Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing question on using rottenstone

I used it a little earlier in the stock refinishing process both with oil and water. But I would discover either not enough finish or Mostly the finish would shrink some and I would see wood grain. So I had to go back to filling the grain with finish. I didn't sand in a filler which was a big mistake but I had never used Teak oil before I had to switch to Timberlux to get the pores to seal with finish.

I believe it's finally ready to knock some sheen off. was thinking of using a water wetted cotton pad with rottenstone and lightly rub the finish to knock some sheen down and level it out.

Looking for opinions on this before I begin.

I can’t answer the rottenstone question but that is a beautiful stick of walnut.

I've only used it to rub out glossy varnish finishes with decent build on the surface. It would seem your plan at this point has merits. One way to find out! (And yes, you did a swell job of stockmaking on a dandy piece of wood!)

I swore off of depending on oil finishes to fill the pores. The finish in the pores always shrank with time, and once I actually watched as the pores got sluiced out in a torrential downpour. (Lesson learned: stay home when heavy rain is forecast.) For a long time now I employ varnish sanded back to bare wood repeatedly until the pores stand filled, wait a couple weeks to watch for shrinkage, then proceed with oiling. Not a protocol for someone in a hurry.

These work great for knocking down sheen/gloss finishes. Bure sure your finish has dried/cured completely.

https://www.mrclean.com/en-us/shop-products/magic-erasers

Teak oil isn't a very robust finish and won't take much in the way of polishing, or rubbing out with just about any compound...

If you are planning on using rottenstone or any other finishing compound it is very important you let the finish cure completely. For most finishes this is at least 30 days to get hard enough and cured to the point it will withstand compounding the finish. It is also easy to rub through your finish if you aren't careful . Check your work often by wiping off the compound and whatever carrier liquid you are using and look under strong light to see if you are getting the results you are looking for . I've gotten impatient and paid the price several times until learned this lesson and had to sand back to wood and start over again.

As far as filling the pores I always hate this part but if you want a glass smooth finish it is necessary. I use either Truoil, Varnish, or in a pinch a good varnish or oil based sanding sealer . There are some new water based sanding sealers that are excellent and will take a finish well after curing that I have been wanting to try but haven't had the opportunity. In any case curing time is key to almost all finishes and subsequent compounding at the finish. I will admit I've never been a fan of sanding the filler and sanding dust into the pores to fill them as I believe this hides much of the chatoyance a well figured piece of wood will have. I could be off base, but I've never had good results filling the pores this way.

Bob

chatoyance, you say... lmao

I have to agree, that is one nice looking stock for sure.

Exactly the right word. From French "cats eye."

I would not use water. Oil has more body and slows the cutting down. By slowing the cutting you reduce sanding through the finish.

The big reason that most sand through (with rottenstone) is because they try to rub out small areas and then try to blend them... let the nightmare begin!

Instead, use long strokes and move on. You will need to go over the stock more than once, but rubbing through is no longer a problem.

Thorough curing of the finish is critical, as stated by several.

Sanding in mud kills finishes. Too easy to test it yourself and once seen, few consider doing it again. If they do it is pn very tight pored wood where very little mud gets into the pores.

Same here. Beautiful stock. I hope that you're going to have it checkered.

Thanks for the advice everybody!

I can't take credit for the stock making. Roy Bedeaux from N.M. sent the sock of to be duplicated using Dale Goens pattern stock. He did some shaping and then I did the final sanding and finishing.

I will have the sock checkered. Still trying to decide between A fleur de lis or point. The rifle was originally built by Dale Goens. His records on his build did not record many details of the rifle including the checkering style. He was most widely known for his Fleur de lis style. I really prefer point.