What to use to refinish a wood stock

[Grassymike]

Recently aquired a Birch stock for a Savage rifle. I have chopped and reshaped the fore end as well as drilled the butt end out to lighten it up. In doing this have completely stripped the original finish. I would like some "grip"on the fore end as well as the wrist area. What have you guys used for this ? Also debating painting or a oil type finish on the rest. Suggestions welcome.

 

[Mtnmilsurp]

I used birchwood casey tru-oil wet sanded and then hand rubbed into several classic sporter builds. Its very easy to use and easy to repair after it gets beat up on backcountry hunts by backpack straps and buckles and whatnot.

 

[Holocene]

Tung oil products work well and provide a slight bit of tack or "grip" that is noticeable early on but fades over time. These products can also be used to "touch up" a stock that gets a ding or chip. The new tung oil binds with the existing finish somewhat unlike polyurethanes which just coat. An analogy is cast iron pans vs. non-stick teflon pans.

A polymerized tung oil like Sutherlin Welle's (available online or at nice woodworking stores) has worked for me.

Pure boiled linseed oil (available at Brownells) or pure tung oil (available through Milk Paint company) also work, but need to be mixed with a solvent for initial penetration.

 

[Tbuckus]

Late on this post, so the project is probably over, but I’ve used either rub on poly, or a 50/50 tung oil and armor all mix on my nicer wood stocks.
the armor all allows you to put multiple coats on a day, and less issue of error with humidity or tackiness with using straight tung or tru oil

 

[Grassymike]

I have been reading a finishing book for woodworking and it turns out tru-oil is a polymerized oil which helps it cure quickly and provides a harder finish than a pure oil would. Also it turns out most "oil' finishes are actually oil/varnish mixes. Tru-oil is what I am going with on this one. I still may add some sort of "grip" .

 

[eaglemountainman]

Permalyne Sealer followed by permalyne Finish, both by Laurel Mountain Forge.

 

[moogles]

Another vote for Tru oil. Birchwood Casey has an impressive line of products. Their filler, aluminum black, and cold blue are great as well

 

[k80Titus]

Miniwax antique oil finish. Very forgiving. See below

Gunsavr spray is one of my favorites

 

[moogles]

^ Gorgeous stock

 

[Bwhitey]

I renetly used the tru-oil kit and it turned out very well. Lots of steps but worth it.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Tru Oil might look good, but I'd hesitate taking it out in wet weather. It's not very water resistant.

 

[Bwhitey]

That makes sense…mine was for an older rifle with sentimental value that will never get used much.

 

[SuspiciousFish]

Another vote for Tru-Oil. It has a certain tacky finish that feels nice to hold vs some other harder finishes.

 

[WRM]

Hope it turned out well, OP. I like tung oil. Multiple coats and it gets it pretty darn waterproof. Tung only enhances the wood you put it on. So, if your stock is not particularly "nice" wood, you'll end up with a comparable not "nice" finished stock. But it will be waterproof.

Waterlox® 100% PURE Tung Oil - Waterlox Coatings Corporation

A zero VOC, low odor, all-natural, food-safe and waterproof finish for wood or other porous substrates both indoors and outdoors.

www.waterlox.com

 

[Macintosh]

Assume this is well into being finished at this point? How'd it turn out?

I used to spend WAAAAAY too much time building and finishing shotgun and rifle stocks. It's a serious affliction and a really nice wood finish can be a rabbit hole if you are OCD-ish like me, and can really look great if you put the time into it. But, even as a unapologetic wood guy, it's a birch stock that has been reshaped and likely will be very difficult and a lot of work to get a good color match on a nice finish so it blends with the old wood and finish. You could spend a pile of time trying to get the open-pored wood to color well without absorbing stain in a way that looks like a 1970's pine cabinet, or you can take it for what it is and paint it. That'd be my recommendation--seal it well, then paint it, and be done with it. For texture you can use a thicker epoxy like marine tex or even jb weld to add texture, and rattle can over it--a lot of synthetic stocks people use marine tex to texturize the grip, you can probably google something on this somewhere or try this link: https://rifleshooter.com/2017/02/texturing-a-fiberglass-stock/