I am custom carving a gun stock for my .270 I am near the finishing part where I need to finish/seal/protect it. I have never worked with wood before so I am looking for the best/most durable way to make it look good. It is made out of Mesquite wood. I have heard of staining it whatever color and then cover it with automotive clear coat but what else is out there.

http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/index.html

I sanded my RPK stock with 80 grit to get it fairly smooth. Then moved up to 150 grit. You can go a bit higher for a smoother result, but in my case with it being a military rifle, I didn't need it perfectly smooth.

Once it was sanded and washed, I applied a light coat of stain. After the stain sat for about a week (you don't need to let it sit this long) I applied a coat of polycrylic finish. Once the polycrylic had dried, I sanded with 200 grit, then applied a second coat of polycrylic. Again, sand with 200 grit, then apply a 3rd coat.

It came out alright. Was the first time I had messed with stock finishes.


http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm21/animator752/stain2.jpg

After you've achieved your desired depth/stain, you'll want to seal it.

To seal wood stocks, I've used a 3/4 part Tung oil and 1/4 part turpentine mixture with good results. Basically, I'll apply this mix in several stages....sanding with medium steel wool in between coats. I add Turp into the mix because Tung oil doesn't bleed into wood that well. For the final layer, I'll use 100% Tung oil. Then, I'll go over it with 0000 steel wool to give it a satin look. This method takes a while to finish as this oil don't cure very fast.

Another option is using Tru Oil. Just apply over the stain and do the sanding reapplication method.

i used a min-wax mahogany stain and the polyurethane from a rattle can for this
to bad i moved to Cali and had to get rid of it:shaking:

After you've achieved your desired depth/stain, you'll want to seal it.

To seal wood stocks, I've used a 3/4 part Tung oil and 1/4 part turpentine mixture with good results. Basically, I'll apply this mix in several stages....sanding with medium steel wool in between coats. I add Turp into the mix because Tung oil doesn't bleed into wood that well. For the final layer, I'll use 100% Tung oil. Then, I'll go over it with 0000 steel wool to give it a satin look. This method takes a while to finish as this oil don't cure very fast.

Another option is using Tru Oil. Just apply over the stain and do the sanding reapplication method.

I do basically the same thing only with boiled linseed oil + turp. Oil stain for color then several passes with the mix. Just don't be in a hurry.

I'm not a fan of poly. It chips and is not something you can touch up easily. To fix it you have to strip it. A traditional oil finish for me. Much more forgiving.

the last stock I refinished nicely (AKs dont count) I sanded starting with 100 and stepped to finer until I was at 1200. Then I held the stock over a pan of boiling water on the stove, the steam made a bunch of little whiskers pop up, I removed them with 0000 steel wool. then I applied a hand rubbed finish, I cant remember the name (hey it was over 10 years ago) but it was from brownells, it looks great and has held up well.

I applied a coat of polycrylic finish. Once the polycrylic had dried, I sanded with 200 grit, then applied a second coat of polycrylic. Again, sand with 200 grit, then apply a 3rd coat.

Be careful with that stuff. If I remember correctly it isn't made for outdoor use and is only water resistant.

I am custom carving a gun stock for my .270 I am near the finishing part where I need to finish/seal/protect it. I have never worked with wood before so I am looking for the best/most durable way to make it look good. It is made out of Mesquite wood. I have heard of staining it whatever color and then cover it with automotive clear coat but what else is out there.

PICS!!!!! I love the grain of mesquite. Where'd you find a straight piece long enough to carve a stock out of? :laughing:

The two things I have used to finish gun stocks are Linspeed and Tru Oil. I prefer to use Linspeed, but the last one I did with Tru Oil turned out just fine and doesn't really look any different than the Linspeed finished stocks do.

I used most finish techniques including a few that predate dinosaurs (aquafortis as a "dyeing-staining" approach as example). I leave of the sanding with 320 grit after a couple "graining" operations and use 600 to do a final "buff" of the stain with that. Gave up on steel wool after finding rust spots one one piece during a graining operation where the wool fibres had gotten imbedded and rusted due to the water used for graining.

Simplest "traditional" long term anti wet/warp is the Tung-Linseed-Trueoil and turps and be generous both inside and out. Gradually decrease the turps in the mix with application as its really only there for penetration as the oil is the actual finish. I start with 60% oil-40% turps and finish with 90-10 mix and about 5 coats at 3 oil concentrations between 60% and 90% with a buff-polish using cotton or burlap. Each coat takes about 3-5 days to do properlike. Final finish is pure oil and about 4-6 of those with roughly the same amount of time between.

D.

Thanks for all of the replys. I am leaning toward just getting the tru-oil kit as it seems simple to use. I would like for it to come out with a similar glossy finish to these although that looks long and hard.
http://www.rugerstocks.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/zebrapurple011.jpg

Here is mine. I finally cut the channel for the barrel and got it to fit properly. I just have to finish sanding it down to my liking and then finish sand it. I have about 20 or so hours into it so far from the tree to the board to the rough cut stock to almost ready for finishing stock. My parents have some property that has tons of mesquite wood. The power company cleared some away from the power lines and cleared a bit too much. In this there was a mesquite tree with the main trunk of around 18-20 inches. This made for a perfect piece and I didn't have to cut the tree down as it was already cleared. I could have probably cut 2 stock blanks from it but I didn't have it planed professionally. I took the tree and cut it into a rough cut of a board with a chainsaw. I then screwed it to a flat surface and put 2 flat parrallel surfaces next to it and went across the flat surfaces with a router perched on top to get 1 flat surface from there I could use a planer to smooth out the other side. I planed it to my width and then cut with a jigsaw the rough shape. From there I shaped it with a belt sander and hand orbital sander. I cut the channel with a dremmel tool. It is not perfect but I am quite happy since I have never carved anything before. Of course I didn't take pics along the way, but here are some of where I stand now. It is next to the stock it is replacing. Of course with mesquite it has natural cracks in it so I have a big one in the butt part filled with epoxy to seal it and I will then fill it with a wood filler so it will accept a stain and blend in close to the rest.

That's not a bad start, but I'd recommend not finishing it yet. I suggest assembling the rifle and going shoot it first. That way if there is something you don't like (like the grip hint hint) you can change it easily without needing to refinish.

That's not a bad start, but I'd recommend not finishing it yet. I suggest assembling the rifle and going shoot it first. That way if there is something you don't like (like the grip hint hint) you can change it easily without needing to refinish.

Good idea. I know the grip is too fat right now. I will trim all of the fat off this weekend. I still need to thin/round the front grip, shave the butt to fit the recoil pad, and thin the grip by the trigger. My plan was to get it to a general shape then cut the barrell channel so when I scarred the side when the dremel got out of control I could easily smooth it out when I finish the shaping.

Great piece of wood and a good start on the shaping. Hows that stuff carve? Ive only done the more conventional curly maple, walnut, cherry and box wood (cheap stock).

D.

Great piece of wood and a good start on the shaping. Hows that stuff carve? Ive only done the more conventional curly maple, walnut, cherry and box wood (cheap stock).

D.

I have no idea how it carves compared to others. I have never carved anything or really messed with wood too much.

You should have filled the crack with turquoise and resin like all the baller mesquite furniture you see advertised in Texas Monthly :laughing:

you said your butt has a big crack in it...