The Helpers Guide To Building Kit Guns - Finishing The Gun Stock

Finishing the stock:

Okay now that you've fit all your brass furniture to your gun stock, the stock is shaved, sanded and ready to go on to finishing it!

Now before we start... What grit of sand paper did stop with before you decided it looked good to go? I know a lot of folks stock at 220 grit and call it good, but IMO, 220 grit is FAR from good. Products such as Birchwood Casey Genuine Oil actually calls for a final sanding with 600 grit. Failure to do so will cause the product to leave little bubbles that remain sticky. 

Let's face it, a 220 grit finish it not smooth, its not good looking, its a lazy way to "finish" a gun stock that you put a lot of time into.

On most of my Traditions kit guns, I start with 120 and 150 grit until the wood and brass are beautifully flush or left a tiny bit "proud" so the owner has enough wood to work with in case the stock is ever damaged or needed to be refinished at some point in life. A tiny bit proud? I am talking, leaving maybe .005" - .006" wood sitting above the stock furniture, Not 1/16" - 1/8" as I see some folks do!

When mating the wood to the brass you need to screw all brass furniture into place and with files and or sand paper, remove the wood evenly. Do not round the wood to the brass! Doing so makes it look very amateurish and quite frankly, it looks like crap.

All edges such as the lock panels, cheek rest, should have clean sharp lines, not rounded off or blended into the stock. 

Getting back to the final finish. As stated, I will use 120 to 150 grit sand paper until all the wood is flush with the furniture. Next, I will dampen a rag in with and wipe the stock down and set it to the side until it is dry. Once more, I will use 150 grit sand paper and sand the stock again. This is normally repeated 3 to 4 times before I move onto 220 grit sand paper and repeat the process. 

By wetting the stock, we are raising the grain of the wood and its helping us remove deep scratches and any slight imperfections we left behind.

I begin with 120-150 grit, then move to 220 - 320 - 400 - 600 - 800 - 1200 and then as a final process, I polish the wood with 2000 grit sand paper. By now, the stock will actually have a beautiful shine to it, almost like it has a clear finish on it.

With the stock being completely sanded and its final sanding job complete, lets take a look at wood stains.

Water based, oil based or alcohol based?

This will really depend on the wood! Hardwoods react to oil stains much better than softer woods like we find on Traditons - CVA gun stocks.

For my Traditions guns, I use Birchwood Casey Walnut stain, a water based stain. This stain penetrates deeply and evenly. Once I apply one coat, its allowed to dry. How many coats? It depends on how dark you want it. I normally like a very dark color stock and so I will apply 6 coats of Birchwood Casey Walnut stain, allowing the stock to dry in between each coat.

Notice the grain has raised on the stock a little after staining? That's because its water based. Once the stain is complete and the color the way I want, I will use either 2000 grit sand paper and very gently sand the stock once more to remove the rough whiskers. A 3000 grit polishing pad from your local automotive store is a huge help as well!

You really should let the stock dry for a full 24 hours before applying your clear finish.

For me, I love Birchwood Casey Genuine Oil. Its much easier to work with than their Tru-oil, but the most important part to me, is that it goes on thin and stays thin, giving a gorgeous traditional hand rubbed oil finish look. This oil also dried pretty quickly. 

After the first coat has been applied heavily, all further coats are applied thinly.

Now for the first coat, I actually slop it on HEAVY. Set it to the side for a few minutes, then I take a lint free rag and wiped the stock down to soak up as much excess as I can before hanging the stock up and letting it dry for a full 24 hours. If the stock still feels sticky, let it dry another day or two. 

With the first coat of finish on, I will apply at least a total of 5 coats before I set the stock to the side for a few days to cure. Once cured, I use a small bowl of water and wet my 2000 grit sand paper and gently sand the finish down a bit until its smooth. I then follow up with another 5 coats of genuine oil before it again is allowed to cure for a few days.

As a final polishing to the finish,  I use Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen & Conditioner to remove any rough spots in the finish and also to cut down the glare that can build up. I like a classic semi gloss finish and the stock sheen and conditioner really gives me the look that I desire on my gun stocks.

Not done yet! Put at least 2 or 3 coats of wax onto the stock for added protection! Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax, Johnsons floor paste wax. Many many good choices out there! Use what you have experience with and can trust.

There are many kind of gun stock - wood finishes out there folks. Even hand rubbed boiled linseed oil looks great and works great. It is more time consuming as you must rub it into the wood HARD until your hands are burning hot before hanging it up to dry for at least 2 to 3 days before rubbing in another thin coat. This process in order to do it right, can take weeks to finish.

 A heat box will help dry the linseed oil faster but again, that's another project you should look into if you plan on doing this for a living or as a hobby.