Laminate stocks, filling the pores??

[skeetlee]

I just got my new Laminate stock and it is very nice. However the laminate is full of fairly deep pores. do you have to sand all these areas out? Does anyone have a link to some information on this subject or can someone share there experiences on how to fill all these pores? Thanks Lee

 

[82boy]

I have never personally done this, but I have seen people do it with great success. Take a painters brush and brush on gorilla glue very thin. If you keep it thin it will not foam up, but it will fill the pores. After it dries you just sand it and then paint or clear coat the stock.

 

[CJ6]

Go to the hardware store and pickup some wood putty/filler. It comes in various colors/shades, they also sell colored dye for it.

 

[hbjones]

I am almost ready to finish my MBR Tracker Obechee indian feather laminate. I will be using automotive clear coat. My plan is to spray multiple coats wet sanding between each coat with a rubber sanding block. Once the grain is filled I will buff to a final finish. This will be a two week process as the clear takes 16 hrs to cure for sanding. I'm guessing around 9 coats. I have used this process with tru oil getting outstanding results but on this stock I didn't want the oil to tint the white parts of the laminate amber.

 

[Bob3700]

I recently used automotive clear coat on two laminated stocks. The stocks were previously finished with a clear poly finish so the pores of the wood were filled.

Three coats of the auto clear and it gave a very nice smooth finish. You can polish to whatever degree of shine you like.

So far, thumbs up on the clear coat.

Bob

 

[1000yardstare]

I have finished maybe a dozen wood stocks over the years with LinSpeed. Lo-tech compared to "modern" finishes but it works.

Six coats or so hand-rubbed friction dry and then let air dry for 24 hours between coats fills the pores and gives a durable, semi-gloss, easily touched-up finish.

With the spray-on synthetic finishes, you have to be very careful of runs and some are not easily touched-up. Require re-sanding.

But there are a lot of shooters very happy with the spray-on synthetics so more power to them.

 

[Preacher]

As stated above Gorilla glue spread thin will do the job in grand style quickly....
Some of the laminates take a LOT of clear coat to fill in the pores.but if you have the time and patience it will be worth the effort...

 

[chuckgreen]

I've finished a couple of Bill Shehane's Obeche laminate stocks. The pores in this wood are really deep and finishing them with clearcoat is a lot of work.

I use SprayMax 2K clearcoat in aerosol cans and it usually takes 8 to 10 coats to do the job. Each can is good for two coats. After sanding I spray on one medium coat, let it flash off for about ten minutes and then spray a wet coat. Then I let it dry for 24 hours before the next sanding.

Something that has saved time for me is using a Mouse type detail sander with 220 grit in between the first the third pair of coats. Then I wet sand by hand with 400 after the next and then with 600 before the last coat.

The Gorilla glue fill sounds interesting I may try that next time.

Chuck

 

[nhm16]

I had great success with using Minwax Antique Oil finish using this technique described on THR. You can easily keep laying on coats until it is smooth to your satisfaction, but I found it didn't take many.

 

[stevec]

Clear coat and let dry, then sand with 220. do it again. then on jthe third go, clear coat and sand while it is still wet. It will fill the pores and after it dries you can sand it and start with the finish coats.

IT IS VERY MESSY AND LOOKS LIKE CRUD UNTIL IT DRAYS AND YOU RESAND!

I had to throw that in because you will think you ruined the stock before you finished.

I have finished several this way and I am very pleased with them.

Steve

 

[gunnermhr]

I forget the name of the finish I used, I'm pretty sure it was true oil, but the first coat or two I applied with sandpaper. That creates a kind of "mud" which will fill in the pores. I know it might sound crazy but it work’s exceptionally well. After the pores were filled I simply put on multiple coats sanding between each coat with a progressively finer paper until the last couple of coats which were applied by rubbing it in with my fingers. I'm not exactly how to post pics but if you want I can snap a few close pictures of my stock and send them to your email if you're interested?

 

[Preacher]

The only problems with using the sanding dust to help fill the pores is that the laminates color will change with the applications after it's finished..
It would work great on straight Walnut stocks though ..

 

[watercam]

Brownells has stock filler. I mix it with Tru-oil and fill all the pores in one coat. OOOO steel wool a bit and two more coats and rub out works for me. For more gloss, one or two more coats. 8 hrs. between coats mean done in two days.

 

[gunnermhr]

It doesn't blend it as much as you would think. I'll try to post some pics tonight. Mine turned out beautiful and I wouldn't hesitate a second to do it again. I actually added a piece of walnut onto the forearm and blended it into the laminated wood. It didn't discolor either the walnut or the laminate

 

[hbjones]

Just an update. After sanding with 320 I applied the first coat of clear. It looks like it will take only 3 or 4 coats not the nine I was anticipating. The clear really filled the pores and started laying down pretty smooth. The clear is dust free in 10 to 20 and tack appx 45 minutes.

 

[hbjones]

4 coats sanded in between with 400

 

[skeetlee]

thats very nice!! I ended up going with the mcmillan st-1000 as the obeche stock that was sent to me had some issues. I think the mcmillan version will be very nice as well. I plan on sanding it down and having a clear coat applied. the colors are black and white swirl. It should look very nice!! I will post a pic here in a minute. Lee