finish on my hawken

[jspappap]

Ok guys I'm ready to do it. While de-whiskering my stock I came to the conclusion that I really liked how the color and the grain looked when dampened during this process. Now for the million dollar question. How can I get it to look like that after the finish is applied ? What do I use please.

[Captchee]

your oil finish will bring it to the wet look

[toolslinger]

Yep, Danish Oil.

[Captchee]

myself i use Boiled linseed under a couple coats of Tung
over curly maple


Over figured black walnut

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

You could give TOTW a call. They have different shades of Laurel Mountain Satin. It's a deep penetrating stain. I've used a couple tints of it myself. Once on a birch stock and another time on walnut. Both stocks turn out very nice.

[jspappap]

Sure Shot do you have any pics of the birch stock. I'm not looking for shiny as much as I am the darker color.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Sorry No I don't. Never bothered to take pix's of either. The birch had a touch of cherry mixed in with its darker brown. Kind'a looked like the stocks seen on older winchesters. (A shade of red'ish brown.) Pretty though when dryed. Top coat over the stain is what makes the difference in a stocks sheen I think. If you intend to purchase from TOTW asked to talk to John about their stains. He's the man. Dull shine or shinny one. John will tell you how to go about it. Good Luck w/ your project. Sorry I couldn't help you out more.

[Captchee]

with oils they can often be shinny when finished . if you dont like it , just buff it back alittle

[robhof]

Capchee, I just got over drooling over your amazing engraving and come over here and see those fantastic stocks, those are some great woods and you brought out their best, you are a true artist.

[Captchee]

thank you for the kind words

[enyaw]

JSPAPPAP........What type Hawken ya finishing? Hawkens are my favorite.
I like the Laurel Mountain stains. Not water based so they don't raise the grain again after whiskering. Brownells has some nice stains. The Nitric acid with disolved iron works like used way back in the day and even today.
Aquafortis is the commercial name from Track of the Wolf.
Instead of the oils I recommend Permalyn Gunstock sealer and finish. Waterproof fer a huntin gun that might spend time in downpours or wet snows all day or all week. Good fer sealing in the woods moisture content in dry climates and sealing out moisture in humid climates. More stability to the wood. Less shrinkage over the years.
It penetrates anywhere water would and hardens there to waterproof. No sticky in humid weather and no disolved finish in a really wet hunting environment.
Oils like linseed can be as water proof as polyurathane but only after lots and lots of thin coats after two or more years of regularly applying. Oils can disolve to a degree in wet environments. Fad the colors ect.ect.
Oils look really good though. If usin oil like linseed then the last coats done with Linspeed or oils with a dryer added works fairly well. Not as durable as Permalyn Guntock sealer.
Build the sealer to a finish or go to the actual Permalyn Gunstock Finish.
There's always the Spar-urathane(polyurathane with a sheen and not a shine). Used for sail boat masts and the like where waterproof is needed.
If you don't want the shine with oils you could use little oil and hand rub in really light coats. I call it,"rub it dry" since the thin coat seems almost dry once rubbed in. Cuts down on the shine for a sheen without the rubbin it with an abrasive like rottenstone or steel wool.
The Permalyn Gunstock sealer can be shiny or rubbed dry for the sheen by applying and then using a lint free cotton cloth just barely moist with mineral spirits and rubbing. Puts light coats so needs plenty of them but...easy to do.
The gunstock sealer has it's coats attach by adhesion coat after coat lays one atop the other like polyurathanes.
The oils have the coats bond on the molecular level all forming one continuous single coat.
The most waterproof is polyurathane and the second most or equal is the boiled linseed oil only if applied properly with lots and lots of coats over at least a two year period.
The oils are a never ending application needing reapplied ferever.No biggy. Gives a feller the excuse to rub and fondle his prized firearm. Keep it well maintained.

[Captchee]

BL is only about 10% impervious . This is why with original stocks you often see them darken greatly . This is called a patina and its caused by dirt , oils from you hand and moisture getting into the oil . While the oil does feel dry to the touch , its infact not completely dry , ever . Its also why when we do a repair , we can often match the color . As the oil is only about 10% impervious , you can stain through it .

However harder more deeply penetrating oils like Tung , are around 90% impervious . IE they do not allow a great % of penetration. Be that from other oils like from your skin , or moisture . . Also because they penetrate so deep , its very difficult to do a repair and match the original color of the stock . So you either have to float the color of air brush it . Then re oil over it . Your only other option is to sand the wood to a level below what the penetration level of the oil . In doing so you have to be very consistent in your depth or you get blotch stain patterns.


The other thing with sealer s is that the stock must be able to breath if it doesn’t and you miss an area , over time you can end up with oil rot .
2nd is the consideration of what you want in your finish . There are basically two different types .
You have whats called an American finish or a European finish .
The American finish didn’t really become all that popular tell the mid 20th century and is what you often see on higher end guns today . Its very smooth and is done so as the pours of the wood are all filled and level like glass .
Prior to that you have the European type finish . With that finish the pours are left visible and un filled . This doesn’t mean they don’t have oil in them . It just means that the grain and pours show
The nice thing however is that oils like tung have a larger molecular structure then oils like Linseed . There for the linseed will hold the harder Tung oil above the wood while at the same time bonding with it so that you don’t get separation/ flaking which can happen with lacquer type finishes when moisture gets under them .

There is frankly no need to put on countless layers of Boiled linseed . You can just put on one very good flood coat . let it set for 15-20 minutes then wipe down the excess.
Once dry apply a 2nd light coat and rub it in , nice and smooth . After that add a couple even lighter coats of Tung . .
If you work slowly in your rub down coats , there is nothing IMO that will produce the depth , color and translucency of oil

[jspappap]

Captchee. You have my undivided attention. Thank you very much for your Guidance Wisdom and your many helpful suggestions. The examples of your work are true works of art. I can not believe all of the great words of advice and encouragement I have received from great people since joining this group. I'll keep fumblin and stumblin towards getting my rifle finished. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

[Captchee]

here is a restock for a CVA MT rifle that im finishing up .as you can see its shinny . but all it takes is to do a light buff with some 0000 steel woll and it will dull right up