Gary - thanks. I checked my last application this morning and I think I like how its turning out. My last thee applications have been thin skim coats that were rubbed in with my hands. I used no cloth. And by skim I mean that I barely got my hands oily with just enough finish to bring a shine to the wood (like you would get if you wiped it down with water) before I set it aside to dry. Personally, I like the smell of tung oil. My goal was to get a finish that looks like what you see on some of the more better finished rifles from the US arsenals and I think I did it. With a standard issue 03 or 1917 I would have been happy with just getting oil into the wood and calling it a day. But for this one I was shooting for what you would see on a NM or NRA Sporter. That is, something that was just a cut above standard issue and with the M2 I was happy with the grain not being fully filled. My next projects are the NRA Sporter I told you about, a Savage Super Sporter in 250-3000, and a standard issue Remington 1917. This project was a trial run for those as its been a few years since my last stock refinishing projects.
So, for a more historical method of finishing gun stocks, here's what I learned:
1. Use tung oil or a high quality linseed oil from a art supply shop
2 Use spar varnish to fill the grain and don't bother with the "sand to make dough method" for any quality of finish above military grade
3. Don't cut the oil, but put it on full strength from the start
4. Apply the final coats very (and I mean very) thin until they no longer "suck" into the surface of the wood
4. Allow plenty of time for drying between coats (a good reason to have multiple projects in the works)
5. Top off the final product with a good paste wax or for a military grade finish use the beeswax/turpentine concoction mixed to a consistency of shoe polish
6. Be patient and have a snort of good whiskey between each step
This leaves me with one more question about paste waxes. Based on auto projects in the past I learned to stay away from any product that contains silicone as it plays hell with the surface should you ever need to repaint the car. Is there a similar issue with gun stocks?
I appreciate all of your advice and I'll have a snort for each of you. This is a great forum with participants like you guys!
