Nooooooo.... not that butt! Your metal buttplate. I am trying to get ideas for how to finish the metal buttplate on a new project. I have a very nice plain steel plate by Max McFarland. Problem is that the gun is going to be a user and I can't bare the thought of setting it down in the mud and snow with nice engraving on it.

Any suggestions or photos would be greatly appreciated.

I use the leather add-on pads with velcro closure. The velcro doesn't hurt the finish if used carefully but the leather skirt is sometimes long enough to hit the rear end of the cheekpiece and so will need trimming and the raw edges boned. There are 2 manufacture sources for these; don't bother with the cheap light-colored ones, get the darker red-tinted ones. It will add about 1/2"-5/8" to the pull length but you could remove the internal pad and cut this back to perhaps 1/8". When you scuff it up or get it muddy then just take it off and pull out your spare one. It's not foolproof but it sure helps!
Regards, Joe