of Tung Oil and urethane.

Velvet Oil...400 grit-sand it on let dry then wipe it off-repeat do this until the pores are sealed then buff with wax.

Whatever you use, read the label..if it contains and of the "enes" (Toluene, Xylene) use them at your peril. Last I heard Velvit had toluene...at least use gloves and wash up immediately afterward.

If you want a darker stock, when do you work in the stain?

Good question.
I have only had to stain one stock so far. And it was beach wood so it needed some color. I just stained and finished as usual. But it was not a filled finish and I've heard of guys sanding through the stain trying to fill the grain.
I don't stain the good stock woods. but I also don't smith for a main source of income

I use 'ship-n-shore' for stocks that are not stained and ' Benite' for stocks that get stained.
I found that I couldn't stain a stock after sealing with Ship-n-Shore. It is that good. Benite is also made by Dalys but, made to be used with stains.

quote:

Originally posted by kcstott:
I see that Urethane is being mentioned here.
You guys are better then me as I've had zero luck with that stuff. I tried it on and old shotgun that I didn't care to much about and could only get the finnish to look like a cheep piece of furniture. That is why I typically only use oil finishes on wood. They are more time consuming but are much more forgiving.
Please pass along any tips you may have They will be duly noted and retained

All urethane is not the same! Just ask Jim Kobe.

Minwax SATIN spar urethane is a mixture of tung oil and urethane. (GREEN CAN.) I thin it about 2/3 minwax with 1/3 paint thinner. The satin minwax must be thoroughly mixed to blend the tung oil and satin producing particles to work well. Do this before mixing with thinner.

The first coat is put on with a brush until the wood won't absorb any more. Excess is wiped off with a paper towel and allowed to thoroughly dry. I then use the sanded in method of filling the pores. I finish up with the thinned minwax using a smallish piece of "t" shirt material the same as with a rubbed oil finish. Gunstock wax? Of course!

For those having trouble finishing a stock, I recomment the PERMALYN. This stuff is bought from Brownell's and is the best thing I have seen for filling pores and having a quality rubbed finish. After all is quite dry, a final coat of gunstock wax makes it have the proper glow. Try it. it is very easy to apply and I guarantee you will like it! By the way, permalyn is used by both John Bivins and Joe Balickie.

As long as we're on the subject of wood finishes here is one of the most renowned wood finishes

from the world over . http://www.epifanes.com/products.html

To achieve a super stock finish 4 things must happen . # 1 Wood Selection , can't make a silk purse from a sows ear !.

# 2 careful stock fitting carving checkering shaping Etc. . # 3 correct color enhancement ( Stain ) to high lite the marvelous grain details ( On most woods anyway ) .

#4 The ultimate finish protection and this seems to be a preference as some are more than at ease with tung Oil wet sanding , others urethane varnishes or modified polyoils ( hardwood gym floor finishes being one application ) then there's I guy like me !.

I prefer ultimate protection yet with a oil or hand rubbed satin finish .

A thinned mixture of plural component urethane ( after all stock work is completed I remove the but pad which has been left 4 thousands thicker all around the butt . I now spray 2 3 coats allow complete set up abrade with 400-600 . Now repeat full strength no thinning 2 coats .

Let set for two days full cure , Knock it down with 400 and Oil and Bingo looks just like a fine English hand rubbed oil finish .

The products I use are nasty and extremely hazardous too ones health , without proper Protection .

This finishing system is similar too Quality Factory Rifles of European origin and are the

dickens to remove Even with Strippers !. Another reason old sloppy here likes them , as I tend to

spill bore cleaner on my stuff from time to time . BOL on your refinishes .

However a First quality job can de done by using the above listed satin finish and 0000 steel

wool and then some quality wax !.

