I am finishing a laminated wood stock with Tru-Oil. Is it really necessary, to get a good result, for me to sand between each of the coats? Why can't I get the same result by sanding the finish to level the surface every three coats -- or just once, near the end, before the last coat?

I think the sanding pulls out the particles of dirt that find its way into your wet finish ,that will be harder to get out with more coats over it. I use the 3m scotch pad (fine) between coats. It also help's to fill in the grain of the wood,and gives the next coat something to adhire to.

Bigbrass
I use steel wool 00 between coats of tru-oil i just finished a gun for my son and i thought it turned out great.
Try the steel wool between one coat and see if it is any easer won't hurt and you might like what you see.

Because you trap dirt and dust in the coats...

Dry 0000 steel wool between each coat, followed by a paint-store tack rag to get any steel particles and dust off. Then a soft cotton diaper to wipe off any tack rag residue.

6 to 12 coats, depending on how well you filled the grain. Final coats rubbed on squeeky thin.

Let cure a couple days after final coat, then mount it and use the gun for a while til the finish completely cures and the wood stabilizes. Then rub it out to the sheen you want. For working guns that need a new topcoat every year (Truoil is soft and wears thru), a utility buff is more 0000 wool lubed with Kiwi neutral shoe polish and buffed.

Bigbrass,Have a lokk at this site.
riflestocks.tripod.com
regards
rz

Thanks, guys; your information was very helpful.

BigBrass

BigBrass, try wet sanding the coats in with a small block of wood (1"x2 3/4"x3/8") with wet/dry paper with grits ranging from 400 to 600, wrapped around it snugly. Then when the finish is one, wipe it lightly with paper towels. You will almost remove the finish you put on. Do that for 4 or 5 coats and then hand rub some more True oil (thinned) just getting a small dab on your finger tip for the portion you are workking on. Put on a couple of those hand rubbed coats and check how it looks. True oil makes a fairly good finish but it is a bit thick for my tastes. this proecess will give you a good final finish.

BTW, in curved areas, such as flutes at the nose or on the concave curve under cheekpieces, you will need a curved backing. You can buy them of rubber, make them by shaping or used dowels.

[ 03-18-2003, 23:57: Message edited by: Customstox ]

Thanks, Chic, your comments are very informative, as always. I notice that one can buy sponges with their surfaces impregnated with grit, of various levels of fineness, for wet-dry sanding of curved areas. Will these work for those concave areas (instead of having to make a curved sanding block)? Or are they too flexible to be useful?

BigBrass

Big Brass: The sponges like you describe that I've seen are too coarse for that purpose. I'm guessing that they weren't much finer than about 100 grit. Suggest you stay with conventional wet/dry paper for your purpose and buy or make the proper shaped blocks to support the paper and protect the stock edges.

Round felt pads (used to be sold by Brownell's in the 50's & 60's) also work very well for the final scrubbing between each coat. After the sandpaper and /or steel wool use them with a little rottenstone, then the tack rag, then the diaper.

It may just be my imagination, but I always felt G-B Linspeed gave a nicer finish than Tru-Oil, so when I had to make stocks for bread 40+ years ago, that's what I used.

Nowadays most commercial stockmakers I have met didn't use either...you might ask another thread to see what pro-stockers use now. (Besides hemi's, that is...[G]}