Finishing Help! :(

[Smokey Plainsman]

Hey gang! So I sanded fine my walnut stock, added the Fiebings dark brown leather dye, and wiped it off, leaving a wonderful hue! But now what??? I have a can of Tru-Oil I want to use, but first, do I have to “whisker” the stock? Should I sand it or anything? What about after each coat of Tru-Oil? Do I have to sand then? Don’t want a cloudy finish.

All please give advice for finishing my finish!! Thanks!!

PS: I think I might add another coat of Fiebings to darken the stock first... should I sand the top coat?

[rich pierce]

Most whisker stocks before staining but walnut gives some options if you want to fill the grain. I’m guessing the dye did not raise the grain much? If it’s not raised then you don’t need to whisker it.

 If there is raised grain many put on a coat of finish and while still wet start sanding it with very fine wet or dry paper. Grit choices vary but at least 320 and some use finer. This will make mud.  Let the mud dry then sand down to wood,  and repeat this process till the grain is filled or you’re very tired of the whole business of filling the grain.  Continue coats of finish till satisfied.

[WadePatton]

It really helps to have a bit of wood to practice on.  Nothing is better than the scraps generated when building from a plank, as lots of things vary from tree to tree.  I work out my finishing steps on scraps before starting on the stock finish.

And there are fifty twelve dozen various finishing threads around here somewhere.  Best of luck and remember, the more times you re-do it, the more experience you will have, and imperfection often adds interest to any gun.

[Tim Crosby]

 Good stuff Rich, I like Wet/dry auto paper at about 600. FWIW Always thought Tru-Oil was to thick and messy, thinned down and steel wooled between coats and then waxed gives a pretty good finish but I like straight oil finishes, rubbed into the wood by hand, not on it, I'm not looking for anything shinny.


  Tim

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I've used TruOil on literally hundreds of stocks, but don't anymore.  It is very fragile and will allow UV rays to fade your Fiebing's stain, and will wear poorly too.  For a more durable finish, I use Circa 1850 Tung Oil, but I suspect there are better finishes ...just haven't experienced them ...yet..

[Smokey Plainsman]

I've used TruOil on literally hundreds of stocks, but don't anymore.  It is very fragile and will allow UV rays to fade your Fiebing's stain, and will wear poorly too.  For a more durable finish, I use Circa 1850 Tung Oil, but I suspect there are better finishes ...just haven't experienced them ...yet..

Circa 1850? As in 169 years old tung??

[Curtis]

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Thanks Curtis...that's the stuff, and that's the way to buy it....smalll can.

[L. Akers]

Smokey, I am one that does de-whisker walnut stocks.  I dampen the stock with water and when dry use 320 - 400 grit paper.  I usually do it three times.  I make a sealer concoction of 50% (by volume) mineral spirits, 25% urathane (or polyurathane) and 25% tung oil.  This is applied liberally to the entire stock, including mortices, and allowed to soak in.  Keep the stock wet adding more sealer as areas soak in.  The stock can be sanded while wet to fill pores as has been described.  I allow the stock to absorb as much as it wants for about ten minutes then with a lintless cotton rag wipe the excess off and allow to dry for 24 hours.  Then it is many, many very thin coats of tung oil well rubbed in with 24 hours drying time between coats.

[Daryl]

Some like True Oil, some don't. I still do, however.
This stock was finished in 1986. This picture was taken in 2010. It looks exactly
 the same today, only with a few more "aging marks, scars and tatoos".

[Hungry Horse]

Feibing’s leather dye sun fades, and True oil is too shiny, and doesn’t wear well. Laurel mountains finish is better IMO. Lincoln’s leather dye doesn’t sun fade, and can be manipulated with a damp cloth while wet.

  Hungry Horse

[pjmcdonald]

I just did a walnut stock with only 50/50 mix of linseed oil and shellac. It didn't need any stain or dyes and came out plenty dark. I scraped the stock then rubbed in a very light coat. Lightly scraped again and buffed with 0000 steel wool. A couple more coats, buffed with steel wool and soft lint free cloth. Final coat just rubbed by hand. Buffed with a soft cloth when dry. About 24 hours between coats.

I did sand a few areas, like around the pewter nose cap. The repeated steel wool buffing helped knock off fuzz and fill grain.

Paul