Duplicating Remington’s Factory High-Grade Finish

Most sportsmen who are interested in custom rifles prefer the so-called oil finish or matte finish. I prefer them myself and have worked diligently to achieve these good results with these finishes over the years. Occasionally, it is possible to get a client who wants — in fact, demands — the Remington Custom Shop finish. This is especially so among those who collect Remington high grade shotguns.

I have come up with an approach for producing such a finish after years of experimentation with the vast majority of commonly available gunstock finishes on the market along with some not so common ones. This includes the nitrocellulose lacquers which Remington used, even though they called it varnish on the high grade guns, it really was a lacquer. As is often the case, the solution to the challenge is often the simplest material.

My solution to duplicating Remington’s High-Grade Finish is pure and simple Tru-Oil, thinned 1:1 with mineral spirits. No filler, no stain, nothing but Tru-Oil! Remington Below left and used color in their lacquer, sometimes a dirty brown and sometimes a honey orange depending on the time period. Fortunately Tru-Oil has an amber tint which almost completely replicates the Remington honey color.

Before the first application of finish, whether it be a refinish or a fromscratch job, you must first prepare the stock by sanding it smooth. That means 220 grit or 320 grit, being careful to remove all the scratches. Fail to do so and the scratches will show up

Above Left and Birchwood Casey claims Tru-Oil works in a day but best results will require many applications over a month. The entire process takes only three or four hours total actual working time. glaringly apparent with the first coat of finish. When sanding is complete, tack off all the sanding dust. This is an important step and one that will be repeated as many times as there are coats of finish.

The secret to getting good results is the application of many coats of the thinned Tru-Oil using a 12 gauge cloth shotgun patch folded into quarters. It takes no longer than fi ve minutes to coat the stock in this fashion. I don’t do a lot of sanding between coats, only enough with 600-1000 grit abrasive paper to remove any lint and to keep the surface build up knocked down some while the pores are being filled. You can sand dry or use a wet sanding.

I prefer the latter as it helps to keep the abrasive paper from clogging. When you’re done, wipe the stock dry and tack off prior to the next top coat. Properly thinned to equal parts, when anew coat is wiped on and the stock placed horizontally until it begins to dry, the thinned Tru-Oil will flow out to a mirror smooth surface. It takes many coats, although the work itself goes quickly. I let each coat dry at least 24 hours before recoating.

Although the Tru-Oil finish is mirror smooth — if that is what you want — it does not have the harsh high gloss finish of the new Remington or Browning epoxy finishes. Tru-Oil says you can finish a stock in one day but best results take about a month with maybe only three or four hours total actual working time. I am often asked how many coats does it take. My answer is always the same. I don’t count coats. The measure of success is the stock itself. Some woods are more porous than others.

This is especially so of Claro walnut and that is why most professional stock makers prefer English walnut. I am in the process of finishing a Bastogne walnut stock as I write this. I’m up to the fourth or fifth coat and I have along, long way to go before the pores are completely filled. The fi nal coat can be rubbed down with 0000 steel wool or rotten stone if a matte finish is desired. I leave mine with the same moderately high finish that Remington had but polish it somewhat with Johnson paste wax.

The tricks I have learned are: 1. Thin Tru-Oil with equal parts mineral spirits. Measure it! 2. Apply this anew cloth 2×2-inch shotgun patch. Do not use synthetic paper or whatever patches that some, including Hoppes, now sell. 3. Wipe everything down, including the application patch with a tack cloth before every application. 4. Dry in the stillest and most dust free air you can find and in the horizontal position to minimize the tendency to run, yet allow for the finish to fl atten out. 5.

I almost always open anew bottle of Tru-Oil for the last couple of coats. It is surprising how it accumulates junk within the container after it has been opened a couple of times. At $3 or $4 anew bottle of Tru-Oil is far cheaper than time. AG