Hey gang, I got my walnut stock sanded down to the wood after filling the grain and wet sanding with tru-oil& mineral spirts.It is smooth as glass.Is this stage of the stock what is called Finish in the wood?It looks great and is no longer like a cork! I used sand paper instead of steel wool....Also Can i go from tru-oil to tung now if i want or leave it as is? The tru-oil was kinda like bubble gum in spots?Can i wait at this point and let the stock dry some more say a week or two,shes been drying 11 days now?Its been raining and i want to wait till it is going to be sunny a few days before i start on it again.A little bit of oil on it now will bring out the figure more,but i hate to put the tru-oil on it as it takes forever to dry.....am i worring over nothing,what should i do? If i rub truoil on really light and use full strength i should be allright?i hate to mess up,especially after getting this far!!...Shes looking good.
I have a few little spots here and there that are darker,do these have to be sanded back to match the rest of the stock,or will they blend in when i rub the oil on?The stock looks so good now i hate to put to much of anything on it but i do need a little oil to bring out the figure in the fore end....Thanks in advance!

OK, let me try to field this one...

First, you sealed and filled the pores with Tru-Oil so I'd stick with it.

Second, you have to let that stuff dry before you sand it smooth or you might "pull" finish out of the pores- it rolls into little black balls...

Lastly, after you are satisfied that the stock is dry- your sanding dust should be white powder not bubble gum- perfectly smooth and dry, then take a 6"x6" section of your oldest most washed beat out tee shirt, moisten- not saturate it with Tru-Oil and smooth on a final topcoat with long strokes down the length of the stock. Hang to dry. Examine in sunlight- if you got dust in the finish, sand it out and try again. Hopefully, you end up with a dust free topcoat in one of your early attempts

Thanks deebee,I got the coat on her and she looks fantastic,I think i just learned a lesson,tru-oil needs to be put on thin!
Iam gonna let her sit for a few days,like 4-5 before i touch it again!!!Live and learn...