How to get a satin finish ?

[Rusty Spur 82]

I have 10 coats of BWC's Tru oil on my GPR's stock.What is the best way to get a satin finish to the stock.As is,I can see the cavities in my teeth.
Rusty Spur.

 

[Dave K]

You can lightly steel wool it back with something like 0000 steel wool, then even it back out with their stock sheene. Or apply a thinned coat of Tru-Oil and as it starts to get tacky, LIGHTlY, drag the surface.Easy and fast and a darn good finish. Another way is to just very lightly apply another coat again, but just use your finger tips to rub it in until it feels dry. DON'T apply it "wet" so it lays on the surface. With a little practice you can get any degree of satin, flat or gloss you want. Good stuff.

 

[Twice boom]

Give the finish a hand rub with pumice/rotten stone and light oil.
Twice.

 

[David W.]

Give the finish a hand rub with pumice/rotten stone and light oil.
Twice.

Same answer here. Hand rubbing, and lots of it.

 

[Capt. Fred]

If you use the rottenstone method, make sure to start rubbing very lightly. I mix it with linseed oil to a fairly thin consistency. Some say to mix it to the consistency of maple syrup but I go even thinner than that and I use my fingers so I can really feel what I'm doing. I'm still experimenting but the big thing I've learned so far is, even as fine as rottenstone is, it still cuts pretty quickly.

Someone told me to mix it so it was like margerine and it cut way too aggresively for my tastes so now I thin it way down with the oil and go slow and light. The more oil, the slower the cutting. Then wipe all the oil and debris off with an oily rag first and then a rag dampened with water. If you use linseed oil as a base, remember to keep the used rags in a bucket of water till disposed of.

It is one of those finese jobs that requires a good amount of paitence. At least for me LOL.

 

[BrownBear]

Before I did anything else, I'd let is sit for about two weeks in a nice warm place. In my 40+ years with Tru-Oil, it's easy to convince yourself that it's harder than it needs to be after you've worked so hard to get all those coats on. If it isn't 100% hard, it's going to roll, lift or peel when you start trying to dull the sheen.

Another problem is getting your "satin" even when using steel wool or rotten stone. It's easy to end up with thick and thin spots that won't show up till you've got some wear on the gun a year or two down the road.

My favorite thing for dulling is just about impossible to find any more, and I'm down to the end of mine. It was standard with the old gunsmith I worked for back in the 60's. It's the old fashioned powder-style toothpaste. Pat a damp cloth onto the dry powder, then use the cloth to "polish" the stock. The cloth is as good or better than steel wool for wrapping around curves and reaching into nooks and crannies.

In place of the tooth paste, I'm inclined to experiment with various rubbing compounds, even a fine valve grinding compound on the cloth. Haven't done it yet, but that's promising speculation.

 

[David W.]

That is one reaon I like Watco Danish oil finish becaue you don't get that "roll".

 

[BrownBear]

That is one reaon I like Watco Danish oil finish becaue you don't get that "roll".

Truth be known, that's the biggest reason I quit using TruOil a couple of years ago and switched to Formby's low gloss Tung Oil Finish. It comes in high gloss too, but the low gloss starts out pretty close to satin and takes very little effort to "satin-ize."

BTW- I'd probably still be using TruOil if I lived someplace warmer and drier. In our wet climate two weeks may not be enough time for TruOil to get hard enough to suit me. I'm talking multi-coat stretched finishes here and not glop finish jobs. I don't have any chemistry or written authority to back it up, but high humidity really does retard final hardening on TruOil.

 

[Twice boom]

Brownbear. A n old kitchen cabinet as drying box with a 60 watt light bulb will cure your drying woe’s.
Twice.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Put another coat of Tru-oil on the finish, and wait for five minutes for it to "set up". That is when it gets that glassy appearance. Now, lightly drag VERY CLEAN FINGERS across the surface of the wet finish, to break that SHEEN. Once broken, it will Not re-set. You end up with a nice satin, but NOT GLOSSY finish. You can dull it further with coarse rags( burlap?), or by putting coats of wax on the finish, and rubbing that down with coarse rags.

