Stock finish

[Pyscodog]

Picked up a little FN Mauser today and its looks like maybe a Fajen stock. It has nice walnut with nice grain. Problem is someone refinished it and didn't do a real good job. So, I plan to strip it down and do it over but I want a nice satin looking oil finish. What do I need to use? Something kind of easy yet still looks good. Thanks

 

[Sniperhandle]

Wipe on Satin Poly finish by Minwax, It makes a really nice satin finish that doesn't look gaudy.

 

[Pyscodog]

I just watched a couple of video's of a guy using Min-Wax. Looks pretty good. I usually use Tru-oil. Just wanting to try something a little different.

 

[shortgrass]

After complete stripping and sanding, seal it with Laural Mountain Forge sealer multiple times. Then, Pro Custom Oil. It is available in a can or as a spray. After the first couple of applications of LMF sealer, 'wet sand' with 400g wet n dry to help fill the pours. Then the Pro Custom Oil. You can 'break the oil finish back' to a satin finish with extra fine Scotch Bright. I like "Ship N Shore" sealer best, but I've never seen small quantities like LMF is available in. Pro Custom and Laural Mountain sealer are Brownells items.

 

[joshb]

Picked up a little FN Mauser today and its looks like maybe a Fajen stock. It has nice walnut with nice grain. Problem is someone refinished it and didn't do a real good job. So, I plan to strip it down and do it over but I want a nice satin looking oil finish. What do I need to use? Something kind of easy yet still looks good. Thanks

Pics? Maybe you don’t need a full strip. I just bought a nice old Husquevarna in 243. Lite scratches and a ding. I did a lite sanding and gave it a coat of Arrowood oil.

 

[Pyscodog]

It's hard to get a good picture with this phone. It looks like a Tru-Oil that just needs more work. Not smooth and kinda splotchy in places. Stock needs shortened as well. It's been bed and has an aftermarket barrel. Lots of non factory Mauser stuff. My smith checked head space and it's good. Of course the trigger sucks but that's on the to do list. Stock is priority now. It's a mild project rifle. 6.5x55

 

[joshb]

From the pics, I would try sanding the finish down to smooth it out and coat it again with your choice of finish. I like Arrowood, but others have good suggestions.
I’d start with 320 or 400 and try not to sand thru the finish. It’s old so the finish should be hard and easy to sand.
Just my thoughts. Good luck! It’s a nice old gun!

 

[Pyscodog]

That was Plan A Josh. If that doesn't turn out then it will be strip, sand and refinish. Really hoping Plan A works. LOL

 

[Pyscodog]

I had the recoil pad replaced. When he pulled the masking tape off, it pulled some of the finish off with it. I'm really leaning towards stripping the old finish and start from scratch. Didn't really want to but can't stand the way it looks now. Oh well, I knew it was a project going into it.

 

[Pyscodog]

I spent most of the evening last night and all of today preparing the stock. Last sanding was with 1000 grit. Then a heavy coat of linseed oil. I let it soak for about 20 minutes then buffed it off. After an hour I gave it a coat of wax. Probably give it another coat of wax tomorrow. I like it. Came out just like I was wanting.

 

[Pyscodog]

I bought the rifle from a guy out of Arkansas. It has an after market barrel and safety. A BDL style floor plate. Leupold rings and bases and the bolt handle I assume has been modified. It has a great bedding job. I wish my bedding came out that nice and the barreled action has been Ceracoated or something very similar. He sure needs to work on his stock refinishing skills though. Even after using aircraft stripper there was hours of sanding. I had a friend install a new recoil pad and cur the stock to the correct length, it was looooong. Also had a trigger job done but it still sucks. Its a Mauser trigger, can't work magic on them. Well, not a lot of money but several hours of work. Now a trip to the range to see if it was a waste of time. Wish I knew more about it.

 

[Twdmar]

I bought the rifle from a guy out of Arkansas. It has an after market barrel and safety. A BDL style floor plate. Leupold rings and bases and the bolt handle I assume has been modified. It has a great bedding job. I wish my bedding came out that nice and the barreled action has been Ceracoated or something very similar. He sure needs to work on his stock refinishing skills though. Even after using aircraft stripper there was hours of sanding. I had a friend install a new recoil pad and cur the stock to the correct length, it was looooong. Also had a trigger job done but it still sucks. Its a Mauser trigger, can't work magic on them. Well, not a lot of money but several hours of work. Now a trip to the range to see if it was a waste of time. Wish I knew more about it.

It's late at this point, but if you do another, a cabinet scraper is a nice tool to remove old finish and quite a bit faster than sanding.
Looks nice!

 

[Pyscodog]

I used a box blade knife blade for some of it. Worked pretty good.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I bought the rifle from a guy out of Arkansas. It has an after market barrel and safety. A BDL style floor plate. Leupold rings and bases and the bolt handle I assume has been modified. It has a great bedding job. I wish my bedding came out that nice and the barreled action has been Ceracoated or something very similar. He sure needs to work on his stock refinishing skills though. Even after using aircraft stripper there was hours of sanding. I had a friend install a new recoil pad and cur the stock to the correct length, it was looooong. Also had a trigger job done but it still sucks. Its a Mauser trigger, can't work magic on them. Well, not a lot of money but several hours of work. Now a trip to the range to see if it was a waste of time. Wish I knew more about it.

The old Mauser triggers can actually be made very nice, but it takes plenty of careful hand work. I have one that has an icicle 2 lb pull, and it has stayed that way for nearly 20 years and thousands of cycles(running the "greasy smooth" bolt and dry firing it is addictive).

 

[joshb]

I spent most of the evening last night and all of today preparing the stock. Last sanding was with 1000 grit. Then a heavy coat of linseed oil. I let it soak for about 20 minutes then buffed it off. After an hour I gave it a coat of wax. Probably give it another coat of wax tomorrow. I like it. Came out just like I was wanting.

Looks really nice! Great job! Me? I’m older….I would have put a thicker pad on it!

 

[Pyscodog]

It had a thin black pad that looked a little rough. My buddy that does pads cut it to the correct length then added the red pad. He thought it looked better, which it does, and it was a freeby so I didn't complain. Its nice having a gunsmith and a guy that does recoil pads for friends. My smith buddy did two trigger jobs, gave me 50 pieces of 6.5x55 Rem brass and two full box's of Remington Corelocs, 6.5x55 ammo for $100. Hard to complain.