Sanding a stock.

[wch]

When you sand a semi-finished stock blank to the finishing point, what types of paper and what grits do you use through the project?
Thanks

[wattlebuster]

I go all the way to 600 grit. But that is just me

[eddillon]

I only go to 400. That gives the next coat something to cling to. After applying enough coats of finish so that the pores are properly filled(sanding between coats with 400), I finish with a mixture of rotten stone and mineral oil(toothpaste consistency) rubbed with a hard felt block.  Buff out with an old cotton cloth.  Apply a coat of good paste wax, buff and done.  Sound a lot simpler than it really is.  No good finish is easy.  If there is an easy way, please let me Know!

[PPatch]

Welcome to the forum wch!

I believe what WCH is asking are what grades of sandpaper, from start to finish, do folks use. Or to put it another way, "How do I go about sanding and finishing a stock."

dp

[Acer Saccharum]

For a mid to  late 18th Cent target gun, I'll sand and fill the grain..probably a walnut stock, too. For a military, I'll just sand it, and soak it in linseed oil.

For a 1800 and earlier era stock, I'll use predominantly maple, and use aqua fortis to stain, and scrape for a finish. no sand paper. For an aged gun, a softening and burnishing with a scrubbing of scotch-brite, burlap then kraft paper does the trick for me.

So the answer you wish depends on the period stock you are making, and what level of aging you desire.

[Jerry V Lape]

Sand paper!  We don't need no stinking sand paper!     Over the last year I have learned to scrape and lightly burnish with a polished antler tine.  Really like the look versus the extremely polished plastic look of modern firearms. 

[Chris Treichel]

I take it you are also whiskering the wood between scraping/ sanding.  I am liking scraping a lot better than sanding now on my experiment gun (maple stock). 

[billd]

I scrape the worst of it off then go to 120.  If you don't have scrapers start with 80.  Then go to 180, 240, 320 and finish with 400.   I like 3M Sandblaster brand paper.  Always use a backer, either flat or rounded depending where you are on the stock.   Raise the grain with water and dry with a hair dryer and then use degreased steel wool or real fine scotch brite to remove the hairs.   If you're going to use Aqua Fortis for stain stay away from steel wool.  

Scrapers are good, I just never got the hang of using one down to a finish I'm happy with.

I hope this is what you are asking.

BIll

[KLMoors]

I scrape the worst of it off too. I then go to 100, 150, and 220. I am mostly scraping at this point, (thanks Jim Kibler and the rest of the scraping crowd!) but I can't scrape effectively around my carving and moldings to save my life. So I still end up sanding those areas and kind of feathering out into my scraped areas.

I whisker with scotchbrite pads and then I use 0000 steel wool in between coats of finish.

[snowdragon]

After all rasping is done, I start with 100 grit, then 150, then 220, and finish with 320. With the 100 and 150 grit, I use a sanding block where I can.  Whiskering is also done with scotchbrite.  If I use aqua fortis, I use the first application as part of the whiskering, since the heating process raises the grain slightly. After buffing the stained stock, I hit it again with another coat of aqua. Ready for finish. Bill

[wch]

Thanks to all who answered.
I have some bronze wool for smoothing between coats of finish (to avoid the steel wool rust event) and as I have never tried scraping, I will put that idea aside until I start a new project.
Again, thank you.

[Waksupi]

I've done exhibition grade rifles for SHOT, and SCI conventions. I never went past 320.