I want to refinish the stock of my .22, a Rem 512-x. It had a high gloss clear finish on it, but it was scratched and gouged (by me). It has some grain visible, and I think it would look nice with the grain brought out. Would a sanded in oil finish do this?

So far, I've sanded off the old finish and scratches. It had some dark spots that appear a few minutes after I stop sanding. I thought it was the old finish pushed in by the dents, so I used a stripper, then sanded some more. The dark spots came back. So I now think the scratches let oil soak into the wood. Do I need to get this oil out before I proceed?

What about stains and oils? Should I stain it then sand in the oil, or just oil? What kinds of products do you use? I don't mind this project taking a while, I can get some time most days. What grit sandpaper should I go to before I raise the grain?

Thanks

Id go only 400 wet or dry 320 at the coursest. Raise the grain????

Ive used Deft Danish oil(tung oil),McKloskeys Danish tung oil, Daleys Ben Matte tung oil, Any will work good. I personaly wouldnt stain it.

Maybe your dark spots will blend when you apply your finish. Or they might disappear when you soak it and sand in your coats as you fill the grain.

Jason,

Go to a pool supply place and see if they will sell you a cup or two of diatomaceous earth (DE). It is used for swimming pool filters. Mix up some of that with a solvent and paint it on the dark spots. If it is oil it will lift them out of the wood. Do it 2 or 3 times.

Raise your grain (whisker) after your last sanding and before you finish. Then sand it back of course, 320 is fine enough provided you get all the marks out from the rougher grits.

I prefer to use just oil. Take a look at how the stock looks when it is wet during the whiskering process. That is very much how it will look when finished. If you like it, go without the stain. It is a lot easier to finish if you do not use the stain.

There are a lot of commercial finishes that will give you a good final product. Boiled Linseed oil is NOT one of them. I like a product called BenMatte from Daly's in Seattle. You can likely find it in Pa. It is a polymer modified tung oil.

If it has a walnut stock oil may be OK. Just rubbing Boiled linseed in to a stock will not make a good finish. Tung oil finish will be a better choice. You will need to fill the grain. The best way to do it is to use dilute spar varnish as a lubricant for your 400 grit paper. Work the mud into the wood. Let it tack up and whipe off most of it with paper towel. Let dry completely. Sand dry to get off the remaining part on the surface.

If it is hardwood or you just want to aviod a lot of unnecessary fuss, do as follows. Fill the grain with tinted grain filler. Let dry overnight. Steel wool off the excess. Stain to suit your tasts. Let dry overnight.

Finish with Deft spray laquer. Get two cans, one sanding sealer and one semi gloss. Attach the stock to a long dowel or simmilar to act as a handle. Spray on a light coat of the sanding sealer. Let dry 15 minuets. Keep the coats on the light side and avoid drips. Whipe off drips immediatly with paper towel. Dry sand with 400 grit. Repeat until the can is empty. Probably 4 or 5 passes. Then spray with the semigloss. Repeat as before except use fine steel wool to knock off the buggars. Finish up by rubbing out with automitive rubbing compound and water if desired. It will look fantastic, wear well enough for your 22, and best of all you can do the finish part in one Saturday. It was proabably finished in laquer from the factory.

Thanks for the ideas everyone. What did people do before the internet?

Customstox, I think I'll try the diatomaceous earth, I can get smaller quantities at an aquarium supply place. Would mineral spirits work as a solvent?

I have some tung oil, but I couldn't find the specific brands mentioned.

I wish I had taken some before pictures.

After this project, I might try something with an ugly savage stock. Do I have to sand off the checkering, or can I make it look good with the original checkering?