I don't think I did. What do I do now? Can I just do it again or do I need to strip it first?

What finish did you use? More than likely you can just wet sand some mud coats and keep going untill the pores are filled and then work on what you want for a final look.

I just used some Formby's. I am not done just trying to fill the pores. I think I'll just try some more mud coating. I don't think I got enough "mud" up.

Yep, what Dempsey said. Rub a wet coat of your finish over the area that you want to work on. Take some 200-220gr wet paper and sand the wet finish. When it gets real thick and lumpy rub it into the pours and wipe the excess off. Repeat this about 3-5 times until all the pours are filled then do it a few more times just to make sure. Let that dry a few days and hit it again the the wet paper but use water this time and not finish. this gets all extra "slurry" off the stock. Sand to the desired finish and let it dry in a dry place a few more day's to make sure all the water is out of the stock. Seal and finish.

Terry

I've never tried Formbys and it may be fine but truoil works well and is easy to get. I thin it down about 50/50 and start with some 220 wet paper. There are lots of ways to do it and I'm sure all work fine. I like to leave the slurry on the stock the first few times. I may take a lint free napkin and gently wipe it around to even it out. I do that a couple three times and then will start to wipe off more of the slurry gently. When the pores fill the last couple of times I'll wipe it all off. I then go to a finer paper a couple more times wiping it all off. I then fight to get a luster I like, that's the hard part for me.

wes
what finish are you after?

you like everyone says, a mud coat will work nice. essentially the wood just aint finished.. if it was me, sanding sealer form minwwax or 50/50 mineral spirits and either velvit oil or pro custom gun oil (not spray here)
jeffe

Dont wipe off the mud coat to much. Gently......like dusting a fine piece of china. The final wet sand is where you should wipe it ALL off.

DOn Allen said it best a while ago. "More gunstocks are ruined by too much sanding."

You don't need to sand after every coat and you don't need to leave "Mud" on the stock.

A gentleman I respect very much, and a long time member of the ACGG told me a secret he uses. Just continue to put the finish on, paint it on, until the wood will not take any more finsih; it will build up on the surface indicating that the pores are filled. Don't waste all that time and effort sanding (and maybe ruining) on the stock. After it is built up, take a scraper of some kind and scrape it down to the wood, take all the surface stuff off. THEN start to wet sand with finish and 320 grit. Wipe all the sludge off! If you leave it on you will just have to sand it off again. It don't do any good anyway if the pores are already filled. I coat the wood, wet sand with 320, wet sand with 400 and I'm done. I would be willing to compare my finish with anyone's out there using this method. It just flat works.

Try it on a piece of scrap wood and you will beleive.

and if you've ever seen jim kobes work you'll know right away that he knows what he's talking about

Jim, what are you using for finish anyway?
-Don

I use a commercial tung oil and Urethane mix calle Deftoil; the clear. I get it a Fleet Farm.

When I learned about finishing, I was taught that it is much more important how the finish is applied, rather than what product is used. Whether using tung oil, or varnish, or poly and whether it is water soluble or oil based and whether the material is wiped, brushed or sprayed has little to do with the end result. If it is applied, there will be some absorbed, and some will stay on the surface.

If you wet sand and leave on the "muck", you fill the pores with fuzzy wood grains and the finish will be clouded. Yes, it fills the pores faster than if you fill with finish, but you end up with a clouded, murkey finish. If you look at a really fine piece of finished walnut it has quite a "depth" to the wood. That is lost if you leave the sanding particles on or in the wood.

Fill the pores with finish, whether all at once or little by little does not matter as long as they get filled. Let the finish harden well (oxidize, dry or "cure"). Then take the finish down to bare wood. You can scrape, or sand, or both, just so you use the same care as when you first finished the wood. The last coat should be very thin and even. Spraying works well for poly or lacquer, but rubbed out oil is "traditional"

Many use poly successfully, I don't like it if it builds up too thick. I worry about it scratching or chipping. I like oil based varnish products, the scratches seem to be easier to redo. Good varnish or tung oil based products all harden up nicely if applied as a final thin coat, they can be polished to a shine or rubbed to a dull sheen as desired.

My father built an 06 on a wartime 98 action in 1950. He finished the American black stock with with a mix of boiled linseed oil, vp&m naptha and Japan dryer. I think he said it took about a year. My brother "one shot Ray" hunts every year with that rifle. It has an obsolete JC Higgins 4x scope with fine cross hairs. The wood is dead stable in the heat, cold, rain and snow of Northern Mn. Ray shoots it in about every three years, and I don't ever remember that he had to changing the scope settings. I think his record is 9 years in a row with one shot kills, all head or upper neck. (he waits until they stop, then ambushes them from up in a tree). The finish has darkened with time, but it clearly protects the wood, and keeps it stable.

I didn't mean to be so long winded, but I think there is more BS about stock finishing than just about any other aspect of gun work. There is no "magic" the results depend on the prep work. Just like metal work, keep the lines straight, the surface flat and the edges sharp where they should be, and it will look fine.

Roger

Wes, I personally think it needs some more coats, but then again, I am no expert. BTW, the Formby's is essentially the same as Jim Kobe is using. It is a mixture of tung oil and polyurethane. I have tried a bunch of finishes on all kinds of wood, but the Formby's works best for me, and you can get in satin, if you want. The toughest to work with, again, for me, has been teak oil. Never did get that even.

Just my $.02

Here is what I did, I used Formby's tonge oil cut 50% with mineral spirits. The first time I used 600 grit paper. That didn't get enough "mud" up. This time I used 220 grit. I think I got it.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
Just continue to put the finish on, paint it on, until the wood will not take any more finsih; it will build up on the surface indicating that the pores are filled. Don't waste all that time and effort sanding (and maybe ruining) on the stock. After it is built up, take a scraper of some kind and scrape it down to the wood, take all the surface stuff off. THEN start to wet sand with finish and 320 grit. Wipe all the sludge off! If you leave it on you will just have to sand it off again. It don't do any good anyway if the pores are already filled. I coat the wood, wet sand with 320, wet sand with 400 and I'm done. I would be willing to compare my finish with anyone's out there using this method. It just flat works.

Yupp!
That is how we were thought at Colorado School of Trades, back in 1989! Like Jim says, it just flat works!