Finished My '74 Wood

[Tx Dogblaster]

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&current=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&current=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&current=IMG_3148.jpg)

[leatherzombie]

they look sweet

[romak10/63UF]

In your photos are the stock parts dryied tung oil or still wet ?

[Tx Dogblaster]

In your photos are the stock parts dryied tung oil or still wet ?

Dry!!! With a really deep shine:thumbspbig:

[jjeez]

very nice!

[scratchthejeepguy]

Wow, they look great! Your Tung Oil looks alot better than my Tung Oil.

[scratchthejeepguy]

I've decided to go get some Formby's tung oil instead of the Minwax stuff I was using. Formby's is what you're using on these parts right? I'm trying it first on my cheap 20 dollar chinese no name air rifle. I removed all the old orange paint or whatever it is, got some Rit dyes and dyed it a nice red. Put my first coat of Formby's tung oil on it tonight.

Did you sand after the coats dried or what? I'm concerned about going through the first coat of oil and sanding away some of the red dye. I was thinking about waiting until coat number 4 or so before hitting it with the steel wool. What did you do?

[Broondog]

I've decided to go get some Formby's tung oil instead of the Minwax stuff I was using. Formby's is what you're using on these parts right? I'm trying it first on my cheap 20 dollar chinese no name air rifle. I removed all the old orange paint or whatever it is, got some Rit dyes and dyed it a nice red. Put my first coat of Formby's tung oil on it tonight.

Did you sand after the coats dried or what? I'm concerned about going through the first coat of oil and sanding away some of the red dye. I was thinking about waiting until coat number 4 or so before hitting it with the steel wool. What did you do?

i would suggest using 0000 steel wool between each coat of tung oil.....after it dries of course....but just a light rubbing of the wool, enough to knock off any bumps. you are not trying to really remove anything but more to slightly smooth it out. also you might want to use a tack cloth as well to pick up and loose fibers before applying the next coat of oil.

NO SANDPAPER!

and remember, use plenty of elbow grease when rubbing the oil in. the purpose is to build up friction to create heat which the oil thrives on to get deep into the pores of the wood. that is how you get the depth you are searching for.