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Fixing a mistake

909 views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  AAAOA 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hey all,

This is my first post and my first bit of woodworking outside of some crude wooden fishing lures I made as a kid, so I am a little out of my comfort zone at the moment.

Long story short, I bought a nice hunting rifle with a gorgeous wooden stock and naturally dropped it on my first trip to test it out. The fore end cracked, the ebony tip popped off, and I got two sizable dents in the stock (one on the fore end and one on the butt stock). I really want to take good care of it, so I am trying to fix it.

So far I have repaired the crack and steamed out the dents. I have yet to try to reattach the ebony tip, but that is really more of getting confidence to put that thing on than anything else. My current issue is this:

In steaming out the dents I have removed some of the finish that was there. In comparison to the rest of the stock, the area where I lost the finish is relatively small so I opted against doing a complete refinish. Instead I tried to just touch it up with some boiled linseed oil. Since then, I have put on maybe about a dozen coats over the course of several days some rubbed in with a towel but most by hand. The last 2 coats I tried using 0000 steel wool but it appears to have done little more than scuff up the wood.This is how it looks so far (the area on the fore end that I steamed looks similar)

Hood Automotive mirror Automotive lighting Automotive side-view mirror Rear-view mirror


The color, thankfully, matches and it is nearly as smooth as rest of the wood. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to get it glossy like the rest of it. Instead it is dull, nearly matte, and I'm not sure what to do.

I'm terribly sorry if this is a simple problem or if it is overly wordy, I just want to take good care of the rifle. I got it from an older fellow in his 70s and I told the guy I'd take care of it.

Thanks for any advice
 

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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Could you take another picture or two? To me it looks like a silver platter not a piece of wood. See if you can do a picture without so much reflection, so we can see the wood.

But regardless, I'd suggest that you now wax the wood with colored paste wax, and then buff, not by hand but with a machine buffer or if you don't have one, use a vibrating sander and some some rags or foam. Next I would use detailing solution (McGuires) which you can get at any auto body store, spray on and buff to a nice shine. Amazing results from auto detailing products.

There are many much more expert than me on this site, but that's my 2 cents worth. I don't think that lindseed oil is really a great product for high shine…but I defer to the experts.
 
#3 ·
I don't think that lindseed oil is really a great product for high shine…but I defer to the experts.
After all these coats, I'd have to agree haha. Here are a few more pictures, hopefully they give a better view of the area.
Brown Wood Textile Sleeve Rectangle


Brown Wood Hardwood Beige Cutlery


Brown Wood Wood stain Tints and shades Feather


Comfort Beige Gesture Wood Grey


The impacted area is mostly the last half of the cheek comb.

I have yet to research a wax finish, but I have been doing some research on a virnish finish with a ratio of 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 mineral spirits, and 1/3 some kind of semigloss varnish. I'll definitely need to look into those wax finishes too, thanks for the tip.
 

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#4 ·
I think the most typical refinish for gun stocks is high grade carnuba wax. Maybe a few coats buffed out, and then a silicone spray coat to finish it off.

0000 steel wool and a card scraper are much better for working the wood than sandpaper. Wet sanding with 0000 steel wool is a good way to get the wood really smooth.
 
#5 ·
I think that you may have started wrong. I think that you should have used the steel wool before you started and possibly between some of the earlier coats. I prefer using a 0000 equivalent 3M pad instead steel wool but either will work. You can actually wet sand using the BLO too. If you don't get it smooth before you start, or between coats, you will never get it to look like new again. At this point, you may need to sand it back to get it smooth and sort of start over. Also a dozen coats is a lot of coats for BLO in a few days. Are you sure that you are letting it dry/cure completely between coats? What brand are you using?

BTW, the finish in the second set of pictures looks like it may have some varnish in it to me but that is just a guess. It could be wax I suppose but it just looks a little too shiny to me to be just be a BLO finish. If that is the case, the BLO alone will not make it look like the rest of the stock. It may be difficult to apply a varnish style finish on just part of the stock and have it look good.
 
#7 ·
My second suggestion is that you French Polish the dull section. To do that you need a little bit of shellac…you can read up on how to do it. French Polish goes on very thin and can produce a brilliant shine, if desired. FP the dull section till it gets its sheen back. Then go over the whole stock to blend in the repair. Then wax. I think you'll have an almost undetectable repair with this process.

I would not use a 3-part vanish unless you are going to refinish the entire stock. Might work, but it's really very thick, and you have enough coatings on the stock already. French polish takes a bit of practice, but the area you are touching up is so small, I think you could get the hang of it with 30 minutes of practice. A FP coating is maybe 5 to 10 times the thinner than your proposed varnish. 2-3 coats of FP on the damaged area would probably suffice.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I probably did start it off wrong but it feels pretty smooth now, at least enough that I am fine with it. I am pretty sure I have let each coat dry. Initially, I did about 6 or 7 coats in 2 days and have since done one coat a day for the last 5 days. I read something about how with linseed oil you do a coat every few hours the first day, then once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, then once a year for life.

I'm pretty sure it is a varnish, as my understanding is most mass produced guns use a spray on varnish. I'd prefer not to refinish the whole thing for a couple reasons, mainly me being afraid that I'll butcher it and not knowing what to do about the cut checkering. That French polish idea sounds pretty good, I was considering it and it sounds like it may be better suited for this.
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
Shellac would not be my first choice for something that you use outside or could get wet with dew or rain for example. It can give a beautiful finish but really isn't durable enough for something like a gun stock, IMO. And don't spill a beer on it. LOL. Alcohol is the solvent used in shellac.

A wiping poly would be a low risk varnish finish to try. It builds slowly so there is little risk. You can make your own by thinning any oil based polyurethane 50/50 with mineral spirits or simply buy the Minwax oil base wiping poly. Wipe on a thin layer wait 10 minutes wipe off the excess, let it dry, lightly burnish with 0000 steel wool or comparable pad, wipe off any dust, repeat.
 
#11 ·
Shellac would not be my first choice for something that you use outside or could get wet with dew or rain for example. It can give a beautiful finish but really isn t durable enough for something like a gun stock, IMO. And don t spill a beer on it. LOL. Alcohol is the solvent used in shellac.

A wiping poly would be a low risk varnish finish to try. It builds slowly so there is little risk. You can make your own by thinning any oil based polyurethane 50/50 with mineral spirits or simply buy the Minwax oil base wiping poly. Wipe on a thin layer wait 10 minutes wipe off the excess, let it dry, lightly burnish with 0000 steel wool or comparable pad, wipe off any dust, repeat.

- Lazyman
After reading up on the shellac it seems like opinions on it vary but it may not be super durable like you side. Apparently, a good shellac finish with a wax on top is pretty durable or it can be used pretty well as a grain filler prior to adding a varnish. I may try that on my next project, but I doubt that a commercial scale gun manufacturer used a shellac and wax finish.

I guess the varnish is looking like a pretty good idea, just cut out mixing in boiled linseed oil with it. Prior to applying it, should I hit the wood with the 0000 steel wool I have or just in between coats of varnish? Also, at what point should I use the varnish on the whole stock if at all? I would assume the last coat to try and match it a bit better, at which point I guess I'd hit the whole stock with the 0000?

Looking back, truoil probably would have been just fine as it appears to be a mixture of boiled linseed oil, someone of varnish, and some kind of mineral spirits. I've already done a bunch of linseed oil though, so adding a rub in varnish or cutting one 50/50 with mineral spirits may give similar results.

Thank you all for the advice and tips, I really appreciate it.
 
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