Know of a good product for a gun stock?

[Callahan]

I have a bolt-action Belgian FN in .30-06 with a nice wooden stock. My uncle, who has passed on now, gave it to me a few years ago.

It has a nice wood stock, walnut, I imagine that probably has not been treated with anything in years. I would like something that would clean and protect it and bring out the nice wood grain.

Anyone have a recommendation?

[TMan]

Rather than trying to clean it with chemicals, I would sand it down and then apply around 10 coats of 3:1 tung oil/mineral spirits. Hand rub it in until it gets sticky, then wipe it off. (Wear those cheap throwaway latex gloves).

[MLB]

I like an oil finish too.

[TMan]

Note: on the subject of oil finishes: Lindseed oil + rags = fire.

[Callahan]

OK, thanks. I'll hold off until January on that project. Too close to hunting season.

[5ontarget]

all depends on the type of finish that is on it now, and if you are looking to restore or refinish it
Oil finishes are very traditional and one of my favorites. They do not protect the wood as well as most modern finishes. The two most common are boiled linseed oil and tung oil. Tung oil will provide a more protective finish than BLO. BLO will usually darken more with age, and Tung oil will some, but to a lesser degree. I use an oil scrub technique and will occasionally burnish with tung oil for most of my old mil surps. Sometimes I'll finish it off with a wax or 1/3mix (1/3mix is 1/3 beeswax, oil (BLO or tung) and turpentine) to provide a little more protection and it helps bring out a little more depth/figure (I think)

Shellac is nice to, but can be a bit brittle for some people's tastes. It is very easily touched up with a little rubbing alcohol, or a bit more shellac. Provides much better protection from the elements than the traditional rubbed oil finishes.

There are wiping finishes, like tung oil finish (not pure tung oil), danish oil, and Tru-Oil, or you can pretty easily make your own. One/two coats will typically allow you to still feel the wood texture, getting up beyond 3-4 it starts to build and will look/feel like a varnish/poly finish. How many coats to use depends on the level of protection and the look you want.

And providing the greatest protection is the polyeurethane finishes. Finishes build on the wood and seal it, and can vary from satin to high gloss.

The most important think in stock refinishing is the prep work you do before you apply the first coat of whatever you choose as a finish. Lots of opinions and techniques on this as well.

[Callahan]

5ontarget:
I'm interested in restoring it. I like the way it looks now. It's really not in all that bad a shape.

["DoubleAction"]

Callahan; To make things easy, I use Birchwood Casey Grip Restorer on my wood.

[5ontarget]

My guess is that it is probably an oil rubbed finish? If it is, you can clean it up a bit with some denatured alcohol and/or mineral spirits (separate applications with separate soft rags.) If you want to do a little more cleaning you can use various grades of steel wool with the solvents. Then you follow up with an oil scrub finish for a nice smooth finish. Soak some steel wool in the oil of your choice (linseed or pure tung oil), and scrub it into the stock. Some people thin the oil a little with mineral spirits for this. Let it sit for 20mins and wipe off the excess. Repeat the same proceedure the following day. Then a couple of hand rubbed coats of pure oil (non thinned). End with a light coat of stock wax or 1/3 mix.

edit to add link

this is where I get my tung oil.
www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html

[Callahan]

Sounds like a great approach. I was thinking it might be a good project for a winter's night before a roaring fire, but on second thought, that might make for a volatile combination.