finishing an unfinished stock

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Northeast

Member Benefits:

  • No ad networks!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • shocker998md

    Ultimate Member
    May 29, 2009
    1,357
    Snow Hill MD
    Hey guys,

    I need input, Ive got a boyds unfinished stock for a remington 597 that needs stained or finished or what have you. I do sheet metal and hydrualics for a living, I dont know a damn thing about wood work.

    This is what id want to do, either keep it light brown and do some kind of flat clear that will not be sticky or anything since I will hunt with this rifle still.

    or second option is get it in a dark color like boyds does for there pepper color.

    Now what do I need to do to make it happen? What prep, product, and process should I use? I will post a picture of the unfinished later tonight.
     

    Attachments

    • 1A-112.jpg
      1A-112.jpg
      12.4 KB · Views: 256

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,598
    Glen Burnie
    I'd use Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil, or boiled linseed oil. Take your time with it and do it up right, and that thing will be utterly gorgeous. The oil will darken it slightly and bring out the grain in the laminate.

    That's what I'd do.
     
    Last edited:

    stu929

    M1 Addict
    Jan 2, 2012
    6,605
    Hagerstown
    Febings leather dye works great if you wanted to add color. After that pure tung oil or boiled linseed will give it a military stock look. Not to shiney but still helps to protect. Best part about this finish you get a scratch just rub a little oil on it and itngoes away.
     

    bulletbill

    Agent provocateur
    Dec 31, 2008
    2,908
    SW FL
    is it a 90% inlet or finished inlet? If there's no finish on it yet, I'd spend an afternoon sanding it in progressively finer grit. the finer you sand the better the end result. Then do a tru oil finish.
     

    Song Dog

    Active Member
    Jan 2, 2013
    368
    Eastern Shore -Delmarva
    First, fit the stock to the barreled action, if have to remove any wood for fitting just a little at a time not to take off too much and tighten screws be sure the action is flush and run dollar bill under barrel channel.

    First you must sand the stock with 150 -200 grit sand paper as Lam stocks will show rough spots more so than walnut.

    If your stock is tan with darker tones, I used Min Wax Pecan stain on the wood, rub on with cloth and wipe off, allow to dry 24 hours. The darker you want then apply 2x or 3x.

    I would use Tru Oil, is best finish to protect the wood from moisture/water.
    Apply coats with cloth, wipe off excess, hang try 24 hours, number of coats usually takes about 3 or 4. If you want a dull finish then use 0000 steel wool after final coat.

    When your done post PICS
     

    Mike3888

    Mike3888
    Feb 21, 2013
    1,125
    Dundalk, Md-Mifflin,Pa
    Tung oil is the ticket, has to have lots of coats. Oil finish is just easy to fix if scratched where as a super hard finish mostly has to be stripped. Tung oil can also be waxed with auto wax. Just be sure to do inside parts of stock also. I usually try to do at least 15 to 20 coats. Pic is a rem 597 in 22 mag boyds thumb hole stock.
     

    Attachments

    • image.jpg
      image.jpg
      59.7 KB · Views: 165

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,598
    Glen Burnie

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    I used Arrow Wood Finish on a laminated stock for a 10/22. It is a oil finish. You can finish from matt to semi gloss to somewhat glossy depending on the coats.
     

    R357

    Active Member
    Jun 23, 2009
    344
    Upper Marlboro
    My advice pick up a refinishing kit like the Miles Gilbert Advanced Stock Refinishing kit from midwayusa.

    It has everything you need for your first go at stock finishing and an instructional video to guide you through the process for under $30.
     

    CFCE

    Active Member
    Nov 23, 2012
    223
    St. Mary's Co.
    When you think you have finished sanding; lightly dampen the stock with water. This will raise the grain a little. Resand when dry with the finest grit you previously used. The wood will be as smooth as a waxed bowling ball. Then use the finish you choose.
     

    oupa

    Active Member
    Apr 6, 2011
    859
    There's some good advise in the last several posts. Tung oil (Homer Formby's from Lowes will do as well as any) or Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil will give beautiful results... IF you do your part!

    An oil finished stock can be a beautiful thing, matte or high gloss. It will provide a lifetime of protection second to none and can be touched up / restored anytime with a minimum of work. Even dents and scratches can be ironed out (literally "ironed" out ;)) Many advise against using steel wool as it may leave particles behind. I've used it extensively though with only one such problem. It could have been the piece of wood or the brand of steel wool, but it never happened before or since.

    The secret, if there is one, is to apply THIN coats and make sure each is THOROUGHLY DRY before applying the next. Rub the oil on with your fingers. It should be barely detectable, just slick feeling. If there's enough to worry about smears and runs, you're using too much!;)
    The first several coats - say four to six - will be taken back down to bare wood. Their purpose is only to fill the wood pores to the surface. For a matte finish you don't go much beyond this but for a gloss finish, you alone are the limiting factor! I've finished stocks that resulted in deep gloss coatings that most assume are sprayed-on finishes.:cool:

    A drying cabinet adds considerable control to the process as well as speeding it up a bit. It's nothing more than a box (material can be anything from wood to metal to cardboard) with a heat source, typically a 60w (incandescent) bulb. The bulb is merely to maintain temp & humidity at a steady level. The box SHOULD NOT be hot or even excessively warm. The (coated) stock is suspended inside the cabinet by wires to dry between coats.
    Also DO NOT FORGET to coat the inside of the stock! Do this with or (better yet) as the first coat. It can be slopped in and mopped around with a rag but fingers still work best for me. It is important to get it into every nook and cranny though to fully seal and protect the stock. This is one more reason the stock MUST BE fully fitted prior to finishing.
     

    Users who are viewing this thread

    Latest posts

    Forum statistics

    Threads
    274,934
    Messages
    7,259,557
    Members
    33,350
    Latest member
    Rotorboater

    Latest threads

    Top Bottom