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I'm building a new custom rifle on a Boyd's laminate thumbhole stock. One of the modifications will be to locate the swivel on the end of the stock - so that it will ride lower (it will have a 26 inch barrel) while I'm packing it. As an aside, I've always wondered why swivels are put so far from the end on most factory rifles. I want to make a few minor modifications to it - and so I've have ordered on of their "VIP" (unfinished) stocks. In the past (waaay back) I did a few stocks in an oil finish but I was disappointed with the way the wood didn't resist small "dings" and with the way the wood fibres swelled up after long hunts in the rain. My question is this. What is the hardest, most weather durable, attractive finish that I can put on a wood laminate stock?
Secondly, could anyone answering please tell me the best manner to apply such a finish to an unfinished stock. I understand that the stock I'm getting will be finished to about a 100 grit sanding - and that I'll be finishing it beyond that - and then applying the finish. I do a lot of hunting in the rain (some of them extended trips) and I'd like to give my gun the "ultimate" durable hard finish - if such a thing exists. Brand names, and intructions, would be great - if you can provide them. Thank you.
Brian


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I also live "in the jungle" and want to use Laminate stocks on some of my rifles. I would greatly appreciate information on this, as well.

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If you can find Sitka Deer's finishing technique using epoxy to impregnate the stock you'll probably be doing as well as it can be done. I believe the discussion was in the gunsmithing forum, you might want to try a search there.
I'm just starting with the same type of finish on a stock this week, using West Systems Epoxy 105 Resin/ 207 Hardener and I should be able to let you know how it goes in a few days.
My ex-gunsmith uses a Miller paints Epoxy product that he sprays on and it is also pretty bullet proof, but is a pain to repair if you fall and damage the finish- as I have done several times with mine. I believe it comes in gloss and satin but that is all I really know about it.- Sheister


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I sorta used Siska Deer's method because the stock I was refinishing was soft English walnut.It did fix that problem well.I used S-1 epoxy sealer and a heat gun instead of an oven(it didn't fit).I used a tung oil finish over it.From my uneven coating of epoxy,I found the oil blended well,except on the cocobolo tip and cap,I would say it would repair easily.The next time I do it on the Richards Claro walnut 2nd,I will make sure I get an even 3 coats.


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I think you would be better off in three ways by switching to G-1, or better yet G-2 if you use another oily wood like Cocobola for your tip and cap. The three coats of S-1 look like they add quite a bit of weight, so swapping to a single coat of G would reduce that. The S-1 is not proving to be as waterproof as the G series, also. The build will be reduced by using a G as well.

The G-2 is the BEST epoxy I have found for oily woods like rosewood, (cocbola is a rosewood) bocote and even lignum vitae. The added benefit with it is that it is harder and stronger than the G-1 due to the 48 hour cure time.

I have used both many times and honestly see virtually no difference between them aside from the higher cost for the G-2 and slower set.
art


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I have two-fingered out the system I use several times here and you should be able to find it fairly easily... I have tested every finish I know of and measured their performances against standards and there are only two finishes that meet your needs, IMO.

Any good very slow-setting epoxy (G-1 and G-2 from Industrial Formulators out of Canada are my favorites) will make a waterproof seal coat like almost nothing else will. An oil finish of your choice atop the epoxy will look like a straight oil finish, repair like a straight oil finish and go on easier than any oil finish being applied to bare wood.

The other option is superglue... I have never used it as a stock finish, though I know several good stockmakers that have. I have tested it personally on test cubes of walnut against my epoxy finishes and it is as good in the waterproof department.

The only negatives I have relative to the superglue is the fact it shrinks the wood, so a tiny amount of pride has to be left in your inletting. I wish I could give you a number to work with there... but I cannot.

I intend to use it soon on a stock so I can comment from a personal perspective.

