Stock clear coat wax
- Thread starter Terry O
- Start date
That stuff is pretty good. A good , waxed finish in those bags is usually very slick but as much as I hate to say it...the ugly brown teflon tape is better than anything I've found. Some feel like it's too slick in those bags. I use it with black micro fiber bags and think it's just right...or just like I think is about right, anyway. No complaints.
I do some custom stock painting and hate to put that ugly brown tape over it but I don't argue about the results that it gives me. Form follows function but it's nice to look good too...or so I'm told. Lol!
I'd rather win ugly than to lose pretty, but I think you can do both, except for that damn tape. I've not found any of the clear tape to work nearly as well.
YMMV.--Mike
Good question. I was assuming automotive clear. Poly's not bad but tru oil can act really sticky.
Terry O
Gold $$ Contributor
it's automotive two part.
Terry O
Gold $$ Contributor
I tried baby powder before the last match and surprisingly made it worse
Alex Wheeler
Site $$ Sponsor
I learned with the first stock I cleared that not all clear coats are equal. If you use a cheaper or quicker drying "production" clear you get what your experiencing. I could never get rid of that little bit of break away "stick" until I switched to a high quality clear. It just dries harder. Now I am using a ceramic clear and its harder yet. Good quality high solids clear runs about $400 a gallon. If you have cheap clear, the only fix is stock tape. Good clear on the slick bags is too slick imo, wax or not.
Terry O
Gold $$ Contributor
That may be the case. The body man said they use a water base paint system. I didn't and don't know if that's a good thing. The paint job looks great and after wet sanding with 1500 and 2000 grit and polish it has a mirror finish but some ugly brown tape may be in order.
Alex Wheeler
Site $$ Sponsor
The cheapest clear will look great. And to be honest its easier to work with. But it will always have that stick. Clear tape will be fine. Its plenty slick. You may find, its so slick you get a little vertical. But you will have to see.
Stocks have relatively small surfaces with odd curves and shapes, as compared to say, a car. Thin clears are harder to control runs with. The premium clears are generally thicker, less prone to run and slower curing but yield a better finish when done.
I have used several different clears over the years but have never seen one properly mixed that had hardening issues that might make it sticky.
There may be a case of something along what Wheeler mentioned, I just haven't run into it. Tru Oil is a whole different story and some clears take substantially longer to lock up hard than others...but all I've seen are good to go in a matter of a few days or less. I do have access to a true paint booth which may help but the last thing you want to do is to put heat on a stock to speed up the clear. With fiberglass, it causes the fiber to show more. With wood...you have a mess. The moisture with come out of the wood and blister the clear with heat. Ask me how I know. Lol! I only made that mistake once. On wood, I typically put about three very light coats on to seal the wood well, with plenty of drying time, before attempting a couple of finish coats after wet sanding the prior coats. When done, if I hold my mouth right, no buffing is needed but wet sanding down to 3000 grit and buffing, can fix a lot of painter errors if need be.
Really, a good clear is up to a much tougher task than a cared for rifle stock and they harden up more than enough for the task.
I've never seen vertical caused by a stock's finish being too slick. I have seen it from one that isn't slick enough. As long as it breaks away freely and CONSISTENTLY, I haven't seen a problem with any automotive clear other than what I've mentioned.
Obviously, YMMV.
I have used several different clears over the years but have never seen one properly mixed that had hardening issues that might make it sticky.
There may be a case of something along what Wheeler mentioned, I just haven't run into it. Tru Oil is a whole different story and some clears take substantially longer to lock up hard than others...but all I've seen are good to go in a matter of a few days or less. I do have access to a true paint booth which may help but the last thing you want to do is to put heat on a stock to speed up the clear. With fiberglass, it causes the fiber to show more. With wood...you have a mess. The moisture with come out of the wood and blister the clear with heat. Ask me how I know. Lol! I only made that mistake once. On wood, I typically put about three very light coats on to seal the wood well, with plenty of drying time, before attempting a couple of finish coats after wet sanding the prior coats. When done, if I hold my mouth right, no buffing is needed but wet sanding down to 3000 grit and buffing, can fix a lot of painter errors if need be.
Really, a good clear is up to a much tougher task than a cared for rifle stock and they harden up more than enough for the task.
I've never seen vertical caused by a stock's finish being too slick. I have seen it from one that isn't slick enough. As long as it breaks away freely and CONSISTENTLY, I haven't seen a problem with any automotive clear other than what I've mentioned.
Obviously, YMMV.
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Dusty Stevens
Shiner
you should try a different bag. I havent ever found a stock that works with that super slick road worker vest stuff on the bag
I'd rather have it too slick than sticky, by a long way. You can adjust the tension.
This brings up an interesting subject. Everyone should try shooting over a chrono pinning the gun hard vs. free recoil. Gun weight and recoil affect how much difference you'll see, but it's enough to show on the chrono.
This is directly relative to tune and it MATTERS. Some guns will show it more than others but about 10fps is a good average difference.
This is directly relative to tune and it MATTERS. Some guns will show it more than others but about 10fps is a good average difference.
riverwolf1
Silver $$ Contributor
A303, developed by NASA, the Rv industry uses it on new RV’s! Slick as snot on a glass door knob, spray on spread with cotton cloth, wait a few minute and buff with micro fiber towel.
Alex Wheeler
Site $$ Sponsor
Its not that the cheap stuff does not harden, its that its not as hard. No matter what I tried I could not eliminate that slight break away friction. What I look for is a setup that will slide under the same finger pressure that it took to start its movement. If it takes more pressure to get the rifle to start moving because it was "stuck" thats not ideal. Cheap clear can cause that no matter what lube or bags. The ceramic clear is awesome. Better buff it quick because it gets hard as nails.
I tried the 3m material. I had the material itself so I could lay it in my current bags. Good for doing comparisons. Vertical.
Hard to beat a cordura with some powdered carnuba if you ask me.
I tried the 3m material. I had the material itself so I could lay it in my current bags. Good for doing comparisons. Vertical.
Hard to beat a cordura with some powdered carnuba if you ask me.
I agree, Wheeler. The INITIAL break away force is what seems to be so important. What method do you use to measure how much difference there is in break-away force between whatever finishes you saw this with?
I've seen it to be pretty forgiving to a large degree but that it becomes very important at some point. That point varies with gun weight and contact/tension. Had a 60lb bag gun that wouldn't shoot until I reduced the break away friction. Couldn't make it shoot until the break away friction was greatly reduced.
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