doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stock finish

Looking for suggestions for a Matte finish using Waterlox thinned down 1/1 with Mineral spirits. It is coming out now slightly less then what I'd consider semi-gloss which I get with straight Waterlox.

Jeff,
Try lightly burnishing the stock with 0000 steel wool to obtain the finish that you want.

Which waterlox? They make at least 3 different finishes, 2 of which I have tried, and they come out and behave VERY differently. I'm no pro, but hopefully my limited experience is helpful.
The Waterlox original finish is the hardest finish I have ever used--figures, it's a tung oil-modified urethane designed for hardwood floors. This stuff hardens like concrete. I love the stuff for pore filling, but it's a bit shinier if you let it build up at all. My favorite finish involves this waterlox thinned at least 50:50 (if not more) as a sealer and for pore-filling, then sanded all the way to the wood with water. The water allows you to see any spots where there is even a tiny bit of finish left on the surface, simply wipe off the grey goo and you can easily see where there's finish left on the top and re-sand with water, etc. Any spot of finish left on the surface, no matter how tiny or thin, after topcoating WILL wind up glossy in my experience. After this, I hand-rub in a few coats of thinned finish, let it sit for a few weeks to fully harden and gently rub it out with oil/rottenstone. The more you build up the top coats, the glossier it will be and the more waterproof it will be. 3-4 topcoats looks great but is too thin to wear well on a field gun for me. I used 5-8 topcoats on the last few and find it a good middle ground between soft luster and durability/water-protection.

No matter the finish I have tried, if i build it up more than this and then rub it out I can always see the faint scratching from the rub-out as a "haze" on the finish and it bugs me (although apparently not many others). This seems to be more visible on darker colored wood like Black Walnut.

Mike Campbell has used the waterlox satin a number of times, and his stocks looked great--although I found this stuff to be incredibly difficult to get a good finish with on the one gun I tried with it--I ended up sanding it off and using the above method.

I'm no pro, so my experience is limited, but hope this is helpful.

Mr. Keller

Gary Goudy uses Waterlox Original mixed 4:l with Linspeed. It slows down the drying time and allows for better flow/application. At least that's what he told me. Try rubbing the stock out with Scotchbrite pads instead of steel wool. The pumice I use has two grits(2F/4F) and the rottenstone final removes the haze. DO NOT rub too hard with the rottenstone and the haze seems to disappear for me. Too hard with the rottenstone and you get a sheen.

Mr? Oh please, Jeff is as formal as I get.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. It is the original I've been using. Thats all I can find around here.

Diluting some urethanes makes the finish brittle, or chippy. I'd be cautious thinning the finish beyond manufacturer's recommendation.

Raised by transplanted southern parents/grandparents. It gets me into trouble sometimes. But I remain true to my training.

Dennis

I use Waterlox and agree with with what Dave and Dennis have said.

What nobody has said is that a "matte" finish with any sort of surface build just isn't possible with a hand-applied, urethane-modified oil finish. The closest I've seen to an accepetable matte finish is some factory guns which I suspect is a spray coated lacquer. Not being a pro or in the "trade" I don't know, but I suspect that Wenig and some others use spray lacquers. I don't know how else they can turn out a complete checkered stock with a hard durable finish in the short time they do.

That said, the downside to lacquer is the difficulty of retouching it and perhaps the lifting and other blemishes that sometimes result because it doesn't penetrate as deeply.

The next lowest sheen I've seen is with very minimal top coating and that's also unacceptable to me. That might be OK for closet queens but I need the practicality of a finish that can withstand rubbing against briars and wet oil cloth every fall and/or contact with my bearded cheeks 10,000 times a year.

After experimenting for 30 years with about every finish I've heard of, I've come to prefer urethane-modified tung oils and had to learn to like/tolerate a slightly higher sheen than I might prefer for pure aesthetics.

I rub out with 3F, then 4F pumice. I forgo 5F (rottenstone) because it will build a mirror shine too quickly. On medium-light English walnut I can get a lower sheen and no visible distracting scratches with just a 4F/linseed oil rub. Of course, a higher shine is always an option. On darker black walnut I can't tolerate the cloudiness and fine scratches Dave alludes to. The gloss level is about right with 4F, but it's just not attractive. WIth 5F I can attain a glass-like, blemish free finish, but way too shiny for my tastes. On black walnut I follow up the 4F (and occasionally retouch) with 2-3 coats of 50/50 linseed oil and mineral spirits. One drop of BLO stretches to the moon...one drop of 50/50 stretches there and back.

To my eye, on fancy black walnut nothing matches the non-dimensional depth, crystal clarity and just-right sheen of simply wetting it with water. It's the look I've always strived for and haven't matched yet.