doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Help filling the grain....

Gary D.

The US Forestry service tested various finishes and their results regarding protection mirror your approach. The most protective finishes are those that create a moisture barrier. Top was epoxy. Having worked on boats with epoxy I hesitate to use it on walnut, it is too hard to sand.

Penetrating epoxy is supposed (according to advertising copy) to soak into the wood and build a barrier in there. Again, I have not seen it used on walnut and its working and drying times are a bit of a puzzle. If it works as advertised it would be a good filler-sealer on which to use final coats of linseed oil.

when i say oil, i mean finishing oil.

Shotgunlover,

Brownell's "GunsmithKinks" Books had some information on using thinned Acuraglass (2 part epoxy) as a finish & there were apparently some people doing this 30 years ago so I don't know why this couldn't be used as a grain filler along with a more traditional looking topcoat.

I've often wondered if something like this wouldn't work for those nice looking blanks that are really too "soft" to make a good quality gunstock (I'm talking about surface hardness rather than structural consideration). I would think the fine detail sanding around drop points & such would be an issue with anything filled with 2 part epoxy.

I do know that several custom gunsmith are using Daly's ProFin & or SeaFin. These products are not 2 part epoxies but are promoted as penetrating finishes that "harden the wood up to 40%".

Unfortunately, really good stock blanks aren't as common as they used to be & some way of improving marginal blanks would be a plus as well as the water resisting qualities.

Good luck repairing these "modern" finishes! The real beauty of a traditional oil finish is it is so easy to repair or restore it. It must have worked quite well in the crappy wet climate found in England. Otherwise they would have gone to a varnish or something else.

[quote=Joe Wood]"
Good luck repairing these "modern" finishes! The real beauty of a traditional oil finish is it is so easy to repair or restore it. It must have worked quite well in the crappy wet climate found in England. Otherwise they would have gone to a varnish or something else."

I agree 100%. If you have a really good, dense, hard, close grained piece of wood to work with there is nothing better than a traditional oil finish from the standpoints of beauty & ease of touching up & the lack of water resistance issue can be dealt with. Unfortunately, not all wood is like that & sometimes you need to work with what you have.

Most older guns wore wood chosen for the suitability of the job over pretty figure in mind. Currently, that is not always the case.

Klupps books (Der Drilling, and Double Rifles)describe oil finish as being in constant need of renewal after use in inclement weather. I have seen constant re-oiling darken wood over time. Personally I will take an oil modified urethane like Permalyn. It is easy to touch up as well. Epoxy filling is probably a good idea, though...Steve

Britanny Man thanks for the pointers. I have the Gunsmithing Kinks books but being Internet struck did not think to look in there.

Joe Wood, if you sand off the surface epoxy, then it might be possible to steam dents. Might, I do not know for sure. But when filling with spar varnish it can be done with no sign left on the steamed wood.

My experience with repairing oil finished stocks versus varnished ones causes me to state that there is no easy way out with either. A nasty scratch on an oil finish is no picnic- requiring a lot of localized prep work with a dab hand if it isn't to be noticed, then mixing and blending in finish to match the surrounding area perfectly. Not much of a benefit over doing the same with a barrier finish, IMO. I stopped buying into that argument long ago.

There are a thousand ways to screw up a finish job and ten ways to get it right. First one is to take your time. Second is to take no shortcuts. Third is to use the best sand paper you can find and go slow. Fourth is to let your finish dry completely between steps. Five if you have a problem starting over is often the only real choice. Six no matter how hard you try you will see some minor flaw in every job. Just has to be that way because you spend countless hour in close contact with the job. Seven is to let the stock cure for two to four weeks before you evaluate the job. The finish needs to get hard, stabalize and then you can lower the shine factor if you like. Eight the only fast finish is one you will later remove and swear to never try again. Nine if you and your shop are not clean never start a job. Ten is that every stock is different and you can learn or forget something on each. So I make notes as I go. Like grip area is very dense, closed grain that slowly takes I. Finish. Or this area is a sponge so cut the finish the first several coats to limit darkness of grain. And some woods will just not take a great finish if they are four different types of grain going in three different directions. Do not ask my how I learned this, it hurts still.