A question about oil finishing

[user 31336]

First off, Merry Christmas, everybody!

I am new to the forum and ML in general.

This is actually my first post. I'm nearing completion of a Jim Kibler Colonial rifle in .50, and I have just used Aquafortis on the stock after prepping it, and used a heat gun to blush it. It brought out a nice dark reddish brown finish, as I had hoped, and I also used a little nut brown stain cut pretty heavily with denatured alcohol after the Aquafortis treatment.

I'm ready to start the oil finish part. I'm going to use Jim Chamber's Traditional Oil Stock finish.

My question is, after applying the first coat of oil finish, which I plan to rub in with a maroon Mirka "Scotchbrite" type pad, should I be concerned with immediately re installing the metal parts back on the stock? Barrel, trigger guard, etc.?

The instruction sheet that came with the Aquafortis advised doing that, with the warning that as the stock soaks up oil, the wood may swell within minutes, and the metal parts may not fit as they did prior to the oil application.

Is that what everyone does? If so, then do you remove the metal parts for each subsequent coat and repeat the process? I haven't seen anyone mention anything like that in any threads, and I haven't been able to find any threads about applying the finish to the stock, so I thought I'd ask.

Thanks!
Anthony

 

[Don Steele]

Anthony,
I've only gone through the process you describe one time, so I'm not responding based on years of experience. When I got to the point you're at, with my can of Chambers Traditional Oil Finish on the bench...I called Jim Chambers with a couple of questions. One of the things he told me was to "slather on" the first coat of his oil pretty heavily. He told me he uses something like the old liquid shoe polish applicators to get plenty of oil into the wood on the first coat. He also recommended 3, maybe 4 (tops) total coats if I remember correctly. He cautioned against multiple thin coats. Doing so apparently doesn't protect the wood deeply enough. Patience between coats is mandatory or you end up with a gooey mess.
Lastly, once again based on my limited experience...After the oil finish, it's now time for multiple coats of GOOD wax. I use Renaissance Wax. A buddy of mine recommended "something like 6 coats of wax". I applied 4 coats before starting to see much change. Went on to 6 and it really made a difference.
Your experience may vary, but that was mine.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
The wood will swell a little as well as finish will build up in the mortices. I don't worry much about it. I sometimes have inlays that get permanently attached that are in place before finishing. Others, like ramrod pipes, butt plate, trigger guard, I leave off until most of the final finish is built up. Then I install them and may have to scrape the edges of the mortices a little to clear out finish and wood to fit them. It is not hard to do but you just need to be careful. It also teaches you that inlays and mortices do not have to be really tight when first cut. Wood swell will close any little gaps.

dave

 

[user 31336]

Thank you, Don and Dave!

Great tips!

Don, with regard to putting on a heavy coat especially for the first coat, how long do you leave that on before rubbing off the excess, or do you just let the thick coat soak in without removing any excess? How long did you wait between the coats of oil?

Also, I ordered some of that Renaissance wax. Do you need to wait between applications of the wax?

Merry Christmas!
Anthony

 

[user 31336]

Well I put the first heavy coat on, and I see that it gets soaked into the stock, so for about 20 minutes, I applied more to areas that started to show dry spots, and I realize it’s probably best to not wipe off any excess, it rather let it soak in for 24 hrs.

It already looks amazing! I can see amazing figuring and that 3D “cat’s eyes” quality to the maple. Aquafortis and Chamber’s Nut Brown stain work beautifully together, IMO.

I’m wondering if I should sand lightly before putting the 2nd and 3rd coats on, or just apply the coats right over the previous coat once it’s dried?

 

[Phil Coffins]

I haven’t used Chambers oil but a few other types. I slop it on heavy like you’ve done then before it sets up I wipe the excess off. Time depending upon the oil but 5-10 minutes generally. Then wait 24 hours and reapply till a bit sheen is showing. More coats are put on by just a drip here and there and rubbed in lightly till all is even. I go for minimum build up. For a stained wood I don’t sand between coats but if there’s too much build up rubbing with steel wool can be done.

 

[Scota4570]

Do not sand! You will break through the AF stain and have a problem. You will also mess up the wood to metal fit.

Put the metal parts back on before you proceed.

