Stock Refinishing |
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The Apprentice
Senior Member Joined: December 10 2021 Location: Umatilla, Orego Status: Offline Points: 217 |
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Very Pretty Geoff I really like how it is coming out, My work has many gallons of BLO so it’s was free for me to use so I went the BLO route just like you I did many coats about 4-5 if i remember correctly I have done 2 brand new Boyd’s stocks and a refinish on a military surplus stock As for application I used 0000 steel wool and didn’t sand in between each time the wool smoothed out any bumps I would put the stocks in a room that was about 140 degrees and it really helped the wood to soak it up I know your on the cmp forum so you may have seen my 2 carbine stocks that I just did the difference with them is I used the Ussr stain before applying the BLO
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New to Enfield’s
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Honkytonk
Senior Member Joined: December 30 2017 Location: Brandon Mb Status: Offline Points: 4770 |
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I was taught long ago that finishing a stock is like body work on a car. All the work is in the prep! The stock should look like it is "completed" before the oil or hard coat is applied. They are only there to protect your work from the elements. When I do a stock, I try to get it so smooth it shines prior to oiling. You can only get so many dings out with steaming and sanding, and those spots will require a little finesse to match the rest of the stock when oiling as I believe the wood gets compressed pretty deep depending on the ding.
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shiloh
Senior Member Joined: January 08 2019 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 2369 |
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I agree the prep work needs to be excellent, with hardwoods I go to 800-1000 grit sanding, as Honkytonk says, ", I try to get it so smooth it shines prior to oiling." that is key to a great oiled finish. Here`s another tip, steel wool and wood don`t mix and there`s a reason why, microscopic bits can get stuck in the wood and will flash off when in contact with moisture leaving horrible stains, everything from reddish brown to black marks. And they`re a bugger to remove. If you need to knock down the sheen just use 800 or 1000 grit w/d soaked in oil, it`ll do the trick. Steel wool and oil, good for rusty steel, not so much for wood finishing. Just my 45+ years experience. |
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Lead from the front; eliminate all obstacles...
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britrifles
Senior Member Joined: February 03 2018 Location: Atlanta, GA Status: Online Points: 6539 |
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There is a lot of conflicting info on the web about how to use 100% pure tung oil (and just about anything else your looking information on!).
I did a very light rub with 0000 steel wool after the fourth coat, per the instructions on the oil can, but decided not to do that again for the reasons cited above. I did use a tack cloth to make sure the surface was clean of any dust or bits of wool prior to applying the oil.
Many very thin coats well rubbed in by hand seems to work much better than a few thick soaking coats wiped on and off with a cloth. The cure time of heavy coats can take weeks and may sag or wrinkle the finish (I had one spot where that occurred and had to sand it off). The really thin coats cure in about 2 days with assistance of moving air from a ceiling fan. Just takes a lot of patience. |
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shiloh
Senior Member Joined: January 08 2019 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 2369 |
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Prep tips for new wood: refinish is a tad more labor intensive before you start have lots of mat`l on hand and ware protective gloves to keep your personal oils off the wood. (plus if working with walnut your skin will turn purple) 1- Sanding starting with 180-200 grit until all tooling marks are removed or alternatively and is my go to choice, is to use a finishing scraper(do a google search) 2- reduce the grit to 220-300 grit to remove signs of previous work. 3- reduce to 400 grit, until all visible marks from previous work is removed 4- reduce to 600 grit, as above, vacuum and wipe with denatured alcohol, this will show imperfections and raise the grain, allow to dry before proceeding, rinse and repeat until perfect. 5- reduce to 800 grit and proceed as in #4 6- reduce to 1000 grit and proceed as previous. 7- if any of these steps does not produce the desired results, go back a step or two and again proceed. This is a long and tedious process and requires loads of patients, just when you think its perfect, its not and will require more attention. Especially on hard woods, imperfect surface prep/finish will show up as dull areas while applying the oil finish, these areas will be at a rougher state than the rest. If that should appear, go back to step 3 or 4 and continue until perfect, and start oiling again. The finer the wood finish the quicker the oiling will proceed, allow 2-3 days between coats and dont use steel wool!!!! Over my life I`ve done countless gun stocks(as a hobby)but my mainstay has been fine furniture and wooden boats, starting with wood working 101 with my grand dad when I was 10 yrs old. Only time and patients will yield an end product you can truly be proud of and that product will endure.... taking short cuts or being lazy will only yield something you`d expect from Walmart. |
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Lead from the front; eliminate all obstacles...
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Shamu
Admin Group Logo Designer / Donating Member Joined: April 25 2007 Location: MD, USA. Status: Offline Points: 17603 |
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The problem (to collectors) with lots of sanding is the removal of "original" material & the possible loss of lightly made stampings. Of course the is irrelevant to competitive shooters.
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Don't shoot till you see the whites of their thighs. (Unofficial motto of the Royal Air Force)
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The Apprentice
Senior Member Joined: December 10 2021 Location: Umatilla, Orego Status: Offline Points: 217 |
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This is so true Chaz with military stocks on my Mark 4 T The S-51 is almost sanded out. I agree on competition stocks and including brand new aftermarket stocks just like OP posted in the beginning do what you can do to make it a work of Art
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New to Enfield’s
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shiloh
Senior Member Joined: January 08 2019 Location: Ontario, Canada Status: Offline Points: 2369 |
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[QUOTE=shiloh]
Prep tips for new wood: refinish is a tad more labor intensive tips are for new wood stocks. I agree with old original military stocks, that`s a whole different ball of wax.
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Lead from the front; eliminate all obstacles...
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Honkytonk
Senior Member Joined: December 30 2017 Location: Brandon Mb Status: Offline Points: 4770 |
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Yup. New stocks or refurbishing older, best up "made for hunting" rifles. I've done a ton of Savage 99's! ALL have a crack on the tang! Brass pin and Accu-glas works great!
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Doco Overboard
Senior Member Joined: January 26 2020 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 199 |
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Scraping is another technique that gives good results. Especially on a refinish and your after preserving stamps/markings. A scrap piece of sheet steel with a sharp edge can be fashioned almost into any shape one would need for delicate areas. They also can be handy for when a straight line needs trued up or return an edge to the proper appearance.
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