Gordon R Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 I am just in the process of doing the stock / forend on my Miroku. I have previously done stocks with Casey's Tru-oil. Not a bad finish, but a bit shiny and thick. This time, I want to take my time and do it properly. My previous mistake was stripping the stock etc one weekend in order to have it ready for the next. I have read a bit about Alkanet stain and then grain filler. Is there a choice of what to do next - ie Trade Secret Wax or Oil? Any help genuinely appreciated. I am a master of second rate stock finishes, but aspire to get one right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 i did try the alkanet 'oil' which i found to be more stain like, very dark red in colour and really saturated the wood and frankly ruined the figure. i have also tried plain tru oil, tru oil water based stain (very dark..... good for pieces of wood which wont accept oil or colour) However what i have learnt over time is this: If you have a rubbish piece of wood underneath, 99% of the time you wont get a better finish than the manufactor put on it. Most of them i believe spray on a finish with a colour in it. This is why if you strip what appears to be a lovely dark piece of walnut, and it then turns into a white piece of walnut, you can never get colour back into it. however i would expect your miroku to havea reasonable quality wood on it. On my latest stock i simply used some hand rubbing oil with some wet and dry 1500 paper for 5 or 6 coats (to 'fill' the grain) and then applied a further 10ish coats of oil and some wax. End result is below. This one came out well (in my opinion) simply due to the quality of wood underneath. My cz got stained due to the poor quality wood underneath, and although it is now a much mroe pleasing dark colour, the figure in the stock has been lost. Best thing to do in my opinion is try a little test patch on the inside of the forend to see how well the oil takes to the wood. If plain hand rubbing oil takes well then just use that. It is as good as any of these fancy things sold in gunshops. The oil i used is called English Walnut preparation. --- The bottom Pic shows the shade of the wood in the white, before it had seen any oil at all. Just to give you an idea of how well the oil took. Never worked on a piece of wood like this stock had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palombier Posted October 10, 2006 Report Share Posted October 10, 2006 Gordon It's your call as to whether the wood is good enough. Dunganick is right if it's pretty featureless then no amount of preparation and treatment is going to make it better. First sand down to600/800grit wet and dry from 180. Steam out the dents if any, between paper grades.Then use Alkanet root oil to put colour into the wood and bring out the best of the grain; it is used by most of the best English gunmakers. 2- 3 applications should suffice. Then apply the finish every day for between 4 and 5 weeks. Any of the proprietary 'gun oils' should do. The secret is to put the minimum, (you only need the smallest amount) on each day and rub in well. Feel free toPM me if you are unsure. Regards P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppythedog Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 I agree with Dunganick, be very careful with alkanet oil, it can result in a very dark wood as I found out recently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flytie Posted October 11, 2006 Report Share Posted October 11, 2006 I have tried the CCL kit and the Napier one too. Of them both I prefer the Napier London Gunstock Finish Kit. It comes with all the instructions and more than enough materials for more than one gun. For £25.00 you cannot go wrong! Ft Link to previous post; http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/ind...hl=stock+finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iainwt Posted October 13, 2006 Report Share Posted October 13, 2006 i used some french polish on my bettensoli came out quite well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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