Fast14riot
Gold $$ Contributor
There is a way to speed up Tru-oil finishing. I first read about it 15 years ago on rimfire central, and did a stock this way back then. It has held up fine with no apparent ill effects in 15 years.
The cliff's notes version, start your first couple coats (2-5 coats depending on the wood) as normal, allowing proper dry time. Then, you can use ArmorAll as a sort of catalyst for successive coats. I was able to apply as many as 8-10 coats in a day this way. Rub in some tru-oil, then spray Armor All on the stock and vigorously rub it in. It will harden and dry very quickly. Give it an hour or so to harden up then repeat. I ended up with somewhere around 20-25 coats on this stock, which filled pores nicely. I ended up cutting the shine back with #0000 steel wool to better match the metal work.
This is the only picture I have available at the moment, I can take some close up pics after work tonight to better show the finish. Wood is debatable, it appears to be some sort of mahogany, however Remington only specified "American hardwood" on the 580 series rifles, so it could be some odd looking walnut. Though it did not smell like walnut when I was sanding and restoring the stock. It did have a lot of pores. The color is tru-oil only, no stain or dye.
The cliff's notes version, start your first couple coats (2-5 coats depending on the wood) as normal, allowing proper dry time. Then, you can use ArmorAll as a sort of catalyst for successive coats. I was able to apply as many as 8-10 coats in a day this way. Rub in some tru-oil, then spray Armor All on the stock and vigorously rub it in. It will harden and dry very quickly. Give it an hour or so to harden up then repeat. I ended up with somewhere around 20-25 coats on this stock, which filled pores nicely. I ended up cutting the shine back with #0000 steel wool to better match the metal work.
This is the only picture I have available at the moment, I can take some close up pics after work tonight to better show the finish. Wood is debatable, it appears to be some sort of mahogany, however Remington only specified "American hardwood" on the 580 series rifles, so it could be some odd looking walnut. Though it did not smell like walnut when I was sanding and restoring the stock. It did have a lot of pores. The color is tru-oil only, no stain or dye.
