Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing How do I "de-gloss" a stock with steel wool?

I'll agree that misleading people is not a good thing, but to have you being the sole arbiter or what the right path is seems every bit as wrong. To borrow and modify a quote, "you may often be wrong, but you are never uncertain". As for any comment I made on Formby's, I don't remember being critical of its use. If so, and if it wasn't you that I was 'talking' to, I'd apologize. But, being as it IS you and you seem to be the most 'overly self-realized' person on this forum (apologies to Big Stick) and one of the most profane, I can't see the value in wasting an apology.

Now...back to steel wool. I'm 2.5 days into trying to make rust dots (aka freckles) show up on my gunstock. And yesterday, just to have some sort of control test on rusting, I put a common nail and a chunk of steel wool into the remaining salt water. At this time, in less than 24 hours, the nail is a good rusty red color, as is most of the steel wool. There is not the faintest sign of a rust spot on the gun stock. I took a bright light and a magnifying glass and I can't find the first rusty freckle. That leaves me with several possible conclusions. Perhaps the steel wool, in the presence of the paste wax, won't rust. Well, I used some of the same waxed up steel wool that I rubbed the stock with, and it rusted. Another possible conclusion is that just maybe steel wool didn't break off in mass quantities and get stuck in the wood pores and maybe my light rubbing of the stock with the steel wool didn't cause the surface of the finish to reach such high temperatures (as you said it would while calling me stupid for not knowing such an obvious thing) that it melted and trapped bits of steel wool.

Now I'm not inclined to make any sort of global statement that steel wool won't lead to rust on a gunstock, though you had no problem proclaiming that it would most certainly and without fail lead to rust dots on a stock. Well...in this one test, that didn't happen, and I actually tried to make it happen.

And, for the record, as a woodworker I have on hand all sorts of abrasives (Pumice and Rottenstone being among them). Even so, I use a lot of steel wool for this and that. It's a very useful light abrasive and it isn't like the use of 0000 steel wool is as bad as using a rusty salad fork on the stock.

Sitka, why didn't the stock freckle up? You promised that it would. Maybe somebody else will take up your burden and make a stock freckle. I quit trying, as of noon today, though I did leave salt crystals on the stock.

603 Don't confuse him with facts. You called his bluff. This will usually result in a personal attack and if you're lucky you'll get one of his world famous PM's.

PS. In the PM's he pulls out all the stops. Pure class...

And another of the special sort joins the 603 League of Distinguished Guessers...

And another example of your lack of class. 25,000 posts of pure unadulterated garbage....There seems to be a lack of civility with our friends in the north..

I prefer synthetic wool over steel wool, oil modified urethanes over BLO, and a good carnuba wax. Sometimes, new school is preferable over old school. Sometimes.

Maybe you need to reread just what you did to start it. Civility starts at home and I am only returning your initial kindness...

Now, why do you Drama Queens need to call freckles in an oil finish "rust buckets?" Maybe if you actually made that test board and looked you would understand that you are not looking for "rust buckets" and you would have enough information to actual add something to the conversation.

Please, think of the question rhetorically and realize at this point your opinions are proven groundless guesses and further input on the subject from you would be valueless, at best.
art

Please, show me a single thing I posted that I was wrong on... There are a few there over the years and I have already noted those and made amends for my few errors. Show me a new one. Surely it would be easy with 25,000 posts of garbage as you state.

Finding errors in your posts is obviously far easier and you have only a small percentage of the number of posts I do. Bet you cannot find even one there Mr. Civility.

And I take exception to you suggesting my posts about hunting with my son are garbage. Enough so you just made a very permanent enemy.

Pretty sure we were enemies after your name calling PM a few years ago. Your mantra seems to be anyone who does things different than Sitka deer is a fool. I make a point to never listen to someone who thinks they know everything. You personally attack anyone who offers a different way. Your playground bully attitude negates any rare pieces of useful info in your posts. Please post your usual rebuttal telling me how clueless I am. It never gets old....

So, how 'bout some pictures showing an example of the dreaded "rust freckle" syndrome. Since you claim it exists, you must have seen and maybe even have an example of it. Maybe one of your "test boards" ? If you have no proof of it, your claim of it existing/occurring is groundless and valueless as well.

If I weren't laying in rehab right now with a freshly installed hip, I would go round up a Winchester 94 stock I refinished for a buddy a long time ago and take a pic of it. Yes, I rubbed it out with steel wool- long before I knew better, and yes it has taken on a kind of leopardskin look (albeit pretty small marks, and not over the whole surface). He likes it the way it is and won't let me re-do it, preferring to wave it in front of me as a reminder that none of us is perfect. (I'll get him sometime, even if I have to dunk a wad of 0000 in his coffee when he's not looking!)

As I recall, I did some rubbing between coats with the 0000, plus 320x paper, too, in addition to definitely rubbing out the final coat with 0000 to de-gloss it.

I won't guarantee that it'll happen 100% of the time- but it will happen.

A friend of mine de-glossed the stock on his bdl Remington with pumice,and it was perfect.
Of course,he is a damn good craftsman,and I would expect no less.
I myself never use steel wool between coats anymore,because it tends to leave pieces behind.
kinda what Sitka said,I think.

Anyone claiming to have your level of experience should know exactly what freckles look like. If you do not the best way for you to figure it out is to actually look for yourself. You should not need me to show you something that obvious. Besides, I have always maintained that no one should believe me because sample boards are so easy to make...

You really don't get it, do you? I've never seen "rust freckles" so how would I know what they look like? Anyone with your level of skill should be able to post a picture of one of your sample boards showing the condition you describe. That way everybody will know (without your telling them) just how right and smart you are. And, at this point, you have maintained correctly.

I could easily produce freckles... but as I almost always say, it is easy and worth doing for yourself so you can look at them under different lighting conditions and see exactly why you should avoid them.

Further, you would never accept the obvious and really need to prove it for yourself.

You should have noticed by now that several others have pointed out the fact they have seen them... Of course your lack of sightings after using steel wool on outdoor finishes means either you really did not do the work claimed or never actually looked but were just spoiling to step into another fight after the last time you proved how gifted you are.

Drivel on little man, drivel on. You're a campfire legend in your own narrow, simple little mind. And don't forget to wipe your chin.

Again, you prove your gift...

And as further proof... Here is a typical example of just how useful your contributions are to the folks here:




Your obvious Google-foo posting is another high point of your "knowledge" base.

Did you know someone can search a complete quoted sentence after you post it and find out what website you took it from? Only takes seconds...

Don't forget to wipe, little man. And yes, it's obvious in your case as well.

Well, atop everything else you can now add liar to your titles and you cannot find a single quote from me stolen from any other site without attribution, period. You, not so much...

The thief:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/5090233/1