David,
I didn't quite understand your question?
Do you want an explanation of how to get an 'in the wood finish' or do you want a quick 'on the wood finish'that looks like an 'in the wood finish'
I'm not sure myself!
I'm fishing for general information on what type of finishes and application techniques are out there that will result in either an in the wood finish or something resembling it, so that I can try some out in prep for a gun I'm working on.
I like the look of what I'm calling an "in-the-wood" finish, which to me looks like it's a satin finish that is not built up at all--I see it most often on some Beretta 68X "oil finish" guns, but I really have never even laid eyes on a truly fine oil finish to see what it is supposed to look like. Most of the guns I see with this finish have partly un-filled pores, but I still like the look more than a "built up" finish where you can tell that the finish itself has some thickness to it, and which often glosses up in shine through use.
I do not want to use a true linseed-oil finish nor spend a year applying, waiting, rubbing, etc. I am not necessarily looking for a "shortcut" per se, but am interested in what goes into making a quality in the wood finish, and a quality (if that's possible) 'on the wood finish'that looks like an 'in the wood finish', and what the advantages and disadvantages are of each...
This is to go on a hunting gun that'll see fairly hard use for two months of the year, and rarely used the other 10 months. I've used true-oil on several stocks and find it is hard to get thin enough to avoid building up, and it has not gotten as hard as I would have liked, so buffing it out shows the fine scratches as a slight "haze" on the surface. I'd like to try some other finish, but do not want to have to track down "eye of newt" or any other scarce ingredients to make my own...so an off the shelf finish is what I'm after, and some ideas about how to apply it.
Thanks,
Dave
