Refinishing stock with tru oil

[Catpop]

Yes, Natman, alas Herter's is gone! I loved that place as a kid! Bought lots of gear from them, knives, shark hooks, lures, cook books, French Red.
Oh yes, French Red, do not despair as it is now sold by America's oldest true gunmithing company- Brownell's. I guess good products live on forever. Another oldie is RIG gun grease! Great product also sold by Brownell's
GoodLuck, catpop

 

[Nappers]

I use wood sealer. When I sand, I save some of the sanding and put in the tru oil and rub the finish by hand. I let it cure then wet sand with 1000 - 2000 wet sanding paper. Glass smooth.

 

[mach1.3]

There's nothing as purdy as a tru-oil finish done right. I always prep the stock with hot hot water and have used an iron over an old tshirt to raise the grain and help raise out dent and dings. Let dry several days and don't do this before a rainy stretch or it won't dry well. Sand it with 400 grit then 600 grit---don't get too impatient it takes time--especially once the diluted oil coats are applied. Minimum 20 coats the last several will be 100% oil but let it thoroughly dry btw applications. Hand rubbing is great but hard on the hands.

 

[shootr]

Lots of great techniques to us and lots of experience to draw on here!

As you're discovering, TO can give good results, but it takes quite an effort. I love the look, but am put off by the work and like to experiment.

I've tried a number of different products and techniques and had good success. But my laziness has increased with age... and I recently tried a couple new things on a milsurp and got terrific results without tons of work.

After careful cleaning and prep, I lightly sanded with 220, 400, 600, and 0000. Then used Pre-stain, stain. A day or two later lightly sanded with 0000. Then hand- rubbed-in coats of a mix of 1/3 turp, 1/3 BLO, 1/3 Minwax Wipe On Poly Satin with light 0000 between coats. Let coats dry 24 hrs or more. Six coats gave a nice, subdued but very durable finish.

Done about a dozen or so stocks and this technique yielded the best results per effort.

 

[Katitmail]

pro woodworker (like me) fills the wood pores with clear wood filler, THEN proceeds to finish the wood. Apply the wood filler (so many brands out there, just don't use water-borne), then gently sand down to the wood surface.


Then use a durable wood finish, satin or gloss (your pref). The most durable and least expensive wood finish is by far Minwax Wipe-On Poly. The Tru-Oil may appeal to traditionalists because of its sort-of old-time ingredients, but it cannot offer the water-resistance and durability of the Minwax I cited. And that's a finding supported by many.
Tru-Oil was good when there was no competition, but not any longer.

OP here. Shotgun looks great, with time finish shrinked a little, so couple more coats would help if I wanted mirror-like finish but I'm done

Now I got milsurp K31. Tried it in a field and this thing rocks! So, I'm going to refinish it as well. This time I'm going to do it as a pro This rifle is not collectable. I'm going to use it for hunting and plinking, so staying with original look is not super-important.

Plan is to use wood-filler first. In this topic many people commented on wet-sanding with oil and letting wood particles to fill grain. I see how it works but I don't agree with this method because I don't think grain will look as good as it can if it was filled with something transparent.

So.. Any recommendation on wood filler?

I'm going to use satin wipe-on Minwax poly on a plain wood (no stain, this is walnut stock). I noticed there is oil-based, polyurethane and water Minwax "polys". Which one do I need?

 

[sage5907]

This comment is for others reading this thread but in post #8 it shows you have sanded the points off of the checkering. To me that is the biggest mistake that people make when they go to refinish a stock. Let me repeat, sand all of the smooth wood on the stock but do not sand the checkering. If the finish is bad in the checkering it should be removed with another method.

 

[Katitmail]

I did not sand checkering at all. Just used stripper and tooth brush to remove it. It was like that from a factory, no deep cuts.