Finishing A Gunstock

I have arrived at the point where I begin the finish work on the stock. This can very well make or break all of the previous work on the stock as it’s what everyone sees when they look at the rifle. Once I am satisfied that the shaping is complete and to my liking I begin by thoroughly sanding the stock with progressively finer and finer grits of abrasive paper, beginning with 100 grit and working up to 220.

Be sure to use sanding backers with abrasive paper so that the edges are not rounded over and areas of softer wood are not wallowed out. I use a large sanding block with a felt backer to sand the larger areas of the stock and art gum erasers to get into tight spots, such as behind the pistol grip. Keep the paper tightly wrapped around the backing to keep the surfaces flat and true.

It is not necessary to make the edges of the flutes, panels, cheek piece, outside edges of the forearm or similar areas knife edge sharp. This will only improve the chances of dinging or denting those edges. A very slight rounding over is OK. Do not bear down on the sanding block. Let the paper do the work. Bearing down will only clog the paper, reducing its efficiency. With the coarser grades this will deeply scratch the stock, causing problems with removing the scratches later on.

I sand the stock with finer and finer grits to 220 grit and sand with the grain. There are certain areas where it’s impossible to sand with the grain. Those are behind the cheek piece, behind the panels (if you have them) and similar. Here I have no choice but to sand across the grain in order get the wood smooth. Again, I am careful not to bear down.

The cross grain sanding scratches can be removed by careful lining up the edge of the abrasive paper with the edge of the sanding block and sanding with the grain using short controlled strokes. Finish the job by sanding the panels or cheek piece with the grain. This sharpens up the edges if you rounded them over by during your sanding efforts.

Keep the rifle assembled when sanding so that areas where the wood and metal should be flush, such as the lower tangs, and behind the frame in the case of single shots, become dead flush as you sand them together. Place some masking tape on the metal when using the coarser grades of abrasive paper so as not to mar the metal. When I get to the finer grades of paper I remove the masking tape as the finer paper will not seriously mar the metal and can be easily polished out during the preparation for bluing.

I disassemble the rifle and finish sanding those areas difficult to reach while the barreled action was in place, such as the tops of the forearm and alongside the receiver. I then coat the interior of the stock with a one to one mixture of Tru-Oil and mineral spirits, using a very heavy coat and allowing the finish to soak. After it appears to be dry, I apply a second or third coat as necessary to seal the interior of the stock. While the rifle is disassembled I lightly coat the metal with a good paste wax.

This will prevent the finish from seriously sticking to the metal once I begin the finishing process. I reassemble the rifle and am ready to apply a professional finish to the wood. There are a number of fine finishing materials on the market, such as Tru-Oil, Permalin and Classic Oil, to name a few. I have tried them all at one time or another in my effort to find the elusive perfect finish that goes on in one coat without any significant effort. I’m here to report there’s no such thing.

While it is not my intention to promote one product over another, I want you to know what works for me and why. Now the fun begins.

I use two art gum erasers of different sizes, a clean ash tray or shallow dish, metal tablespoon measure, one can of mineral spirits, one bottle of finish material (I use Tru-Oil), two sheets 320 grit abrasive paper, one sheet 400 grit, several steel wool pads (0000), several pieces of 600 grit silicon carbide wet or dry abrasive paper, one roll of paper towels and some clean, dry newspapers. As mentioned, I am currently using Tru-Oil.

It is readily available, inexpensive and it works now just as it did when I was first introduced to it some 30 years ago. I prepare a 1 to 1 mix of Tru-Oil and mineral spirits measured into an ash tray or other small receptacle. I have found that this amount of mixture works perfectly for each wet rub session. This will give you a fairly watery solution that will readily soak into the stock. Remember, I want the finish in the wood and not on it. Let this first coat dry, then closely examine the stock.

I find that as careful as I have been in sanding the stock, this first coat always reveals some missed spots. Now is the time to take care of them. I cut one sheet of 320 grit paper into small sizes for use with the art gum eraser sanding block and mix up another batch of 1 to 1 finish material. I wet the sand paper and sand the stock one small section at a time. I make no effort to add more finish onto the stock. The idea is to "sand in" the finish. Keep plenty of mixture on the paper.

Again, let the abrasive do the work.. I replace the paper

Be careful not to round over edges. The trick is to repeatedly sand until the stock is silky smooth, then do it again with the wet sanding technique. Please don’t ask how many coats it takes. I have no idea. When it’s done, it’s done. at regular intervals to keep it fresh and cutting. If the finish become gummy I wet it down. Keep sanding until all of the finish solution is used up. This process will further smooth the stock by packing a combination of wood dust and finish into the pores..

