I'm in the process of refinishing a stock. I removed all the finish in acetone, steamed all the dents, sanded with 400 (dry) to flatten all the grain and remove the minor defects. I've sanded in a coat of Pro-Custom Oil with 600 then wiped with a dry cloth. It's hanging to dry tonight. Any tips/recommendations to help me along? It's been years since I refinished a stock with PCO. The PCO was pretty thin and mineral spirits are outlawed in CA...unbelievable! So I just used it out of the can. The new PCO seems thinner than I remember. I was going to use some of the mineral spirit replacement solvent they sell, but chickened out and went with it straight.

Beautiful wood. You need to set up the tree and hang it there. Since you already filled the grain I would rub in five coats of PCO and then wet sand with 400 or 500 grit lightly to even it out followed by 800 to 1000 grit to get a sheen. sometimes I use the PCO as the sanding oil. I have seen a lot of variation in the sandpaper between the different suppliers so be careful. Some people tape over the checkering but I prefer to be careful and then lightly cut the checkering. If you want more coats I would add them after the light sanding with the rougher paper.

This has worked well for me however I think someone who does this professionally will chime in and tell me I am doing it all wrong.

Hey Milt,
I think I need to fill the grain more. I seem to recall sanding in 3-4 coats in the past. Using 600 for the wet sand-grain fill doesn't make a lot of slurry.

This gun is Ferlib 410 that a friend and I re-blued the barrels on. The gun came to me needing barrel blue and stock refinishing, as well as a POI adjustment for me.

We built this pipe burner and struggled thru bluing them.


They came out great.

She's coming along nicely, Chuck. I think you need to fill the pores more thoroughly, too, but have no experience with Pro-Custom.

What type of holes did you end up getting to work on your pipe burner? Hacksaw slits? The flames look elongated.

SRH

Stan,
Those holes in the pipe burner are sawed with a porta-band saw. They are spaced 1" apart and are deep enough to have about 1/4" long slot open at the bottom of the cut. Seems like we drilled the orifice about a #54 drill.

Again, I am not a professional but I have had many compliments on my work. They usually say: Hey you did this yourself?

I should have looked more closely at the picture. I see it now.

Since it is easy to put on a coat per day, I would simply add a few extra coats. the pores will fill with the PCO and when you sand back they will disappear. It is easier to sand the coats than the original sanding with the slurry.

When filling the grain when wet sanding I always make only one wipe "across the grain" with a tissue paper...I read that years ago in a book on stock finishing.

Reason being was to push the slurry into the pores with care not to make a slurry and wipe it all off. The key is to make a fast slurry give it one wipe across the grain.

Here's a new twist I learned from a fellow at the local woodworking store.

Instead of using steel wool or powdered pumice stone to rub between coats.

After the grain is filled I rub between coats with a 4000 grit Abralon pad wet with a few drops of mineral oil. (store the pad in a zip lock bag)

Dry any mineral oil from the stock with a paper towel then apply the next coat of oil finish....repeat.

Builder you'll never fill the pores with finish alone.

It is not hard to fill the pores with finish but it can take forever. I have been using garnet shelac on late 1800 -1920's
Parker and LC Smiths and to get the right color and full pores can take many coats and sand back to wood cycles before it is right.
bill

When you rub the finish in, more goes into the pores than on the surface. I don't like to do the slurry finish more than the initial time. I recall ten coats will fill the pores but if the finish is very thin it might take more. Not a lot of work, just days passing.

You can use Plaster of Paris to aid in the filling of grain pores. It works quite well and speeds up the filling process.

I recall needing a filler for a divot on a stock. I didn't have any wood putty and never liked the stuff anyway. I took a spare stock blank of similar color and sanded up some dust and mixed with superglue.

When I try that it comes out really dark. Am I doing something wrong?

I have found that super glue doesn't take finish well. The plaster route has worked for me or make some saw dust, mix with finish and paste up the area and sand down.

Milt,
Same here. If it's in an area of marbling that won't stand out, this works. If you need lighter color, you may have to graft a tiny piece of wood into the stock.

I use PCO as my go to finish. You are not on the wrong track. Put three coats on. Level sand....dry. You are not trying to sand to wood. Just leveling out the highs and lows of the finsih. When the pores disappear you are ready to put on the top coats.

I use 320 to level sand. You are correct that 600 doesn't give enough "slurry" for filling pores. Since you are at that 600 level now. Going backward is counter productive. One may use the finish to build and fill pores. You just have to be patient. The can says 6 hour dry time between coats. I prefer a little longer. After 3 coats, I will let the finish set 24 hours before I level sand. I suggest you tape off your checkering. It will save you hours of labor later on.

I have used rottenstone to fill pores. Worked very well, but I doubt I will ever do it again. I just use oil. Eventually, it shrinks and has to be redone, but I am not the "one last coat forever" school of gun finishing.

The ditty that ends, "... and once a year for life." is closer to my mantra.

Chuck,
Not a fun job. I used to have a 3/8" plug cutter with matching drill point bit that would work but the plug cutter had trouble cutting anything harder than pine. I have found yellow builders glue (aliphatic? whatever that means) to leave the least trace.

Sounds like a plan devised by TeddybOy....

I've used plaster as well as rottenstone. I like rottenstone for the final buffing out the shine to a nice warm matte glow. But the plaster fills the pores and is relatively speaking, invisible with oil. I want to say this recommendation came from one of our English brothers on the board and it has served me well. It's cheap, why not give it a try if you're having issues filling?

An oil finish is microscopically thin...from the sounds of what you are doing it's not a true hand rubbed oil finish. Oil alone can never fill the pores of wood.

And Brent rotten stone or powdered pumice stone is just for the rub down between finish coats usually done with a wet felt pad. Some use steel wool but then you risk the chance a steel fiber getting in your finish.

I've never saw rotten stone mentioned as a grain filler mixed with oil as a grain filler.

I really don't know why I bothered telling about using a 4000 grit Abralon pad wet with a few drops of mineral oil...this entire thread was started to brag about a project not to ask for ideas.

joey, that's because you are pretty poor at reading. Man, really poor.

You don't know about the use of water in case coloring either. Stunning for a man of your alleged KIA (know-it-allism).

Milt,
I haven't attempted any thing as large as 3/8" diameter plug. Just some tiny stuff and one 1/4" odd size chip. I cut the insert with an exacto knife to fit the defect.

Thanks for the tips.

Chuck, Dennis Earl is the one to listen to ! When he was teaching me he emphasized wearing nitrile or latex gloves as PCO has a component that will mess up your liver. I don't know about you, but I can do damage to my liver in a more fun way than stock finishing. :-)

All the tips help. I just have never been a "wood guy". Metal is my thing. I struggle with wood working. DES, thanks specifically for your experiences with PCO. Your expertise in wood restoration is well respected by many. With all my blocked selections, I don't know what jOe said, but I'm sure he is consistent.

Thanks Mark. Yes, I was wearing nitrile gloves.