Best way to refinish a gun stock

[look no hands]

Might do a few experiments, cheers.

It's also known as red root oil, you can get it from the bay of evil.

[g5wqian]

one little tip i had off my mate who worked in a gunsmiths was when rubbing it down near to finishing it , dampen the surface of the stock and then pass a gas lamp flame over it , this will make the very fine loose edges on the surface of the wood curl up and you can take them off with very fine finishing paper to get a smoother finish .

i think his final pass over the stock was with fine wire wool .

ian

[Segata]

one little tip i had off my mate who worked in a gunsmiths was when rubbing it down near to finishing it , dampen the surface of the stock and then pass a gas lamp flame over it , this will make the very fine loose edges on the surface of the wood curl up and you can take them off with very fine finishing paper to get a smoother finish .

i think his final pass over the stock was with fine wire wool .

ian

Need to be careful with that as thats also how you can make grain pop up as its a technique used for Tiki carving, best to practice on something first.

[look no hands]

one little tip i had off my mate who worked in a gunsmiths was when rubbing it down near to finishing it , dampen the surface of the stock and then pass a gas lamp flame over it , this will make the very fine loose edges on the surface of the wood curl up and you can take them off with very fine finishing paper to get a smoother finish .

i think his final pass over the stock was with fine wire wool .

ian

I always dampen the stock and let it dry naturally and then rub down the stock again with fine abrasive paper or wire wool.

[ToniD]

It depends on the current finish.

If it’s oil then strip it with meths and scotchbrite pads ( fine grade will do the job ), use a nylon brush on the chequering and then clean out with a tooth pick.

Let it dry for 24hrs, then steam any dings and if the gun is used there will be dings. Let it dry before sanding with scotchbrite pads, medium down to extra fine and then wash off with spirit.

If not staining then the first coat should be 50/50 of chosen oil and spirit, for me this is always Alkanet oil. Leave it 24hrs and then fill the grain using the alkanet oil and 1000grit wet n dry paper, dont wipe off the slurry just leave it 24hrs before buffing it off with lint free cloth. Check it over and see if any grain needs further filling, if not then you can start the months long process of building a very nice oil finish.

Thin coat of oil, wait an hour and buff off with lint free cloth, do this every other day for fortnight and them once a week for a couple of months. If you prefer a more satin finish then the last piece is to use xxxfine pumice powder to take the sheen back a little. She’ll be silky smooth if done well.

Tru-oil is hideous varnish that is only fit for bar tops in the local boozer, just my opinion…

Alkanet oil on beech:

Oh that does look good, ordered the root from the horrendous auction site.
I've previously used raw Linseed Oil on a mark one Vulcan, it takes a little longer but works.

[vestlenning]

You can’t say “no dye , just Alkanet oil” Alkanet is a dye in its own right, it’s what Indian cooking uses to add the colour to Rogan Josh.

Absolutely, should have said no *extra* dye ...

[greasemonkey]

this is how i do it,get a jamjar,add a heaped tablespoon of shredded alkanet root ,fill the jar with boiled linseed oil.leave for 6 months agitating now and then.when the stock is prepared tip an eggcup full into another jar adding half a teaspoon full of terebine thinners.the thinners make the oil dry much faster.apply as normal.this is one of my vintage shot gun stocks i have refinished.

[Segata]

I need a minute, that colour and depth is perfection.

[Craig-P]

A few that I did with boiled linseed oil for various customers and outfits including Holts:

[Born Again]

Lovely work CraigP, you certainly got the best from that wood.

[TonyL]

Some beautiful work up above.

[ToniD]

It depends on the current finish.

If it’s oil then strip it with meths and scotchbrite pads ( fine grade will do the job ), use a nylon brush on the chequering and then clean out with a tooth pick.

Let it dry for 24hrs, then steam any dings and if the gun is used there will be dings. Let it dry before sanding with scotchbrite pads, medium down to extra fine and then wash off with spirit.

If not staining then the first coat should be 50/50 of chosen oil and spirit, for me this is always Alkanet oil. Leave it 24hrs and then fill the grain using the alkanet oil and 1000grit wet n dry paper, dont wipe off the slurry just leave it 24hrs before buffing it off with lint free cloth. Check it over and see if any grain needs further filling, if not then you can start the months long process of building a very nice oil finish.

Thin coat of oil, wait an hour and buff off with lint free cloth, do this every other day for fortnight and them once a week for a couple of months. If you prefer a more satin finish then the last piece is to use xxxfine pumice powder to take the sheen back a little. She’ll be silky smooth if done well.

Tru-oil is hideous varnish that is only fit for bar tops in the local boozer, just my opinion…

If using Alkanet oil, do you use it during the whole process, or just for the first coat to achieve the colour then continue with Linseed oil?

Thanks.

Toni

[vestlenning]

If using Alkanet oil, do you use it during the whole process, or just for the first coat to achieve the colour then continue with Linseed oil?

During the whole process.

[Blackrider]

Beech in my experience is not easy, I've attempted about half a dozen in my time and none were 100% to my satisfaction.
The problem comes with the end-grain which allows whatever you use to soak in leaving a much darker tint.

Nowadays I just leave them alone and give them an occasional wipe down with Balistol or similar.

[ToniD]

During the whole process.

Thanks