The main purpose of the 320 grit, which is a cutting grit, is to more finely smooth the wood and fill pores. After each wet sanding session I carefully wipe down the stock and set it aside to thoroughly dry. When I’m ready to quit for the day, I take the now dry stock and apply atop coat. Atop coat is a very thin layer of finish that is carefully wiped on to the stock using a 12 gauge cotton patch folded into a small square which I then dip into the finish material and wipe on the stock.

When finished, I set the stock aside to dry overnight. This thin layer of finish further helps fill pores and greatly speeds up the process. I am careful to sand with the grain and take my time. When the finish material is about used up, wipe the stock down with your hand leaving a thin film of finish on the wood. This wood dust mixture will also aid in filling the pores, and by the by, you can now tell your friends that this is a "hand rubbed" finish.

Don’t get the idea that if you leave a thick, gooey layer on the stock the pores will fill faster. Not so! All you My hands are dirty. Can’t be helped. Use two hands to control the sanding block. Use the same techniques with finish to wet sand the stock. This will give you a durable finish that you can be proud of. have done is to slow down the finishing process because it will take longer for the mixture to dry through and through.

Also, the dried mixture is just that much more work as you will have to sand through it the next wet sanding session. Set the stock aside for a day to allow thorough drying. Clean up the ash tray, measuring spoon and erasers. Each of my sanding sessions takes about forty five minutes to an hour and a

Wet sanding will not affect this fit due to the fine grit (320 and finer) of the abrasive paper being used. half, not counting set up and clean up time. After the first two or more sanding sessions the stock will begin to look like a quality stock as the color and grain variation becomes more evident. This is also a good time to search for more scratches made by the coarser grades of abrasive paper.

I take along, hard look at the area just behind the cheek piece and the side panels on two piece stocks as these areas are where I’ve done some cross grain sanding. I use my small art gum erasers to carefully sand out these areas, working with the grain. Be certain not to limit your efforts to the immediate area as there is a likelihood of creating a depression there. Feather out the entire area.

By the end of the third or fourth session wipe the stock down with paper towels to determine whether it’s time to move on to 400 grit paper. It’s my experience that English walnut will now be ready for the 400 grit treatment. Claro walnut, a much softer and more porous wood, may take as many as four or five more wet rub sessions to get all the pores filled. You may now discover a small pin hole or two that have not yet been filled. Place a dab of clear super glue in the pin holes, let dry, then wet sand again.

If that doesn’t fill the pin hole, do it again. I now move on to 400 grit abrasive paper. Repeat the above steps. 400 grit is really a polishing paper and, if you like, the barreled action may be removed from the stock and sent off to the metal finisher. Even with the 400 grit allow the paper to do the work. I continue to use sanding blocks of the appropriate size, being careful not to rock the block as I wet sand the top of the forearm and the edge of the cheek piece.

I can now finish those areas I could not reach when the metal was in the stock, such as the forend tip and along side of the trigger guard loop. From time to time I find it expeditious to alternate the 400 grit wet sanding with 0000 steel wool. This is especially effective in the cove of the cheek piece and on either side of the nose. After the third or fourth session of wet dry 400 grit, I wipe the stock down with paper towels and closely examine the work.

At this point the stock should have soft luster and start looking terrific. Perform the next three sessions with 600 grit paper. At this point and for the next several sanding sessions I continue wet sanding but with a lighter touch because I am now effectively polishing the wood. I carefully wipe the stock clean after each session. The number of succeeding sessions is up to you and the amount of luster desired.

I attempt to use the same piece of 600 grit abrasive paper as long as possible at this stage to get the desired stock luster. If you work slowly and carefully and keep everything clean you’ll be satisfied with the results, so don’t rush it. There’s one more step. A day or two after completing the stock finishing process, wipe it down with soft cotton cloth. Use a bit of elbow grease. Then lightly coat the stock with a quality paste wax. Liquid or spray polishes won’t do.

I let the wax film over, then rub it out with a soft 100% cotton cloth. Old tee shirts work fine for this work. I do this every so often to keep the stock looking fresh and it offers another layer of waterproofing. Take a shave if you do a lot of shooting. Your beard will act as an abrasive and wear the finish on the cheek piece. Not to worry, if that happens another polish with paste wax will restore the stock to its pristine glory. The finish I have just described is quite tough and will last along time.

Inevitably some stock finish will get into the inletting. It is important to remove this material prior to reassembling the rifle. You would be surprised at how little stock finish in the inletting can affect the fit if you have done a good job there. I use a small chisel and scrapers to remove any excess finish. 320 grit abrasive paper wrapped around a dowel will quickly remove excess finish from around barrel channel and small flat sticks will do the same for octagon barrel channels.

Reassemble and head for the range. AG