Need Advice on Finishing my Wood Stock

[CjC73]

So, I've been wanting to try doing this myself for a while and I'm finally going to tackle it. The stock is rough shaped, lots of tool marks and such. Inletting should be close, I'm sure I'll have to finish that a touch or two.

I've read a LOT online and here on steps and how to get to the actual finishing stage. One of my many questions will be what finish? I have TruOil, Arrow, Gloss Wipe-On Poly. But open to getting what I need to do it right. I'm leaning towards a glossier finish. But I realize I'm a long way off from this stage.

Guess my first steps will be to start sanding. 120 or 220 grit to get to the shape I want it? Being careful not to create ridges and go with the grain as much as possible. Any other tips at this stage?

Here is the before picture of my stock. Wood is walnut with rosewood (?) grip cap and tip.

 

[6MMsteve]

it's going to be a beautiful stock, you will get some good info and lotsa diff ways, I use wipe on poly but I'm not a real stock finisher, it will take bout 15 coats or a couple months...so don't listen to me.....lots of people on here done forgot more than I know

 

[6MMsteve]

Bc'z is the guy to talk to

 

[STOMP442]

Pro Custom Gun oil from Brownells is the best stuff I have used. Wipe on and sand with 6 or 800 grit between coats and wipe with tack cloth before next coat. Add a little bone black in the finish to really make the grain pop. Thats going to be beautiful.

 

[JSH]

Makes the arthritis in my hands hurt thinking about it, I have two I need to get busy on myself.
Good looking stock.

 

[Ranger188]

@Bc'z

 

[CjC73]

Pro Custom Gun oil from Brownells is the best stuff I have used. Wipe on and sand with 6 or 800 grit between coats and wipe with tack cloth before next coat. Add a little bone black in the finish to really make the grain pop. Thats going to be beautiful.

Looks awesome... sort of the shape I'm after. With a little rollover on the opposite side in the cheekpiece.

 

[docmusk19]

Looks like a Richards microfit! Sometimes these get a bad rap, but I love them.

I usually start at 80 grit and take down some of the deeper tool marks. Go up to 120-180 from there. After I am happy with this, I make sure my inletting is good and my barrel channel is where I want it. Pretty much every time I have worked with one of these the bolt handle wasn’t moving freely so make sure you’re happy with that. Then I proceed with a pillar and epoxy bed and finish sand at the end.

I love minwax wipe on poly. You can easily get by with 6-10 coats applied once every 1-2 days if you let it dry between coats in low humidity. The first couple coats dry very quickly and you could probably do a couple coats on day one and day two. If it’s tacky, simply let it hang longer. Between coats I hit it lightly with 400. When I get all my coats on, I hit it with 2 or 3000 grit. Maybe 1000 in some areas where I want to smooth out a minor imperfection. Then, buff some feed n wax into it with a cloth and watch the grain explode!

 

[Prose]

Renewing a Ruger 77 MkII Stock

Bought a Ruger 77 MkII action and stock off the forums here awhile back. Originally a featherweight .243, but the barrel was shot out. The wood stock had some wear and I figured it would be replaced, but decided to see what was under their one Saturday afternoon. I've never refinished a stock...

forum.accurateshooter.com

Here is a thread that may be of interest to you.

The larry potterfield videos on Midway were really helpful. I've done a bunch now with his teaching as the basis.

 

[CjC73]

Looks like a Richards microfit! Sometimes these get a bad rap, but I love them.

I usually start at 80 grit and take down some of the deeper tool marks. Go up to 120-180 from there. After I am happy with this, I make sure my inletting is good and my barrel channel is where I want it. Pretty much every time I have worked with one of these the bolt handle wasn’t moving freely so make sure you’re happy with that. Then I proceed with a pillar and epoxy bed and finish sand at the end.

I love minwax wipe on poly. You can easily get by with 6-10 coats applied once every 1-2 days if you let it dry between coats in low humidity. The first couple coats dry very quickly and you could probably do a couple coats on day one and day two. If it’s tacky, simply let it hang longer. Between coats I hit it lightly with 400. When I get all my coats on, I hit it with 2 or 3000 grit. Maybe 1000 in some areas where I want to smooth out a minor imperfection. Then, buff some feed n wax into it with a cloth and watch the grain explode!

you are correct, it's a richards microfit. that's a good plan of attack on order of doing them.

Is the wipe-on poly the only finish you used? is it durable?

 

[docmusk19]

Yes, wipe on poly with a a few coats of beeswax feed n wax. I will be honest in saying mine have turned out too pretty for me to want to abuse. I want them perfect and shiny at all times. They are mostly safe queens. But I do have one that sits upstairs by a window over looking about 100 acres so it’s always ready. Another one I built for my old man. He has a couple dings, but he uses it and at the end of the day that’s why I built it.

The definition of durable is relative! Could it fall out of the back of my gator and be scratch free? Probably not. I have also never carried them in a 2 day torrential rain storm in the mountains. I leave them exposed to various amounts of sun. I’ll shoot in some light rain if it’s not too nasty. Never any issues. If you have some surface scratches, you can always repeat a high grit sand and clean it up.

 

[6MMsteve]

Pro Custom Gun oil from Brownells is the best stuff I have used. Wipe on and sand with 6 or 800 grit between coats and wipe with tack cloth before next coat. Add a little bone black in the finish to really make the grain pop. Thats going to be beautiful.

that's a clean lookin rifle, good looking

 

[CjC73]

This stuff? So you put this on AFTER all the coats of poly are on?

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Agreed on durability definition. I just mean normal use, hunting but not climbing over rocks and expecting it to come out scott clean or ding free. If it gets wet, dry off at end of day and no worries.

 

[shortgrass]

Save yourself some labor and some time. After you get to 320g , start wet sanding with a 'sanding sealer'. "Laurel Mountain Forge" has smaller cans, available from Brownells and Midway. I like "Ship'n'Shore, but the smallest amounts I've seen are quarts. By using several coats of sanding sealer you'll fill the pours with that fine sanding dust and seal in the process. Depending upon the density of the walnut, think minimum coats of sanding sealer being 3-4. If the wood is more porous, itll take more coats. You'll save yourself a lot of labor by using a good sanding sealer first. My final coats of oil are Pro Custom Oil. Make sure and seal the inletting, also.

 

[TTE]

Make sure and seal the inletting, also.

If epoxy bedding wouldn't that seal everything ?

 

[DGP4]

It all depends on what type of finish you want. Wipe on poly is easiest to apply and you can get whatever level of sheen you want. Tru-Oil is also easy to apply and comes out pretty glossy. However, to get a first class finish you'll need to apply a minimum of 9-10 very light coats. Neither of these two is very durable and will scratch pretty easily. The most durable would be lacquer. It can be applied with a rattle can of Minwax, Watco or Deft laquer in your choice of sheen. The other advantage of lacquer is that scuffs and scratches can be repaired easily and each coat dries very fast.

 

[Kurz]

Make sure and seal the inletting, also.

Epoxy bedding does not seal everything, simply some surface features.

The area under the recoil pad and the barrel channel need to be sealed also. You'd be amazed at how much moisture can get into a stock from small unsealed areas like the inside of the trigger inlet...

 

[DGP4]

Shellac is a good sealer for those areas.

 

[Cecil S.]

Bc'z is the guy to talk to

Yeah...Bc'z is who you want to chat with. Good guy.

 

[CjC73]

@Bc'z ...... So is sanding with 120/220 good start to get all the tool marks out and shaped like I want? Then finish inletting action/barrel channel.