What kind of finish is standard for high quality stocks? I have refinished a few of my own, one with a wipe on poly, and one with a spray water-based lacquer. I have had several people ask me if I could refinish their guns and to this point I turned it down.
I have a cabinet shop, so I have the equipment to do whatever is necessary. Thanks in advance.

Try fuller plast,then buff it with aluminum oxide. van

Ive liked dalys benmatte. Think Ill try dalys ship to shore sealer(think thats it) and some regular old linseed with Japan dryer on this next one

Brownell's has a sprayon product called custom oil from Chem Pak....I've had good results with it.....I think it's a polyurethane.

Available in satin and gloss.

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Brownell's has a sprayon product called custom oil from Chem Pak....I've had good results with it.....I think it's a polyurethane.

Available in satin and gloss.

I have several friends that have used that stuff and they love it. I’ve seen the stocks and they looked beautiful, not at all what you would normally picture in your mind when thinking of polyurethane. Not at all cheesy or cheap looking.

In general, oil finishes are preferred for "high quality" stocks.

If you do a search, you'll find posts by Duane Wiebe, one our best stock makers, and Chic Worthing, another great talent and member of this site.

I've come up with a protocol that steals from both.

Duane suggested whiskering with oxalic acid. This is commonly used as a mild wood bleach, but I have it on good authority that it also hardens the wood.

Duane also suggests sealing with Daly's SeaFin Ship'n Shore sealer. This seals, and hardens the wood. One big advantage of Ship'n Shore is that it dries rapidly.

I'm an advocate of sanded-in finishes, using a slurry of oil and the very fine sanding dust created by the process to fill the pores. Chic suggests two sandings at each consecutively finer grade of wet and dry paper.

On my most recent stock, I whiskered with weak oxalic acid, 220 then 400, followed by two coats of SeaFin Ship'n Shore, and then sanded in twice each, Daly's Teak Oil, 400, 600, 800, 1500 and then three times with 2000.

When sanding-in use some kind of backing. Chic suggests rubber blocks--like old "gum" erasers--but I've been using felt pads from Brownell's. I cut small pieces, each with a radius on one edge to allow me to follow the contours of the flutes, etc.

For convenience, I've been using a tip I found on another site: I pour a small amount of finish into a clean plastic butter tub. These are fairly shallow, and therefore stable on your bench, and you can store the felt pad there overnight too.

My current project does not have a lot of sheen, although I suspect that were I to wax it, it would have more than enough.

Really, there are as many approaches to stock finishing as there are stockmakers, some well informed and some not.

There are those that believe the job can be done quickly and easily.

To me, the only approaches worthy of consideration are some form of tung oil, or some (more traditional) form of linseed oil.

Scientific analysis has shown linseed oil to offer minimal moisture protection, but used in combination with the Daly's sealer, for instance, and a lot of time and effort, I expect it would provide a practical finish of surpassing beauty.

I wouldn't consider desecrating a fine piece of walnut with any of the polyurethane finishes.

flaco

flaco,
A slight correction. I generally use a quarter sheet rubber pad like you buy at any wood working store for backing on most of my stock finishing. It is necessary to go to smaller blocks in places and I have a set of small rubber cylinder shapes for sanding in contours on areas like the flute on the nose or on the cheekpiece.

I also had rub a number of coats on the stock after it is wet sanded. That is necessary if you want to the best waterproofing.

Thanks Chic-

I'm certain folks would much rather have technique direct from you than my attempts at paraphrasing.

I've been using a set of convex rubber blocks on flutes, barrel channel, etc., called "Tadpoles" prior to finishing.

Do you have any specific suggestions as to hand rubbing technique?

Thanks again,

flaco

Those "tadpoles" are exactly the same thing I use and from the same place. They are indespensible. And thanks for reminding me, I need to buy another set.

You did a good job describing the finishing. I start with 320 and progress to 400 then 600 and often start the hand rubbing from that point, if I like the surface. I have gone to 800 or 1200 on occasion but not as a usual practice. I wipe the surface down with a paper towel after each wet sanding. It leaves some material on the surface but not much.

When I hand rub, I just get the tip of one or two fingers wet and daub it on a surface on the stock and rub it with my palm until it is hot. Overlapping areas eventually get the whole thing done. Concave surfaces need a smaller amount and rubbing with your finger. You do not wipe this off. The idea is to use a small amount of finish each time and build up a surface coat. You can end up with a shiny surface even with Benmatte but it can be buffed matte at the end.

Chic

After building up the finish on the surface and it is a little glossy. What method do you prefer to buff it to a matte finish at the end?