soft wood

[little joe]

Got a walnut stock that dings and scratch,s very easy. Is there any finish that could be applied that would harden the surface . I know it will never be dent proof but hopefully not scratch so easy.

[Daryl]

True Oil applied thinly, number of coats to totally fill the grain, periodically then sanded down to the wood with 1500 grip wet/dry - continue doing this until the usual wide grin is totally filled, then 4 thin coats on that for finial finish. You must wait minimum 24 hours - better yet 48 hours between coats, will give a harder finish than some other oils like Tung.

This finish might take 6 months to complete, but the results are worth it. I did a beautifully figured Claro modern rifle stock that was dead soft, but beautiful. The owner wanted the mirror finish as original to the rifle.  The results were incredible following this drawn-out procedure!  I charged him $600.00 for the stock finish job (53 coats of oil all together to fill the grain, then 3 to finish, then polished with rouge in a carrier of some sort.  My time included 3 days of using Polystipper to get the original epoxy or plastic finish off the wood, then finish cleaning with Duracryl which is much more aggressive then Acetone.

[Mike Brooks]

True Oil applied thinly, number of coats to totally fill the grain, periodically then sanded down to the wood with 1500 grip wet/dry - continue doing this until the usual wide grin is totally filled, then 4 thin coats on that for finial finish. You must wait minimum 24 hours - better yet 48 hours between coats, will give a harder finish than some other oils like Tung.

This finish might take 6 months to complete, but the results are worth it. I did a beautifully figured Claro modern rifle stock that was dead soft, but beautiful. The owner wanted the mirror finish as original to the rifle.  The results were incredible following this drawn-out procedure!  I charged him $600.00 for the stock finish job (53 coats of oil all together to fill the grain, then 3 to finish, then polished with rouge in a carrier of some sort.  My time included 3 days of using Polystipper to get the original epoxy or plastic finish off the wood, then finish cleaning with Duracryl which is much more aggressive then Acetone.

Canadians ......always  standing around "with their usual wide grins".....

[smallpatch]

Wow, six months for a finish.  Sure glad I don't have to do that for every gun I build.

[AeroE]

Wow, six months for a finish.  Sure glad I don't have to do that for every gun I build.

I have cartridge rifle I screwed around with for so much time and coats that the stock started to accumulate damage.  I was into it with somewhere around 14 very thin coats.

That's crazy.  Now my "usin'" guns get a hand rubbed finish of either Min Wax or Gun Sav'r polyurethane aerosol.  Done in a couple of hours, ready to use the next day.

No one will ever know the difference.

[jerrywh]

   this is good on walnut without staining. However if you want to stain you must do it first. There is a product called rot doctor. It is used on boats to restore rotted wood and preserve it.  You can look it up on the internet. It is a water thin 2 part epoxy. As long as you don't mix the two parts it will last for years on the shelf.
  Load it on and let the wood absorb as much as possible before it sets. It is slow setting. Usually sets pretty good over night.

[JBJ]

In a similar vein, I have used a product called Minwax Wood Hardener. I never explored how deep this stuff penetrates but it sure does seal and harden. I am confident that you would need to stain the wood BEFORE application of the hardener. I was using the product to harden and consolidate yellow poplar finials on a porch railing exposed to the elements. Like the product Jerrywh mentioned this product is sold to consolidate partially decayed  wood.
J.B.

[Daryl]

True Oil applied thinly, number of coats to totally fill the grain, periodically then sanded down to the wood with 1500 grip wet/dry - continue doing this until the usual wide grin is totally filled, then 4 thin coats on that for finial finish. You must wait minimum 24 hours - better yet 48 hours between coats, will give a harder finish than some other oils like Tung.

This finish might take 6 months to complete, but the results are worth it. I did a beautifully figured Claro modern rifle stock that was dead soft, but beautiful. The owner wanted the mirror finish as original to the rifle.  The results were incredible following this drawn-out procedure!  I charged him $600.00 for the stock finish job (53 coats of oil all together to fill the grain, then 3 to finish, then polished with rouge in a carrier of some sort.  My time included 3 days of using Polystipper to get the original epoxy or plastic finish off the wood, then finish cleaning with Duracryl which is much more aggressive then Acetone.

Canadians ......always  standing around "with their usual wide grins".....

LOL

[jerrywh]

 There is a way to harden the wood throughout.  The wood is placed in a vacuum chamber under maximum vacuum until all the air is vacuumed from the wood. Then the wood is placed in a  chamber full of polyurethane or some other similar  resin and put under pressure for a length of time. After this the wood is removed from the chamber and allowed to dry.
  There are variations of this process but they all achieve the same end result. I have done this with some ram rods. I have also died some wood by placing the wood in the chamber full of die under pressure for several days.
  You will need a good vacuum pump that will pull near 30" of vacuum. The pressure need not be higher than about 25psi.
  I have some pistol stocks that have been stabilized by this process.