George Hill
Member
6 layers of stain, 3 poly coat. That should last a few decades.
The reason that I refinished the wood was that there was some damage to it. Marlin puts a great finish on the wood, a very handsome and tough one at that. I had to use 60 grit paper to just get it off. The wood underneath is just gorgeous. They do a very good job at selecting the wood to make the stocks out of. I decided to have a little fun with this rifle and to do it a little differently. I have painted stocks in the past and the results are never satisfactory to me after the rifle was put into the field. Paint can flake and peel. I wanted to refinish my rifle with a very tough finish that is going to last in the field. I had my local ACE joint mix me up a custom colored wood stain. Multiple coats of this stain applied under multiple coats of a clear polyurethane. The stocks are done and the rifle cleaned, lubed, reassembled and tested for function. Looks awesome. I shall take some photos shortly. One thing I noticed about the rifle was that I finished the wood a little too good. The rifle was too slick. So the forearm wood piece received a quick shot of the polyurethane to wet it, a sprinkle of sand to give a bit of grit, and another shot of the poly to seal it. The result is a nice nonskid texture that you can hold on to. I was going to do the same to buttstock, but decided that wasn’t needed. When I lever the rifle my hand slides across some of the wood and there is little griping there to bother with, so I left it smooth. All the gripping is done up front anyway.
