Acra Glass gell If I am bedding the action. I do the barrel channel as well. Marine Spar Varnish if I'm not glassing. Use this stuff every where. Under the butt plate, grip cap, and the rest of the inletting.
+1. I like to use the same finishing material inside the gun as on the outside (although not built up to the same degree, obviously), for the same reasons Art pointed out. And since I prefer a barrier finish such as spar varnish*, it only makes sense to use the same stuff inside too. To use disparate products is to invite uneven movement of the wood- and it
will move. The trick is in minimizing/controlling that movement.
* The final coat of spar varnish can be rubbed out, with rottenstone or 0000 de-greased steel wool, to look for all the world like a "hand rubbed oil finish". The added benefit is the fact that a barrier finish provides much, much better protection from moisture fenestration than any 'oil' finish can hope to. After putting countless hours of labor into building a stock, it amazes me that so many people go cheap (in terms of labor and time) into the final crucial phase.
