Wood refinishing question

[coolhandluke]

BTW GC...your Chestnut Ridge stain will work very well on the stock. I am assuming that it is either beech or birch (laminated or non-laminated) and neither likes oil based stains as Shadowrider mentioned above. I use denatured alcohol to mix my stains / dyes like Chestnut Ridge, RIT, and Fiebings and apply the mixure to the stock with a cotton ball. Make sure to wear gloves or you'll have some interesting looking hands for a few days. If the color turns out too dark just give it a rub down with 0000 steel wool or wipe it down with straight denatured alcohol. If it is too light, just add additional coats until you reach the look that you're after. Be sure to let the CR stain dry for 1-3 hours or it will not stabilize and will continue to leech from the stock as you apply the oil coats.

In the end BLO will be the most forgiving and easy finish to maintain. If you like the pine tar look you can always stain with CR, apply BLO, and top coat with Tom's Pine Tar mix which is a paste containing pine tar, turpentine, and beeswax. It should leave you with a look that is similar to the BLO & pine tar stock above only the color will be more red due to the CR stain.

If you need any help...just let me know.

 

[GlockCop]

Well I got the old stuff off everything and let it dry overnight. this morning I got out my stain and a sponge brush and went to work. This stuff dried fast...lol. I used 0000 steel wool between the two coats to get the shade I wanted. Im going to let this stuff dry overnight and start the BLO I bought starting tomorrow. Im guessing a couple coats of that too. It looks ok for a first time deal. Ill post pics when Im all done. I appreciate everyones help and advice.

 

[Shadowrider]

At least 2 coats of BLO. BLO isn't a varnish, what it really does is penetrate into the wood. Put it on heavily and sloppily, let it soak in for about 30-45 minutes, then wipe all you can off. Next day do it again. Do this for several more days. Some guys on the CMP forum have a saying "one coat a day for a week". After the first 2 or 3 you will see it start to build up and start looking like a varnish, but it's also down in the wood too. Tung does the same but it just stops building up after a point, because it does totally seal the wood off.

One of these days I'm going to figure out (acquire enough patience) how to get that old school oil finish look like are on the fancy (and gorgeous) Holland & Holland stocks. They use who knows how many coats of BLO hand rubbed and sanded between each coat. The wood is just slick as glass, and looks real deep but at the same time doesn't appear to have any finish build up on it at all. It's amazing what those guys do.

 

[264killer]

3 coats of Future Floor Finish Dry between coats & light steel wool. If u want shiny dont steel wool last coat. did this yesterday.

 

[ASP785]

GC... The tung oil finish is not something that I would ever use on a milsurp stock with any value...

That's something good to point out. I used it in the context of my WASR 10. No real collector value there. I do think it is one of the easier medias to work with for cheap WASR or SKS's. Even light coats provide protection and it can be easily stripped should the need arise.

 

[turkeyrun]

cut the BLO with mineral spirits.

2 part BLO with 1 part MS.

0000 steel wool between coats.

1 coat with a min 24 hrs dry between coats.

6 - 7 coats for best finish and protection. On the last coat, the more you rub / polish, the glossier the finish.

depending on use / handling. will probably have to buff with the steel wool and add a coat or 2 of the BLO / MS every yr or so.


same can be done with poly, finishes from flat to high gloss. great for other stock finishes, but I don't think I would use it on a milsurp UNLESS the stock was really rough and it was just a chooter. poly will last a long time and with stand hard use.

 

[crrcboatz]

GC a word from experience... Minwax stains aren't what they used to be. I tried Minwax on my Garand stock which is birch and it looked just flat out horrible. Birch is just near impossible to stain evenly so I would be prepared for a backup plan depending on what wood your stock is. The Rustoleum Ultimate stains at Lowes are very much better and a lot faster drying too. Honestly I'll probably just use Fiebings leather dye on gunstocks from now on.

For the topcoat listen to coolhand, he knows his stuff. What he said to use is probably the easiest to get a decent protective coat and the Birchwood Casey would be good too for a "working gun". If you use the "Tung Oil Finish" Formby makes a satin version of it, though it's still pretty glossy. It's essentially identical to the Minwax.

If it's something I want to look old school I use pure Tung oil from the Real Milk Paint Company. It's just awesome, but it's a whole lot of waiting and a long drawn out process to get it built up. BLO is a little better but still takes awhile, like 1 to 2 days per coat to dry.

I probably see this differently. I refinish stocks for 2 gunsmiths and will tell you Birchwood Casey will never hold up like poly. If the gun is going to be kicked around, truck gun, not kept in a safe or moved in a hard gun case it will be dinged up because of the soft wood it is made from. That said if one allows Poly to completely cure, ie 2wks or more before using the gun, it will add hardness to the stock and be MUCH less likely to scratch. I have a buffing product that will buff out scratches on Poly covered wood that will challenge you to find the scratch. I shoot 2 part auto polyurethane that uses a catalyst for rifles that are to be used on a regular basis. Although it is high gloss a semi gloss or satin finish is easy to provide with correct technique on the poly. The rifles had schellac on them in their first life. That stuff is not tough and tends to peal. Birchwood Casey in my view is for the rifle that gets a gun case every where it goes, and stays in a sleeve while in a safe. It produces a wonderfully beautiful finish that brings out the true beauty of the wood. It however does little to protect the wood as it is just not that durable.

 

[turkeyrun]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I totally agree. My old 1903 has 22 coats of poly on a home-made stock done over 40 years ago and it looks like new. I used gym floor poly on it.

BUT, GC said in OP, he didn't want poly, so in that case, the linseed oil is IMHO the best choice, but will require some maintenance.