Thread: Refurbished my Wooden Stock

Finally got round to removing the scratched up and battered polyurethane coating on the stock of my Ruger M77.
Sanded it all off with my orbital sander using 220 grit. Many recommend the use of a chemical varnish remover, however I know exactly what I can get away with after years of use with my orbital. After most of the poly was off I got to the 'difficult to reach' areas by hand sanding with 120 grit.

After the sanding I did not clean the sand dust off the stock but just applied unthinned boiled linseed oil which created a sand slurry which helped fill the pores. I rubbed in the oil with my bare hands, so the heat generated from rubbing the oil into the wood makes the oil penetrate better.

After leaving the stock to dry for 3 days (purchase linseed oil that has drying agents mixed in otherwise you will be waiting for 7-10 days), I applied 3 more light coats of oil again leaving for 3 days between coats. On each coat I hand sanded with 320 grit to create the sand slurry and then hand rubbed it all in. On the final coat of linseed oil I sanded the stock with 600 grit before applying the oil. I hand rubbed in a VERY SMALL amount of linseed oil without sanding it in this time. I left this final coat for 7 days.

Now in the world of wood finishers, there are two categories:
1 - layered that sticks to the surface of wood ie, polyurethane, lacquers, varnishes and paints
2 - absorbtion oil finish that penetrates into the wood, ie linseed oil, Tung oil, Danish oil (blend of oil and polyurethane).

Linseed oil fits into the absorption category and darkens the wood (no stain required), looks great and is a water-repellent, non-filming, timber protector....but not much of a 'protector'. Polyurethane coatings would give the most weather protection but gives a 'wood under plastic' look. It will also be inflexible and relatively easy to sratch and chip (see original coating of Ruger M77 in photo). So what did I use to give the linseed oil stock extra weather protection?

I used 3 coats of Sikkens Cetol Clearcoat HB plus. It is a clearcoat made of a mixture of alkyd resins so the wood grain remains visible and it's microporous, resulting in a humidity-controlling system...but also water proof. It doesn't leave that glossy plastic coating like polyurethane but gives a very subtle satin look with a slight waxy feel. I reckon it turned out great and would recommend it for those that want more protection than linseed oil alone but without the glossy look of a polyurethane.