Tx Dogblaster
05-05-2011, 08:22 PM
It is finished!!! Took about a month to finish it. The receiver got held up last weekend but I think it'll be a done deal tomorrow.
I'm using high gloss tung oil. I'm actually putting it on really thick and letting it sit in the heat of my garage for a minimum of 24 hours before I even touch it. I didn't really notice any remarkable depth or shine until about the 6th or 7th coat was put on and I was amazed at how that one coat put it over the edge. Since then I've just basically going for depth and there is a lot. I'm going to do one more coat and as long as it stays glassy slick and super glossy then I'll say I'm done. I'll have my receiver done by the end of the weekend and it'll get painted with Gloss Black Gunkote. I decided I was going to build a glossy 74 once the stock started being even more glossy than I had imagined & figured I'd go that route.
I had the whole stock set stripped and sanded as slick as a possible. The buttstock was a whole lot lighter wood than the HG so I ran my torch over the buttstock and burned the grain a little to darken it up. Then I ran over it again with fine steel wool to remove/even out the soot from the torch. After it was smooth again I used 2 or 3 coats of dark walnut stain. I almost wish I had stopped there and stripped it back down and used a darker stain. The lower HG is solid walnut and I've not even stained it. All it's had is tons of tung oil and it looks as good as factory wood on any fancy bolt gun. I think the total coat number was 28. I didn't see a major gloss until after 6-8 coats or so and then the depth started showing.
I'll post lots of pics of the rifle taken with my real camera instead of my phone once it's together and painted.
Click on the pics for full size view
Upper HG
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_5485.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view¤t=IMG_5485.jpg)
Buttstock
The shine doesn't really show very well but I can see my reflection on the stock...
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_7137.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view¤t=IMG_7137.jpg)
Lower HG (Solid Walnut w/ No Stain, lots of tung oil ONLY)
The pic looks a LOT more red than what it really is...
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_3148.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view¤t=IMG_3148.jpg)
I'm using high gloss tung oil. I'm actually putting it on really thick and letting it sit in the heat of my garage for a minimum of 24 hours before I even touch it. I didn't really notice any remarkable depth or shine until about the 6th or 7th coat was put on and I was amazed at how that one coat put it over the edge. Since then I've just basically going for depth and there is a lot. I'm going to do one more coat and as long as it stays glassy slick and super glossy then I'll say I'm done. I'll have my receiver done by the end of the weekend and it'll get painted with Gloss Black Gunkote. I decided I was going to build a glossy 74 once the stock started being even more glossy than I had imagined & figured I'd go that route.
I had the whole stock set stripped and sanded as slick as a possible. The buttstock was a whole lot lighter wood than the HG so I ran my torch over the buttstock and burned the grain a little to darken it up. Then I ran over it again with fine steel wool to remove/even out the soot from the torch. After it was smooth again I used 2 or 3 coats of dark walnut stain. I almost wish I had stopped there and stripped it back down and used a darker stain. The lower HG is solid walnut and I've not even stained it. All it's had is tons of tung oil and it looks as good as factory wood on any fancy bolt gun. I think the total coat number was 28. I didn't see a major gloss until after 6-8 coats or so and then the depth started showing.
I'll post lots of pics of the rifle taken with my real camera instead of my phone once it's together and painted.
Click on the pics for full size view
Upper HG
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_5485.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view¤t=IMG_5485.jpg)
Buttstock
The shine doesn't really show very well but I can see my reflection on the stock...
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_7137.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view¤t=IMG_7137.jpg)
Lower HG (Solid Walnut w/ No Stain, lots of tung oil ONLY)
The pic looks a LOT more red than what it really is...
http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_3148.jpg (http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb145/txdogblaster/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view¤t=IMG_3148.jpg)