Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Stock finish repair: Win. Mod. 70 Classic

Thank you all. There is some very good info here, though some of it is probably well past my skill level.

Bonaparte- thanks for the heads up about steaming damaging the surrounding finish.

I'm going to try to blend the scratches in with an oil finish. If that doesn't work then I will have the stock professionally re-finished.

I have tested about every finish I have heard of by finishing a block of wood and putting on the roof of my shop for a year or more and in all cases left it there indefinatly and checked it form time to time...

My best results were with Flecto Varathane for waterproof, but it has Trulene and thats is bad stufff I'm told..

All things considered, I like Gun-Sav-or from Brownells the best. It is easy and fast to apply, it lasts well, easy to apply, comes in gloss or an eggshell low luster, it is as waterproof as about any finish, easily repaired, and matches well with itself on repair, it has all the needed elements for a good finish.....

Remember a high gloss layered finish is the most waterproof but its also very bright and glossy, and I prefer the low luster and less waterproof finish, its a trade off at any rate, but as long as they make wax, I can get by that.

Some folks can apply one finish better than another and some folks can apply a finish better than others can apply the same finish..The secret is to find a finish that suits you and that you can apply and stick with it...My problem is I am always searching for a better finish and the end results are always the same, some I like better than others and thats as far as I get.

"Remember a high gloss layered finish is the most waterproof..."

Nope, not close to true. Gloss has absolutely nothing to do with waterproofness. Truly waterproof finishes may be polished to a high gloss or rubbed out to a soft eggshell luster.

Tossing a block of finished wood into the weather without monitoring any aspect of weight gain or loss (due to water transfer) proves what? How it will look if lost for a year in the woods?
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