oil

[shotgun..willy 8]

im am going to refinish one of my stocks but i am not sure of witch oil ineed to rub into the wood can anybody help ??

[Guest Macnas]

Shotgun willy

 

Finishing the wood properly is more important, in my opinion, than the type of oil you put on it. Get every scrap of varnish off, neutralise with meths, and then wash the wood with water and a cotton cloth.

 

Let it dry naturally, then sand with 400 or 200 grit wet & dry paper depending on the original finish. I bring my guns up to 1000 grit, and thereby achieve a polished reflective finish on the wood before any oil is applied. But that's a lot of work.

 

Once you are happy with the surface finish of the wood, seal the pores with a light coat of something like birchwood casey truoil or a clear type filler. Allow a day to dry and then sand off gently. The object is to have as many of the small pores in the wood sealed. Don't sand off with anything rougher than the last paper grade you finished the wood with, otherwise you are starting all over again.

 

Once the wood is sealed you can apply linseed oil, refined linseed oil, walnut oil, or tung oil. Leave the first application of oil dry totally, even if it takes a week. This is important for acheiving the best finish possible given the amount of work you've put it.

 

A true oil finish takes a long time, at least 5 weeks and preferably 2 months. But if you've done a good job on the wood beforehand, you can get away with less time. Just apply some oil every night and when it seems to not want any more, leave it dry off for a few days to a week.

 

Once you're happy and it's dry to touch, apply a wax top coat. Beeswax polish is fine, just apply a thin coat, leave it dry onto the wood until its a dry dull sheen, then get a clean cotton cloth and buff it off.

 

To finish, get a wad of kitchen paper and give it a final going over.

It's not easy, but it brings out the best in a bit of wood.

Edited August 15, 2007 by Macnas

[James@Scarborough 0]

I have a quicker way than that mate. I re-finished my HW60J .222, and It looks brand new. Concidering how battered it was when I got it I am over the moon with the result.

Remove all varnish, and wet sand with fine wet & dry paper, finishing with 400 grade.

Stand for a day to dry.

Coat liberally with Colron Danish Oil (available in a veriety of colours from B&Q. I used dark oak)

Let it soak in for 90 seconds, and then wipe off.

Allow to dry for a minimum of 8 hours, if you time it right you can get 2 coats a day on.

Before the second coat wet sand with 400 grade wet & dry and allow to dry fully before applying oil.

Build up 8 coats in total, and allow 2 days drying time on the last coat.

A quick buff with a very small amount of high quality furnature polish (Lord Sheridans or similar beeswax cream type) and it's finished.

This can be all completed in a week or so and you can be back out shooting.

I was so impressed with mine I did my shotgun aswell as I prefere the oiled finish to the laquered one.

Hope it goes well for you too.

Regards

James

[Guest Macnas]

James

 

Sounds good, nice one.