Now it's finally time to start rubbing on the finish. For me the beauty in a hand rubbed finish as opposed to a sprayed or wiped on isn't so much the looks of it but the feel. It takes a little longer and the pictures I post will never be able to show the difference but when you hold it in your hand you'll know. Each coat is hand rubbed and the finish is worked into what's already there. It'll be a thinner finish without any unnecessary build up and will have a silky smooth feel that no sprayed or wiped on finish will ever be able to achieve.

A hand rubbed finish technique is something I'll try to explain but you'll probably have to try it a couple of times before you can actually "grasp" it. That's the way it was for me anyway. After getting it wrong a few times and then getting it right or close to it, I had an epiphany. "Ah, that's what he was talking about."

To do this we want to start with our regular mix of 90% Watco Teak Oil and 10% Japan drier.

[Linked Image]


For me personally, I like to start at the buttstock and work my way up. I'll start by sticking my finger in the finish and wiping it on the stock. I'll wipe it around the stock with my finger and get it to spread out as evenly as possible until the finish gets too thin and my finger will no longer pull it. At this I'll start the rubbing process with the palm of my hand. The idea here is to work the finish into the stock, not just coat it. What you want to do here is rub the stock with a lot of pressure and pull the finish as far up the buttstock as possible and then rub it in. While you're rubbing it you should feel your palm and the wood warm up from the friction. When you finish there should be so little finish left on the stock that you can touch it and not leave a finger print! Now if get too much finish in/on one area and can't pull it out to achieve the "dry" feel I was just talking about, there is a very easy fix for this. Just wipe for palm off with a paper towel and work the same area again.

After you're finished in that area (even and dry to the touch) it's time to start a new area adjacent to the one you just finished. I always start a few inches higher and work down to it until they touch. This stuff is going on so thin that blending the two areas is easy.

Continue to do this until you reach the forend tip. Remember to keep the "dry after rubbing" thing going though the entire stock. After the tip is done in one stroke I'll rub from the buttstock to the forend tip and do this over the entire surface area of the stock.

At this point the stock will start to take on it's first sheen. There will be areas that don't have any yet but don't worry about that. in those areas you've rubbed the finish into the stock (what we are after here) and the stock is still accepting all the finish you gave it. All that will go away by about the third rubbing coat.

[Linked Image]

Because this finish is so thin and because I'm using Japan Drier in the mix, I'll probably be able to get away with 2 coats a day. I'll continue to coat until I'm happy with the sheen. I personally don't care for a real shiny stock but you can acheive that with this technique if you choose. I'll probably stop around 6 or 7 coats (just guessing here) but I can make it look like a shiny new Remington BDL if I wanted it too. whistle

We are about to see light at the end of the tunnel! cool

Terry

Last edited by TC1; 02/17/15.