Like I said people REALLY over think the stock finish.
I used to as well.
Its not that hard unless one wants something that looks like one of the old ghastly shiny plastic coated Remingtons. But these finishes do not usually show good durability if the gun is actually used outdoors.
Back in the day gunsmiths did not use the thin, very low viscosity finishes, usually loaded with toxic or semi-toxic volatiles, produced by our modern paint makers. These are made for the lowest common denominator. Someone that wants to paint a finish on a sanded wood product like a table or a door frame trim. Ever wonder why latex PAINT is so think and viscous? It because it is designed to stay in place and to some extent cover minor surface imperfections in one or maybe two coats. Thin it too much and its simply unworkable.
The gunsmith used heavy bodied oil finishes in most cases these "varnishes" were also heavy bodied for the same reason. They did not require repeated applications to look good. This is why we see old rifles with the brown varnish that have almost no penetration. They were too thick to penetrate. They painted them on and let them dry. Finished.
Many, if one looks may even show brush or marks from the appliers skin if it was rubbed on.
If the finish is properly made it will dry even if really thick, but its not likely to be suitable for a final finish.
Yes if rubbed back it will all come off, this is how I fill Walnut it does not come out of the pores but will come off the surface. So in a few coats the stock will be filled and a shiny top coat can be applied.
With a bodied oil a good oil finish can be put in Maple in 1-2 coats after the seal coat is put in. But one cannot do this with with a scraped finish. A scrapped stock needs a built up finish like the heavy bodied varnish that is thick enough that it levels the surface. I have never tried this on an entire stock but it works on test pieces.
A thin modern finish that is 50-70-80% Stoddard solvent will not do this since it has almost no solids in it to form a finish. So it takes coats and coats and coats. These, other than perhaps SPIRIT varnishes, simply did not exist before the modern industrialized paint industry evolved and by this time the Golden Age Kentucky was long dead.
So basically if the maker wants to make a scraped finish he needs to figure out how they were originally finished. Trying to make a rifle with a scraped smooth stock using a Stoddard solvent laden modern finish a lot more work will be done and its not going to look right. If a heavy bodied finish is used the coats will be far less. Its simply not realistic to think that a 18th c gunsmith in America is going to spend two weeks or 4 messing with a finish when a medium bodied linseed oil based varnish would do it in maybe 2 coats max.
If the maker or customer wants a SMOOTH finish then sand maple to 400 grit or even 600 and it will really shine with a coat or two of a soft linseed oil varnish. A seal coat with maybe 20% turp (more than 20-30% may result in poor penetration of the oil according Mad Monk) and a very thin top coat in a day or two with a medium bodied oil, somewhat heavier than store bought linseed oil. On Walnut it will take longer for a filled finish and a much heavier oil for fill.
In England the guns had the finish refreshed at the end of the shooting season by traveling finishers (I am told) who added some oil varnish to the guns to replace/repair the finish as needed. This is why most English guns used in England look so good and rifles here have the finish worn away in the high wear areas. The American guns generally had no such maintenance so the forend and wrist may be devoid of finish.
Dan
