Thread: wooden stock refinishing

Anybody on here refinished a wooden stock with a polyurethane finish?? Interested in products used and how the stock looked once finished??????..... Looking to re do a factory stock, undecided as to use oil/ or re apply a polyurethane finish. Stock will be lightly used working bush rifle.

I am a fan of Tru Oil. Minimal amounts, smoothed on with fingers. Sand with very fine wet and dry paper between coats after leaving 24 hrs. Build up 10 or more layers and final rub with 0000 wire wool or a worn green scotchbrite pad.

Yeah, done a couple of "quick" (purists would say rough) overhauls with polyurethane. Rubbed existing finish back a bit with 4 naught steel wool. Gave the stock a good rub down with methylated spirits and then applied 3 coats of spray on gloss polyurethane. Light rub down between coats with steel wool. Final results ended up too glossy so applied a final top coat of matt spray polyurethane. Came out quite OK. Appears to have been quite durable.
Normally though I do a full strip down using paint stripper and finish with around 10 light coats of Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil.

Yep done some with Tru Oil & if the wood is light coloured BC's walnut stain adds a good colour.

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My old man is currently refinishing the classic Rem Model 7 i got for him a few months ago, the factory polyurethane finish was near mint, but theres only one way to have a wooden stock rifle apparently, and thats oiled. Dad is a good old school boy, and has done plenty of stock making and refinishing, modifying stocks for people etc, so he'll do a mint job, im looking forward to seeing it finished.

Originally Posted by GWH

My old man is currently refinishing the classic Rem Model 7 i got for him a few months ago, the factory polyurethane finish was near mint, but theres only one way to have a wooden stock rifle apparently, and thats oiled. Dad is a good old school boy, and has done plenty of stock making and refinishing, modifying stocks for people etc, so he'll do a mint job, im looking forward to seeing it finished.

Ive just spoken to Dad, and he uses a recipe of boiled linseed oil (about 2/3's) with 1/3 of turps added with a dash of terrapin?(not sure of spelling, but its a drying agent). It has to be boiled up before each time its applied, and it sounds like he does lots of coats, and it takes some time, but the finish is awesome, he said Tru-oil is a cheats short cut way ;-)

Hey GWH,, could you ask your dad what he does to keep the chequering clean while hes doing the oil finish.

Plus question for those using bc tru/oil. When youve finished applying with say your final coat, is it in anyway tacky to the touch??? If it is whats the best way of getting rid of it, could you wipe it down with say methylated spirits or such like??

Originally Posted by matagouri

Hey GWH,, could you ask your dad what he does to keep the chequering clean while hes doing the oil finish.

Plus question for those using bc tru/oil. When youve finished applying with say your final coat, is it in anyway tacky to the touch??? If it is whats the best way of getting rid of it, could you wipe it down with say methylated spirits or such like??

The only time I have had a "tacky" finish was on one stock where I tried Danish Oil. I don't think it was the fault of the Danish Oil though just I hadn't neutralised the paint remover correctly. Ended up stripping that one and starting again using Tru-Oil. Sometimes the first coat of Tru-Oil stays a bit tacky for longer than expected. I just leave the 1st coat for a few days make sure it has absolutely dried b4 adding the ongoing coats. After the 1st has fully dried each coat after is given a day to dry, depending upon the climate at the time. The later coats are dry to touch within hours. It is not a process to be rushed unfortunately. The other thing I have found with Tru-Oil is you get a far better result with a new bottle. No matter what you do old bottles tend to go thick and are no good for use. I tried thinning but although the shit was more fluid the result on the stock was irregular. And it is no good trying to tighten up the bottle real tight either to prevent evaporation – all that happens is you cannot get the stupid child proof cap to open again.

Tru-Oil versus Linseed. I find Tru-Oil gives a more durable finish with virtually no ongoing maintenance. I do apply Birchwood Casey Wax occasionally. Linseed gives a more traditional deep luster finish but requires extra coats over time to maintain the finish. Also when doing stocks I water proof the internals, barrel channel, trigger group inletting, behind the butt plate etc at the same time with polyurethane (or a marine varnish) applied by brush, no spray.

Originally Posted by matagouri

Hey GWH,, could you ask your dad what he does to keep the chequering clean while hes doing the oil finish.

Plus question for those using bc tru/oil. When youve finished applying with say your final coat, is it in anyway tacky to the touch??? If it is whats the best way of getting rid of it, could you wipe it down with say methylated spirits or such like??

Use a tooth brush, preferably a hard one to clean out the oil. I used to use the linseed oil and turps mix to do stocks but have now changed to Scherell dark oil and this gives a very nice finish. Once it has the finish that I am happy with I leave the stock for a week or so and then use danish oil to waterproof the wood. I put the oil on by hand and leave it for for approximately a minute and then rub it off with a peice of old net curtaining. after 10 odd coats you end up with a warm glow type finish rather than a real shiny one.

Works for me and the punters seem to like it as well

I got a wee wooden stock Toz for Christmas that had a disgusting plasticy finish on it.

I cut the stock down to fit my midget arms, then sanded with three grades of paper, finished with a scouring pad from the kitchen.

Bought a cool half/half stain/oil from Mitre10. I applied three coats and haven't put any sealant on it.

Just a regularly used bunny/plover hack but it's worn well so far


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ive used spray can poly on stocks its worked well for me

Yep another Tru Oil fan here. Takes longer but the results are far better. Just done a Parker Hale sporter .303. Came up mint.

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Yeah, tru oil for me also.

Did a cz stock a few years back and it turned out super.

This actually reminds me, I have to re finish the Marlin 917 stock again before I get it ceracoated to stop the surface rusting.

I'm following this with interest. I've got brno stock on the way to redo. I've bought some dad's varnish remover to use. What I'm stuck on is the re oil part, I've used true oil on stocks to repair the barrel chanel after a free float
But I'm thinking maybe Danish oil is worth a look?
Water or oil based?