Okay, so my 308 project is underway. I am going to go the simple route and accurize a stock 700 BDl and will re-finish the wood stock myself.

Any recommendations on satin oil finishes an waterproofing techiques.

What about the straight oil finnish and the car wax. I think I read that somewhere

------------------
MED

The sole purpose of a rifle is to please its owner

I haven't used wooden stocks in years, but what I did with the last few I did was to take the stock down to bare wood. It's already there if it's a new one. One problem stock which contained both sapwood and heartwood I put in the attic during the summer. It was about 160 degrees there. After a couple of months, took it out and dipped it into a 50-50 solution of benzene and spar varnish. It absorbed about half of the mixture the first time. Wipe off good. Back into the attic for about one week drying time and dipped it again. All of the pores in the wood get sealed this way and gives a waterproof base to the wood. After that I used polymerized Tung Oil, hand rubbed until you obtain the finish you seek. A coat of carnuba wax pretty well waterproofs it completely. If you need to repair minor scratches, remove the wax with solvent and apply more Tung Oil as needed, then wax again.

That last troublesome stock I did has maintained zero now for many years with absolutely no wood movement.

Seal the stock before you start the oil process!

Learnt the hard way after 2 weeks of rubbing in oil on my old Enfield which I had stripped. I went out in the rain and the grain raised in 2 minutes :mad

use a kind of silicon

1894,

What kind of oil do you use?

I quit using a BDL stock that seemed to change with humidity. It's pretty but doesn't travel well. These days I use either a synthetic stock ( picked out of a pile at a rifle shop ) or an old 40X stock ( picked out of a pile at a different rifle shop ).

Tom

"Repost from earlier thread":

Well, it isn`t the so-called "Traditional" way of finishing maple, but if the goal you have is to seal the wood, protect it from scratches, look great, and be totally maintinance free, then you may want to consider an automotive clearcoat. Blasphemy I know, but if you don`t like swelling and POI changes, clearcoat is the way to go.
Almost every rifle out of my shop gets clearcoated, and it`s tough as nails. It seals the wood completely, and I don`t give a rats ass what detractors say, it does not let moisture in or out. I have hit quite a few of my stocks with a moisture meter that I use for checking them while drying batches of stock blanks and music wood, and a year or two after completion, the M/C is the same. I could drop a $4000 stock in a bucket of water and leave it a week(but I won`t, hehe), there will no ill effects.
If you want color, here`s 2 ideas that work. Forget Aniline dye, it sucks. Go to www.woodfinishsupply.com and order up the metal extract dye. It will hold color in the sun without fading seal the stock with a few coats of wiped on Benite(hardware store) and then thin the dye in lacquer thinner - 10 teaspoons to the quart. Wipe on with a sopping wet rag, and wipe off right away. leave it be a half day, and repeat til you get the amount of color you want.
2: The automotive shop has a transperant coloring agent that goes into the clearcoat and is awesome. You just spray it on like regular clear, after the initial sealing of course. When you get it right, one or two more coats of clear and wet sand with 1500 grit McGuires paper. You can then buff it to a satin, semi, or high gloss with rubbing compound.
Simple, works every time without fail, is quick compared to months long applications of oil, and seals out the elements. I doubt your rifle is a $175,000 classic double rifle, so just do what is right for the gun.

Mike, the Biesens use Imron car clear coat on their stocks now and make no bones about it. Roger says it is harder than the hubs of hell and very waterproof. I think it is easy to get stuck in the past with finishes. I still like an oil finish but I do use a polymer modified tung oil to get it. Dalys Bennmatte (Seattle on Stone Way, up above Lake Washington). Nice looking stock by the way.

Hi Chic,
yeah, sometimes I hesitate to even mention the isocyanate cured clearcoats, as some hardcore oil users start screaming, but tough titty, the day I did my first one in clearcoat, I was hooked. I hunt hard with all my guns, even the ones I use in my ads and for reference, and when they get scratched, I just wetsand and rub it out or sand, shoot some clear, wetsand, and rub out! Ain`t it great!?
I like to oil wood, it`s great relaxation time to sit in front of the fire and do oil, but in this country, it should stay inside, hehe.
I dropped my 223 lite-rifle yesterday and really pounded the cocobolo tipcap. A rock ding from the driveway went deep. Will sand it, steam it out as far as it will come, and put enough clear on it to sand it flat again.
At least it didnt hit the Zeiss....
Ever buy any walnut from Doyal at Wrights Gunstocks? He wants to trade some blanks for a bunch of the fiddleback and quilt I cut and dry.
Thanks!
Mike

I like a modified tung oil like Chic, in fact I used his finish on my last stock...I like a flat dull finish on a hunting rifle.

But for a all out waterproff finish, I would use Flecto oil, it is a polyurathane and slow to use, but it is tougher than the gates of hell when taken to a high gloss..A high gloss built up finish is the most waterproof, but looks like Licorce or a car bumper to me...You can knock the gloss off but you do compromise the waterproofness a bit when you do.

When I use flecto I use 1/3 Flecto, 1/3 mineral spirits, 1/3 Watco until the pores are filled, then put on stright coats and wipe off, repeat this put on, wipe off as many times as you please..Give flecto at least 48 hours between coats...

I use MinWax floor/furniture wax. It's not completely waterproof, but I think it's probably better for the wood than some auto wax finish.

Jim Kobe got me started on Deft Danish Oil. And I Love the results. Brownells charges you a arm and a leg for some of their finishes and in my opinion they arent any better than some of these type of finishes. I get this for $5.99/qt.

http://www.deftfinishes.com/wood/deftoil.htm

Here is a stock I just finished with Deft Danish Oil in fact.



[ 06-04-2002, 00:49: Message edited by: alvinmack5 ]