unfinished stock

[ammo.crafter]

Any one have a particular preference to finish a new, unfinished laminated wood stock?

[Huffmanite]

Have no experience working with kind of laminated stock as I imagine you have. But, do a fair amount of wood workings and do make rifle stocks for myself and occasionally for someone else at range I shoot that likes my work.
Chuckle, seldom work with a single piece of wood when making a stock....most are made from various pieces of wood I've kinda laminated together from maple, cherry, oak, and etc.

Anyway, you might want to consider a couple of products I've used in past. First, is Minwax's Wipeing Polyurethane. Decent stuff that you can find at Lowes, Home Depot and probably Wal Mart that is easy to apply/use with a soft cloth.....usually use old tee shirt material. Four or five coats with it usually works for me. Recommend a light sanding with a very fine (talking 400 plus grit) sandpaper between coats. Did a stock this past week for a gent that I'd made mostly out of pieces of maple and had found in a local 99 cent store a sleeve of fine scouring type pads that worked OK for sanding between coats. Gave stock to its buyer today, who was quite pleased with it.

For a brush on product, I've used a water based polyurethane made by Rustoleum which Lowe's sells. Dries fast and is quite hard. Dries quite clear and did not yellow/amber wood like an oil based polyurethane. Unlike the Wipeing Polyurethane, need to be concerned with dealing with runs....so sanding between coats is essential to deal with them. Also, being water based it will raise the grain of the wood with the first coat you'll need to deal with by sanding. FWIW, I've worked on laminated stocks such as what you have and so much glue/epoxy in them, probably no real problem to speak of with grain being raised by a water based products.

[Scorch]

Brownells' Dura-Coat Wood, a spray epoxy resin. Fastest, easiest finish for laminated stocks.

[Dixie Gunsmithing]

It really according to the color of the stock. If it is brown, or similar, you can use a regular stock finish like oil, or poly. However, if it is some exotic color, like blue, you have to use a clear poly, or it will make the blue look green, if there is any yellow tint to the finish. Rust-Oleum has some spray on poly I've been having good success with. They also make a spray handle for the cans, and I would recommend that, as it helps applying it without runs, since its easier to control.

I sand all stocks down to a 600 grit before I finish them, and then use 0000 steel wool between coats. If you don't like a shiny coat, you can use this to bring the luster down too. Use a tack cloth, after sanding, and hang the stock with a wire, in a dust free place, before applying the finish.

[weaselfire]

I'm partial to classic tung oil, but in your case the Duracoat might be your best option. And yes, the prep work is the key.

Jeff