Leave the butplate, first ramrod pipe, lock plate and side plate in place during the finishing. When you rub back with the Scotchbrite you will round over unprotected edges if you leave them off. That will break through the AF stain and leave a white area. Once it is oiled you can not re apply and blush the AF. Rounded edges and proud metal looks bad too. Applying the finish with the parts in place will fill any imperfections of fit to make it look perfect. Do not sand the metal into the wet finish. Clean up the metal after with your Scotchbrite. It leaves a nice blended satin look.

 

[Darkhorse]

I've done several with Chamber's oil, all of them with LMF stains, none yet with AF. But this is my process, I remove all the metal that can be removed first. Then I finish whiskering the stock followed by a good vacum then a wipe down with a wet cloth. If the whiskers are gone then I repeat the vacum and wet cloth, this is just to get as much sawdust as possible off the wood. Then using a clean soft cloth I really slop the finish on until the wood stops absorbing it, I also get the stain as deep as I can into all holes incuding the lock mortice, then when no more is being absorbed and it's just puddlin' on the surface I use a clean, lint free, cotton cloth and wipe all the surface finish off. This gets the finish into all the pores in the wood and helps to seal it. I let it dry 24 hours.
Next a very light sanding with 400 or 600 sandpaper, vacum and wipe with damp cloth. You can either wipe a little on at a time with your fingers or a cloth dipped in finish, then rub it out with your palm until it gets warm. Wait another 24 hours and do it again, I also check for runs and sand them out early in the process. I apply 8 finish coats in this manner. I have one rifle finished this way 20 years ago and the finish has help up really well.
After the final coat I rub it out good with a clean cloth, or to mute the shine I use a scrub pad. Then apply several coats of wax.
You can see different people use different methods to get basically the same results.
This rifle was done about 15 years ago, the photo was taken a few years later, the shine was knocked back a bit because it was built to be a turkey rifle.

 

[user 31336]

Thank you, Phil, Scott and a Darkhorse!

I appreciate the tips and advice!

 

[Don Steele]

Lots of great advice here. The hardest part for me was the wait between coats of the oil finish. MINIMUM 24 hrs.

 

[Col. Batguano]

Did you neutralize your AF yet? You need to do that before you put your finish on, or else it will continue to darken over the years. Some people use a baking soda paste, some household ammonia, and some use lye.
(and also make the curl pop a bit more) but you need to hose the stock down really good before it dries, or else you will have something of a chore to get the lye dust out of there. Also, with lye, if you use a really strong concentrate be very careful with that stuff. Lye burns can be just as nasty as acid burns, and of course, can blind you if it gets in your eyes.

 

[Darkhorse]

I just want to add this, If you leave the can of finish standing upright it will harden from the top down and be useless not far down the road. However if you keep as much air as possible from the finish by pouring a small amount in a bowl then sealing the can, less air gets to the finish. And most important, store your can upside down this way it hardens from the top also but the remainder is usable.

 

[Scota4570]

No need to Neutralize store bought AF (Iron Nitrate) stains. If you made it from nitric acid and old nails that is different.

https://kiblerslongrifles.com/collections/finishing-supplies/products/iron-nitrate-gun-stock-stain

 

[user 31336]

I just want to thank everyone for the great tips and help. I finished my rifle build, and I learned a lot in the process. It’s certainly far from perfect, and I now know many ways to improve on my next build through the experience of building this first one. Oh, and there will definitely be a next build, as this build was a TON of fun. I am pretty happy with how it came out, and I owe you all many thanks for your help and advice!

I still need to go back and work on smoothing out and finishing the lock, but I had to let that wait since I am entourage to PA now, to try to get a deer with it.

Anthony

 

[Phil Coffins]

That’s going to be a dandy when you’re done! Good luck on your hunt.

 

[Black Hand]

I removed all the parts (Including thimbles, butt, trigger-guard), added a coat of Chambers oil, waited and rubbed off the excess with a cloth. Allow to dry, lightly scuff with 0000 steel wool, wipe to remove dust, add a light coat (I use a piece of cotton flannel), allow to dry and repeat until you have good coverage. I scraped excess finish in the inlets and reattached the parts after everything was dry.

 

[Brokennock]

That came out beautifully. Some very, very, nice work.