I thought I read something here a while back about using epoxy to fill pores om a stock for a sanding sealer. before final finishing.

Am I correct?

Any help would be appreciated including directing me to the correct thread.

Thanks

IMO it's not to fill the normal pores of the wood.

I've used it as a "patch" in cases where there's severe voids in very pretty pieces of wood. Often pretty wood needs to be patched a bit and I mix walnut sawdust with epoxy and use as a paste to fill voids. It works well and can even be colored with brownell's black or brown dies.

I have used it that way also.

I just thought I saw something here about using it to totally weatherproof seal a stock and it filled the pores up too.

Hey, I might be wrong.

I had a stock finished in a spray epoxy that totally filled the pores...it was gloss and I wasn't thrilled with the shine....it sure sealed the stock however....maybe you'd like such a finish.

IIRC Weatherby rifles are (was) finished in a sprayed on epoxy....they had (and may still have) a lot of trouble with it cracking in colder weather.

I've got seconds stocks from Richards that have been epoxy filed in the flaws and pores. I am guilty of doing that when trying to achieve a desent surface to paint an outdoorsie scene on.
Works for me. roger

I cant find the thread but they have talked about it on here a bunch--I think it is basically saturating the stock with thinned epoxy then wet sanding it back to the wood after it has dried--then finishing with whatever you choose. Someone willprobably come on and tell you the particulars.

A lot of people mix and heat Acraglass (not the gel)to lower the viscosity and rub it in as a filler/sealer. Search for Acraglss and you can find the thread.

One nice thing about the technique is all the whiskers are bonded in the epoxy so if you miss some they won't pop up later.

I think the thread you are looking for is over on the 24hourcampfire.com forum. Do a search for a guy named "Sitka Deer" he has written a lot about his method of sealing a stock with epoxy and then applying an oil finnish over the top.

Thanks for all the feedback - I'll keep searching for the thread.

This is the only forum i look at so i know it was here.

The wooden boat building fraternity oftern uses an epoxy product called CPES to completely seal/preserve wood before applying any finishing materials. You could try a quick search on their forum for more info:
wooden boat furum

Sitka Deer's process basically calls for heating the stock to about 110F long enough to ensure the wood is warmed completely through. Once warmed apply a high quality marine grade epoxy (slow curing only) and the pores literally suck the epoxy in. There is considerable wet sanding involved to relevel the dried surface and then apply the finish of your choice over the sealed stock. It works exceptionally well especially if you are using the rifle in extreme wet conditions. His location in Kodiak may give you a clue why he likes it. He's on 24 hour campfire and is not shy about helping you along with the process.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I had a stock finished in a spray epoxy that totally filled the pores...it was gloss and I wasn't thrilled with the shine....it sure sealed the stock however....maybe you'd like such a finish.

IIRC Weatherby rifles are (was) finished in a sprayed on epoxy....they had (and may still have) a lot of trouble with it cracking in colder weather.

I have a custom Marquart-barreled 6.5x55 on a commercial Husqvarna (Carl Gustaff)action that was stocked by a G&H stockmaker in the mid-1980s. At my insistance, he finished it with thinned AcraGlas (though he "bitched" every step of the way).

Anyway, it has a "satin" level of gloss to the finish, and still looks like new today...no nicks, no scratches, no cracking even though it has gone hunting in both sub-zero & 120+ F. weather.

It is a LOT of work, but properly done makes what to my mind is a very superior field finish.

Art (Sitka Deer) helped me stock a rifle, and I used his epoxy technique to seal the wood. I can gurantee that it will seal the wood and make for a stock that won't shift in the wettest of weather. He did say that he once had a stock that shifted on him. He put a different barreled action in a stock he'd made, opened up the barrel chanel, but forgot to seal the channel. Needless to say some of Kodiaks infamously wet weather was enough to tweak the stock.