If you cannot find the threads or have other questions I am very easy to reach and will happily do whatever I can to help.
best to you
art


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Industrial,is located at 3824 William St.,Burnaby,a couple of blocks from 1st and Boundry.You can get S-1,G-2,Burnt Umber and the tung oil at Lee Valley,or the epoxies and mini-fibers at Fiber-Tek on Boundry.Fiber-Tek has an epoxy like Cold-Cure called Aqua-Set,as good,just cheaper.

Art,G-2,mini-fibers and Burnt Umber(brown earth pigment) is what holds the tip on,and beds the action.


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Here is a finish I have used successfully in the past.
Assuming you are stating with raw wood that is ready to finish start with a mixture of the best grade spar varnish you can find and thin it with real white gas or other high flash point enamal thin it till its like water. Slop this on untill the wood wont take anymore and wipe it down with lint free rag and let it dry for two or three days. Do inside the bbl channel ,inletting and all. The idea is to get this in the wood and not on it.This wiil seal the stock and prevent future moistier absorption. After this dries fill the pores with best grade filler or simply apply some slightly thinned varnish and"sand it in" using sanding dust as filler.
Let this dry two or three days. Dont get in a hurry, gunstocks are forever, and more varnish over wet varnish makes a gummy mess forever. Once this dries fine sand with 400 grit or 0000 steel wool , wipe off and apply spray varnish or varithane in thin coats sanding in between. Flat or shine, yor choice. For an "oil" finish forget the spray stuff and rub it down with "tounge oil" Let it dry several days between coats so it wont turn gummy. Best done during summer low humidity . Good luck.

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Why would anyone use white gas as a solvent for finish? Beyond the extreme flamability and health issues there is the simple fact it has been designed to be burned and creates a lot of problems in a finishing application.

When solvents down deep in a curing or drying finish warm up they evaporate and if they are encapsulated in finish they create a hole in the finish with the vapor pressure they create when changing phase.

Solvents are bigger molecules than water and those pores they create are big enough for water molecules to run through without even ducking their electrons.

I strongly encourage you to use a solvent designed to be used in finish and if health issues do not bother you just use acetone as it really is an outstanding finish solvent, your liver be damned...

While varnish was as good as finish got before epoxy, it is not even close to as waterproof as epoxy can be.
art

no insult taken nor intended.


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I have used brownells aluma hyde II with excellent results on fiberglass stocks.

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What about using something like Thompson's water seal to soak into the wood before applying the finish product?

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Oil of any kind actually absorbs water faster than bare wood, so no on the Thompson's... actually of all products tested for suitability for wood finishes, Thompson's is the worst of the worst. The solvent cut is very high and the oils and resins extremely low. It was the only product CA banned when they started after high VOC products.

The epoxy is 100% waterproof and anything inhibiting it from soaking in is a problem... but it was a reasonable thought/idea.
art


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a gunwriter recently told me that a top name custom rifle builder use the Rhino Hyde product to paint gun stocks. I tried it with a dupont bedliner product from a local auto parts store but it never hardened to my desire. I used it on a test "tupperware" stock so there was not loss. the right product could have merit but I have not found anything better for the do-it-yourselfer than brownells aluma-hyde II. it has an epoxy base and is very durable.

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Sitka Deer,

Thanks for sharing your expertise on stock finishes. I note your caution re acetone. I recall that first it was carbon tet, then trichloroethane (sp?), now acetone? I always thought acetone was pretty safe because they used to use it to remove adhesive tape residue in health care, but maybe I'm naive. How dangerous is acetone? Is there ANY solvent that is strong enough to remove grease and sticky stuff, and reasonably safe to use? TIA for the info.

Paul

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I honestly do not know of a good solvent that isn't a potential problem... All of them can get through a membrane, like skin, like it was not even there.

I remember freaking out an industrial hygenist a few years back for using a ball point to enter some data onto my palm pilot... the bare skin of my palm... some think all of it will get you.

I have read some nasty stuff about what acetone does to the liver, which is where it gets delivered or at least filtered out from the blood.

I am not impressed with citrus based solvents at all, so I do not have a good suggestion...
art


Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.

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