I'm an amateur stockmaker and have been a woodworker for 25 years or so. How do these big companies get that glass-smooth finish, either gloss or satin? I'm familiar with filling in pores, etc. I've heard "epoxy finish", but don't know exactly what that is. I probably need an air compr. and a spray gun. It's frustrating.

Don't know how the gun manufacturers do it; but take a look at this spray-on epoxy finish from Brownell's:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Store/ProductDetail.as...title=ACRA-COAT-WOOD

Weatherby, Remington, those types? AKA bowling pin finish.

The stuff you want it called Fullerplast. I also got some under them name Glaskote, same kind of thing. Urea formaldehyde resin? Conversion varnish works well too. Basically what you are getting is a catalyzed finish. You mix a catalyst with your resin to make a liquid that hardens by reaction and not solvent evaporation. This kind of stuff is very high build; it will make lots of thickness. You can finish a stock in one spraying session.

To apply it is mixed and a reducer added. You must spray it on. I do use grain filler to make a flat surface before I shoot it. Attach a stick on the barrel channel to act as a handle and way to hand it for drying.

I do not like this stuff. It is noxious and supposedly harmful to your health. If you breathe it will make you sick. You must wear a respirator. Paper masks are not respirators; I mean the proper deal with cartridges. For home use I do not recommend it. I have done about 20 stocks this way. Point of information, it is not available in California due to Eco-zealot laws. I don't know about other states.

I think this type of finish looks a little cheesy. You can rub it out to a mat finish but it always looks thick. You will need to mask off the inletting and barrel channel. It is so thick it will mess up your bedding job.

Comment on the link above. Do not warm your stock to hasten dry time. Air will come out of the pores and make "zits" in the finish. You can however warm the stock in a hot box before you shoot it and pull finish into the pores as it cools. A warm stock will dry quickly with Glasskote or Fullerplast. I have shot a stock and rubbed it out in an hour using this method. Still looked cheesy. : )

No "wonder finish" will replace hard work and experience. I now use spar varnish and the sandpaper mud as a filler. It works about as good as anything. It does not make you sick. Keep the coats thin and sand between coats. I have used lacquer on a few stocks lately. It is very fast and looks OK. Some bore solvents attack it. It is not as durable as varnish or tung oil. For a seldom used beater gun I think it is OK. You can build lacquer to make a "piano finish".

Try this....
mix an amount of medium cure speed (1hour) epoxy. Thin it with acetone until it flows like thin paint or a little thicker than water. Brush this on the wood allowing the wood to soak up as much as it will take up. When it will assorb no more, wipe off any excess and allow to cure. Sand. Repeat until the wood grain is full. At this point, you should fine sand to about 400 grit. This is a little finer than with wood alone but you are basically sanding plastic at this point. The surface should be a dull satin finish at this point. If you want a satin finish, you can step up to finer git sandpaper until you reach the level of sheen you desire. If you want gloss, apply at least a couple more coats as previously described but not thinned as much. After this is cured, wet sand until you are happy then polish with a low-speed polisher and a plastic polishing compound followed by a good wax. You may need sunglasses for the gloss finish ;^)

Added....
Automotive wax works well for the gloss finish. Most of them have some UV protection. epoxy does not like UV. Scota4570 mentioned Spar finish. If you use Marine spar finish for the gloss part over the top of epoxy it will be well-protected from UV. Marine finishes usually have UV protectors to preserve wood color and epoxy/fiberglass layups.

West System makes an "special coatings" epoxy that I have used on some custom teak spearguns.

Applied as directed, the first few coats can be laid on over a "tacky" previous coat. After a few coats, you will have sufficient buildup to allow rubbing out in between coats until the final coat.

For the spearguns, I used 6 coats of epoxy. After that, I used six coats of Epiphanes gloss spar varnish, rubbed out (wet sanded) in between coats. The final coat was rubbed out with 0000 steel wool and car wax for a car like finish.

I would not hesitate to use this on a gun stock, although not as many coats would be needed...After all, these guns were thrown in the ocean.