Finishing Products Experiment

[smart dog]

Hi Mike,
Your test is fine and very interesting.  Your results for Tried and True are very similar to tests I made years ago comparing some wipe on varnishes, permalyn, and Sutherland-Welles polymerized tung oil.  The winner was the S-W tung oil by far for the same reason, it highlighted figure better but it did take a bit longer to apply and dry.

dave

[Darkhorse]

If your looking for the best that each finish will provide then I don't think you will see that if they are all applied "the way you've always done it", as most of them are applied a little different. For instance, my favorite, the Chambers finish, the first coat is basically a sealing coat and that coat is applied heavy until it stops absorbing the finish and starts puddling on the surface, then the excess is wiped off. After drying I sand it lightly and vacum the dust from the stock. The subsequent coats are applied with the fingers and rubbed in with the palm, or applied and rubbed in with a smooth clean cloth. That's when you will start to see how it will look when finished.
I will agree that the Tried and True, at this point, looks pretty good. I wonder how much was absorbed by the wood and how well it will seal.

[Tim Crosby]

What are you trying to find out?

    Tim C.

Tim,  I’m looking to see which product produces the color that I want for my current build.  I’ve heard so many different opinions that I figured I’d try them all on a scrap piece from the side of my stock.  I thought folks on here might be interested.   

Mike

 Thanks, wasn't sure. I have tried the same thing before, especially with Cherry, it has always been a pain for me to get the color right/what I wanted. Thought I had one I liked but had trouble reproducing it. I even made notes so I would remember them right.
 Look forward to seeing the finished rifle. 

    Tim

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I am a big fan of Chambers medium oil varnish! using it just as Jim suggests.

I did try this on one gun and really like the finish I got it really made the curl pop:  https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bartley%27s+Clear+Coat+Gel+1%2F2+Pint&i=tools&ref=nb_sb_noss

[Mike Lyons]

Here’s Several coats on each and then rubbed with Johnson’s paste wax.  I flooded all of them initially and tried to follow the directions.  Anyhow,  the Tried and True is different.  It smells different, dries different and is a different consistency.  All the others are very similar.  The Chambers seems to give off a red hint as does the True Oil.  The waterlox gives a more honey color.   All of them except the Tried and True leaves a shell or finish on the surface.  The Tried and True never left a varnished surface.  If that makes sense.   They all look good to me.  The number of times you use aquafortis looks like it might matter a very little bit, but I don’t know.   I would think that more than one coat is a good idea just to make sure you didn’t miss a spot. 












what are moose babies called

[Darkhorse]

They all look about the same to me. I'd just pick the one you like the best.
FWIW I rub 8 coats of Chambers on my stocks. Rubbed gently with a scotch pad will take the shine off and it won't look like a hard shell.
Yes the Chambers gives a reddish tint but it's not enough to worry about.