Does a hot iron really draw out dents?

doc's right about the epiphanes.... just about the best spar money can buy. thinned 50% with spirits for the first two coats and then rubbed on full power. as he said, let it sit a few days between coats. i rub it out with the same thinned mix as a lubricant for a scotchbrite pad and wipe it off completly, then recoat.
minwax "helmsman" spar is about the worst excuse i've ever seen for a spar-varnish...
what is the stuff that brownells sells in a spray can?.is it called "stock saver", or something like that? my gunsmith showed me a couple stocks he did with that stuff and it looked real good. i might try that next time.
i spray alot of small woodworking items with laquer, but i don't think it would hold up decently on a gun. one tip for those who do spay out of a rattle can. if you let the can stand in real hot tap water for a few minutes, they spray a whole bunch better when warmed up, much finer,more even, no orange peel...higher pressure does wonders...

I have done a dozen or so with Pro's Top choice and used Arrow as the top coat or just a good paste wax. Alot of good info in this post, need to do more experimenting.

A simple point I wish to put forth . My Commercial Mauser 3000 L 7 Rem Mag is still original finished

1963 used on 5 continents . Yes it's worn , yes it's luster and brilliance are not what they once were .

. The finish still protects the wood and is Nitro Cellulose Hard Lacquer . Just like Mercedes Benz used

to use on the Older " Real Wood " interiors of it's upper end models and Limousines .

Not to boast but that Mauser has had a Butt load of bullets down the bore and still shoots nearly as

well today as it it did when it was new !. An old friend and I suspect we will pass together .

quote:

Originally posted by Abob:
Does a hot iron really draw out dents?

Ah....to a point, it does! Something like soft pine with a dent and no finish will respond a whole lot better than a nice piece of tough walnut with sealer and finish...Sealer and finish is SUPPOSED to repel water (steam)

Trying to raise a dent...well...the fresher the better, but don't expect miracles.

Boy is that refreshing, I thought I had it wrong all these years. I never did have any luck with steaming out dents.

Roger Duane, someone recommended it as one of the steps in refinishing a stock, the step after you have stripped off the old finish

Truth be told, I kind like the dents, I can almost tell you which hunt each one came from, kind of like notches on a gunfighters grip

My favorite rifle, a 270 (2nd barrel)..well..it's pretty "patined" I apply a coat of "Sea Fin" every year..has more character now than when I first put it together in 1986.

Yep: honest dents don't distract from the beauty at all.

I really appreciate this tread as my winter (I have plenty of time here in AK) project is refinishing the stock on my Mark X.

I love the different finish options because I haven't been able to Daly's Ship-n-Shore here in AK, they have the Daly's Teak Oil at West Marine but no S-N-S

I started the thread asking about #66 because that is what Jim Wisner recommended

I may be relegated to using B.C. Tru-Oil, they care it in the local gun stores, Brownells & Midway can't ship some of the other products (ground only)

That's what I get for living at the end of the highway

Has anyone used Mccloskey Heirloom Varnish. Found a quart in the back .

My clients can dent their guns all they want but I assume that they are not too fond of getting them this way. When I have an "oh crap" moment, steaming can help. Using a hot iron and a wet cloth.

Steaming as stated before doesn't work wonders but Dad taught me a trick that helps. If you use a fine needle and poke some small holes in the wood at the site of the dent, it allows the steam to get through the finish to help raise the dent. If possible you will want to make them in a pattern that approximates the existing pores. You can lightly, (don't re-create the dent), burnish the wood afterwards to help close the holes back in as when you poked them into the wood you did not remove wood you simply displaced it.

A shop tip.....It does help.

What Trez said, it's an old trick that still works well.

I use and like Permalyn, it was originally formulated by John Bivins and another fellow, a chemist I believe. I've been using it since back when John was alive and Lowell Manley was selling it, long before it was offered by Brownell's. However IMO Permalyn seems to require a longer cure time to become hard enough to resist pulling out of the pores when rubbing, so I always try to give it an extra week to dry thoroughly between coats.

Here in MS that translates to a minimum of 2-3 weeks between coats; humidity is tough here!

Stain last, and hope you don't hafta sand any more.
Regards, Joe