Newbie stock refinishing.

[pippin53]

Hey guys,
I have a Husqvarna rifle that I am looking to refinish. It had a glossy finish to it. Personally, I am more a fan of hand rubbed oil and satin finishes.

I stripped down the gloss with Brownells Rubbing Compound, which removed the outer finish, leaving the wood mostly stripped, however, it left the stain alone. This I like, as I am hesitant to strip it down to the bone, and apply a stain.

Where should I go from here? Should I try to apply a oil, for example linseed or 100% tung oil? If so, should I apply it thinned 50/50 with mineral spirits? After applying a thick coating, should I wait two days, and from then on hand rub, using just a few drops? If I do it this way, what should I do in between coatings, and as a top coat? Would tung oil, for example, provide enough weather resistance?

Or should I use a modern wonder finish of some kind? If so, what would you suggest, how should it be applied, and why do you prefer it over the old fashioned look of oil finishes?

Sorry for the very newbie question. I’ve never refinished before, just thought in my head that 50/50 mineral spirits/tung oil was the best way to go, to get the right balance of penetration, drying time, and tung oil. However, I’m not exactly sure this is true, with all the modern stuff out there.

I want one “nice” looking rifle, that I can take out to the woods. Weather resistance, but also beauty.
Ken

 

[Tolkachi Robotnik]

Tung oil or linseed oil.

I would say no mineral oil, that would just penetrate in farther. The linseed oil can be buffed up a bit and it will help against water. It will make the wood darker over time.

Put a little on, rub it in with a rag. Come back the next day and try buffing before putting more on, instead of thinking it needs another coat. If you use too much it could get sticky. You can always put on more down the road. It will bleed out some if you use a lot and then get the rifle hot, you can wipe it off with a cloth.

 

[I6turbo]

If you don't find the answers you're looking for here, there is a very good stockmaking, repairing, and refinishing forum at rimfire central. There are some great sticky threads that may have some expert answers to your questions, and if not, there are some experienced and very reliable guys there who are willing and able to advise. The site is down at times tonight for mtce, but should be back up tomorrow.

 

[BCRider]

A definite NO to the mineral oil. It never dries and will simply pickup and hold all manner of dirt. And it's not even that water resistant.

The wood I see in your picture looks gorgeous. PLEASE DO NOT USE A STAIN! ! ! ! A finishing oil will darken it up nicely without the need to smear coloured mud over it. To see what it'll look like under an oil finish just wet down an area with some mineral spirits. What you see then is what the wood will look like with an oil finish. Water works to see this too but it'll raise the grain on that spot where mineral spirits will just dry away.

Instead strip out the remaining varnish with a good paint stripper, clean well then finish with your mentioned recipe of 50-50 mineral spirits to tung oil. Note though that true tung oil is a thick honey like consistency. If the tung oil you buy is more watery than that then it has already been cut with a thinner. Minwax tung oil furniture finish is an example of a product that is likely only about 1/3 tung oil and the rest is thinner.

A better option is to order up some polymerized tung oil from Lee Valley. Then for the first couple of coats I'd cut it with 1 part mineral spirits to 2 parts PTO. After that simply wipe on some pure PTO and buff off the excess. 2 thinned coats and 3 to 4 more full power coats applied with some rubbing down with a pad of 000 or "medium" steel wool will leave you with a great looking finish that is highly water resistant for up to a year or more of occasional use and a good 6 to 8 months of fairly regular monthly exposure to nasty weather.

Note that any oil finish is not a one shot deal. It is a life time commitment to the job. Once the first build is done you'll find that it needs freshening up coats as indicated depending on exposure and use. The hint is when water sheets on the wood instead of beading that it's time for a freshening up coat.

At least that's what I get from using this stuff on my cowboy action shotgun. And where I live I assure you that it sees its fair share of the wet stuff. We don't stop just for a little rain.

An alternate would be the trusty Tru-Oil that so many folks like. I've never used it but the success stories are common so I'm sure it's great stuff.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Start here-

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=240961

 

[paintballdude902]

im a big fan of tung oil

 

[pippin53]

I'm not sure why people keep saying mineral oil? I had read to cut the tung oil with mineral spirits, both to allow the tung oil to penetrate deeper into the wood to fill the grain, and to shorten the tung oil drying time from almost a week to about two days. Is that a bad idea?

 

[morcey2]

I'm not sure why people keep saying mineral oil? I had read to cut the tung oil with mineral spirits, both to allow the tung oil to penetrate deeper into the wood to fill the grain, and to shorten the tung oil drying time from almost a week to about two days. Is that a bad idea?

I've done quite a few stocks with BLO and I usually cut the first couple of applications 50/50 with mineral spirits. The last application or two I use full-strength oil. I think that would work well on that stock with Tung oil. Tung oil won't darken with time the way BLO does.

Matt

 

[I6turbo]

OP, best I can tell from that photo you've got a very nice piece of wood there. From your questions it sounds like you haven't yet done any refinishing, and therefore there's nowhere near enough detailed info in this thread so far to insure a good result on your first try. I highly recommend that you don't tackle that nice stock as your first refinishing attempt unless/until you are very clear on what you want and how you will achieve it. I also recommend that you go here and read for a few hours: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=275

Refinishing stocks is addictive. I've done four in the past 6 months or so. Three of them had perfect factory finishes, but once you start revealing the natural beauty that's hiding under most factory mud finishes, you start wanting to liberate them all.

 

[BCRider]

I saw "mineral oil" in Tolkachi's post and ran with it. Monkey see, monkey do I guess....

Yep, mineral SPIRITS is the right stuff to mix with the tung or boiled linseed. But again if it isn't the consistency of liquid honey or at least like a thicker pancake syrup then it's already been thinned by the outfit that has the name on the container.

Take note that oil doesn't "dry" in the normal sense. Instead once any thinner evaporates away normally the oil left behind chemically changes due to contact with the oxygen in the air and to some extent in reaction to light. It's a process called polymerization. And it's a SLOW process. I find that if I have to let the oil "dry" in the house at this time of year that even the polymerized tung oil from Lee Valley takes at least a couple of days. The Minwax watery "tung oil" that is only about 1/3 oil takes about the same. RAW tung oil indoors takes about a month.

What I found is that the oil has a very noticeable smell when it is a liquid and that this smell alters greatly when it converts to a solid during the polymerization process. So my advice is to let your nose be your judge of when the oil is cured and ready for the next coat. If you try to rush things you'll just end up washing away the previous coat with the next one.

In summer when it's hot and sunny setting the oiled wood out in the heat and light speeds things up greatly. With the Lee Valley polymerized tung oil it is hard and ready to re-coat after only one day of being kept in the full sun and the warmth that this generates. Boiled linseed in the same conditions seems to take around 2 to 4 days. But regardless, let your nose be your guide for when it converts and is ready for the next coat.