I am on my first gunstock refinish (Tru-oil in this case) so i'm no expert but, have also read everything I could get my eyes on and asked for help from experienced wood guys along the way... I came to the conclusion that if you want the best the wood has to offer in terms of figure and the luster of a hand rubbed oil finish, wet sanding to fill in the pores should be done with paper lubricated with water once the wood has been sealed. Using finish as lubricant to fill pores would seem to continue the build-up of finish on top of the sealer coat before the first true topcoat is applied and therefore adds thickness to the finish that obscures all of that fine sanding you I just worked so hard on. The water allows the excess slury that is not being completely forced into the pores to be wiped away in successive stages of the pore filling process by wet sanding. I started with 320 wet/dry paper until the sealer coat was carefully taken down to the surface of the wood but no further. At this point - the first wet sand - I left a light layer of the slurry to dry on the stock to preserve a little bit of the slurry material for the next pass (again with 320). The surface will take on a dull grey appearance and look terrible but this is OK! Shiny spots will reveal areas where there sealer coat remains and thus unfilled pores and I had to wet sand these areas in particular on the second pass with 320 and rub the slurry into the pores in these areas wiping most of the slurry away to leave that dry, dull grey appearance everywhere. Once I achieved this state, I moved up to 400 lubricated with water and carefully wet sanded and wiped all slurry off still leaving a dull grey surface but have not cut below the wood surface where this would reopen the pores. I went to 600 again lubricated with water as this particular stock seemed to need it but this may not be necessary for your particular stock although I'm convinced that it is what made the difference in creating an ultra smooth surface and well filled pores on my stock. At this point after completely dry, I lightly went over the stock with 0000 steel wool to knock off any remaining dried on slury to a uniform dull surface with completely filled pores. The figure and grain of the wood is obscured a bit by the dull surface at this point but sealed. The only oil finish at this point is in the wood - not on top of it. The first topcoat of Tru-oil went on very thin but beautifully and the figure really popped. After the first topcoat dried, I lightly went over the entire surface with clean 0000 steel wool. Before applying the next coat of oil, I blow off the surface and wipe it down with a tack cloth to remove any steel wool particles that could be left on the stock. I used steel wool between each top coat to remove any light finger prints or imperfections. If nothing to remove, I figure it gives the next topcoat a good surface to adhere to. My stock is currently curing with 10 very thin coats of Tru-oil as this seemed to be all it needed and I want it to be as thin as possible without sacrificing protection. My plan is to do the final rub-out with Brownell's 3F pumice as that's what I have on hand and figure if I don't like the results I can add additional topcoats and try rubbing out with rottenstone or another method such as denim or nylon to see if I can get the hand-rubbed finish I desire. The whole process has been a lesson in patience but learning about the craft of fine woodwork and experimentation with various finishing techniques and materials has been very rewarding. This gun will be ultimately finished with a leather covered pad and given to my nephew later this year for his 15th birthday and first shotgun in time for opening day.
Last edited by jmc; 03/11/13 11:13 AM.
