Shiny Stock?

[Grimord]

I managed to pick up a nice used .54 flint long rifle with some nice brass inlays and incised carving. Unfortunately, the builder finished the stock with what appears to be a gloss polyurethane. What, if anything, can I do to dull the finish short of stripping it altogether and starting from scratch?

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Rub with oil and rottenstone and/or pumice. Use a piece of felt to do the rubbing.

 

[Polecat_Tom]

The last gun that I built for someone else was back in the 80's. I had spent countless hours giving it a beautiful hand rubbed satin oil finish. I gave the guy the gun and he took it. On Monday, he brought it back in to work saying he hadn't liked the satin finish so he sprayed it with a high gloss lacquer. At that point, I said to myself I will never build another gun for someone else. No accounting for taste.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Beware - Buffing some polys and other finishes with something aggressive like rotten stone or gray ScotchBrite turns the finish WHITE.

You could dull it with a flat wax finish; can't recommend a brand, but try a floor wax, as they're not glossy so as to prevent slips & falls. This - to me - would be the simplest to try, especially if you had a floor wax on hand or could get some from a friend ... for free.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Rub with oil and rottenstone and/or pumice. Use a piece of felt to do the rubbing.

Pumice will give a softer shine since it's a little coarser than rottenstone.

 

[Brokennock]

Not a great solution, but, quick and very effective,,, Testors Dull-Coat.

 

[reddogge]

I have used pumice and BLO to cut the shine on some decoys I carved. It worked fine.

 

[ZUG]

All of the above suggestions are valid and may work better than some of the other suggestions. The best is to try each in an area that will give you what you are looking for. Pumice will usually cut faster than rottenstone. I also apply it with a felt pad or I take a wad of cotton ball wrapped in a piece of nylon stocking as my rubbing pad.