I can't recomment using steel wool to knock off the existing finish, because You really Have to KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, and use a VERY LIGHT TOUCH using even 0000 steel wool to do this successfully. Remember that steel wool has either a wax, or oil in it, to protect the steel fibers from rusting, so you have to deal with that substance in the wool, TOO, if you use it on an existing stock finish.

I also found that I could soak a rag with Alcohol, and rub the dried finish with it to dull the finish. I am sure the alcohol is lightly "melting" the surface of the finish before it evaporates, so "moderation in all things". is the guiding principle, here. That means long sweeps, and light touch. Its better to repeat this several times to get the desired satin finish, than to attempt to do it in one pass. :hmm: :thumbsup:

 

[Rusty Spur 82]

I may have goofed then.Before you posted,I had already lightly steel wooled the stock,using 0000,after only one day of drying.I got the cart ahead of the horse.What is this rolling that you men are talking about? I didn't notice anything strange when I steel wooled the stock.The finish wasn't even tacky when I did it.I have it hanging on a coat hanger in the basement in front of the gas furnace.There isn't any humidity here in Ohio to deal with now.
All of you are giving me great knowledge on what to do.Thank you.
Rusty Spur

 

[BrownBear]

What is this rolling that you men are talking about? I didn't notice anything strange when I steel wooled the stock.

Sounds like you're in fine shape. What I'm referring to (and I'll let the others do their own talking) is when you're getting little "rolls" or clumps of finish coming off as you steel wool rather than very fine dust. Think of rubber cement when it's dried and you're rolling it off your fingers or a table top. It's an issue here, but Ohio sounds prime for what you already did. Cool!

 

[Rusty Spur 82]

Brown Bear,
Thanks! The old worry wort in me had me scared.I though I really goofed up.I guess I am just anxious to put this rifle together but I do not try to hurry it to much.It's killing me though.The barrel is done and all that's left is final assembly and a photo.
Rusty Spur

 

[Bill Hall]

My first thought was just regular toothpaste on a rag. Maybe rub it into the rag and let it dry a little. I've never used it on a gunstock, but it works on metal. Just rub LIGHTLY. If anything, you'll have a Minty Fresh gun. Bill

 

[token tory]

Scrub it with a piece or two of burlap, or hessian.
No really, it gives a very nice satin finish.

 

[matt denison]

Tru Oil can be taken back with 0000 steel wool after 24 hours, wipe with a damp (NOT WET) rag, let dry, and then apply a coat of furniture wax. I use Johnson's paste wax. Apply two coats for safety sake. It will take care of the glossy glare. I've done it a millionzillion times. It's simple, easy, nothing special to buy, foolproof.

 

[rtdoug]

I don't know about Tru-Oil, but with Tung Oil finish as the final few coats build up to the depth I want, I will rub back with burlap.
This is after the 5-10 minute cure time that the directions call for.

 

[Birddog6]

I may have goofed then.Before you posted,I had already lightly steel wooled the stock,using 0000,after only one day of drying.I got the cart ahead of the horse.What is this rolling that you men are talking about? I didn't notice anything strange when I steel wooled the stock.The finish wasn't even tacky when I did it.I have it hanging on a coat hanger in the basement in front of the gas furnace.There isn't any humidity here in Ohio to deal with now.
All of you are giving me great knowledge on what to do.Thank you.
Rusty Spur

If the finish is not completely dry it will roll or ball up when you sand or steel wool it, instead of make dust.

Apparently yours is dry as it made dust, as it should have.

When you have what you want on it. Very Lightly steel wool it with 0000 steel wool, then wax it with Howards Paste Wax (Walnut colored) for that soft satin sheen & it is also water resistant. Being walnut colored, will not leave the white paste traces in all the cracks & etc.

As for the Tru-Oil not drying in some climates. Take about a teaspoon of Tru-oil & 3-4 drops of Japan Drier, mix, apply & it will then dry. Do the same with Tun-Oil when it won't dry.

Keith Lisle

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Tru-oil also cures well in the sun. :thumbsup:

 

[Birddog6]

Yes, very true. but I am not getting one down that far & take a chance of it laying out in the sun. Be my luck a bird would sh.. on it or a dog bump the table & knock it off or whatever..... :shake: That sucker stays clear in the back of the shop where NOBODY is allowed when I am finishing. :slap: I am not even allowed in there....... :nono:

Keith Lisle