Finishing a walnut stock...

[Bedford County Doc]

I'm using a mixture of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 tried-and-true, and 1/3 Marine Spar varnish to finish my Kibler Colonial stock. I applied five coats of this mixture. The last coat was still sticky after four days, so I tried gently heating it with a hair dryer without much success. So, I tried rubbing the finish down with just a hint of turpentine, which seemed to dry everything up. What do I do next? Add a couple of CCs of turpentine to my 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 mixture and rub it in again? Shift to a commercial mixture of beeswax and orange oil? Or maybe use Permalyn as a top coat? Most of the pores seem to be filled in because I used a dowel to vigorously burnish the wood prior to trying to finish it?

Thanks very much for your kind thoughts!
//Doc

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

I'm using a mixture of 1/3 turpentine, 1/3 tried-and-true, and 1/3 Marine Spar varnish to finish my Kibler Colonial stock. I applied five coats of this mixture. The last coat was still sticky after four days, so I tried gently heating it with a hair dryer without much success. So, I tried rubbing the finish down with just a hint of turpentine, which seemed to dry everything up. What do I do next? Add a couple of CCs of turpentine to my 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 mixture and rub it in again? Shift to a commercial mixture of beeswax and orange oil? Or maybe use Permalyn as a top coat? Most of the pores seem to be filled in because I used a dowel to vigorously burnish the wood prior to trying to finish it?

Thanks very much for your kind thoughts!
//Doc

Don't know about that mixture, but I would not put any more coats of finish untill you cure up the sticky.
I use polymerized tung oil. No muss no fuss.
Good luck
Larry

 

[The Crisco Kid]

How long did you let the first coat dry? It takes a lot longer than you might think for it to completely dry. A good rule is if you can smell it on the stock it's not dry. Adding the top coats too soon adds to the problem.

 

[Bedford County Doc]

The sticky stuff went away after I rubbed it down with a piece of cloth faintly damp with turpentine. That was 24 hours ago, and the stock feels smooth to the touch now.

 

[harleysboss]

I just completed a TC Hawken stock refinish using your described finish (1-1-1). I ran into a similar situation with my 3 or 4th coat. I added just a touch more turpentine for the final coat. It helped with curing time. I don’t think you need to do anything for a final coat. I let mine set for about a week or 10 days and didn’t mess with it. Finish is fully cured. Here’s a picture

 

[rchas]

It sounds like you are applying too much finish at one time. Thick coats of finish don't polymerize well; that's why it feels sticky.

Dip in a finger tip, put a couple of drops on the stock, rub it into a 3-4 inch square area with the heel of your hand until you feel some heat, then do another 3-4 inches. Set it down for few days until as Crisco Kid says you can't smell it. Then repeat the process.

It will take some time, but repeated hand rubbed thin coats will get you what you want.

 

[1950DAVE]

Until you can’t smell turps, hmmmm.

 

[SeaBee133]

It sounds like you are applying too much finish at one time. Thick coats of finish don't polymerize well; that's why it feels sticky.

Dip in a finger tip, put a couple of drops on the stock, rub it into a 3-4 inch square area with the heel of your hand until you feel some heat, then do another 3-4 inches. Set it down for few days until as Crisco Kid says you can't smell it. Then repeat the process.

It will take some time, but repeated hand rubbed thin coats will get you what you want.

Just had the same issue with Tru-Oil on a fairly nice supposedly walnut stock. 3rd coat took over a week to cure up enough to handle. 4th coat was applied, rubbed in and ready for a 5th coat within 4-5 hours. Same bottle for the last 3 coats. Dark amber versus the usual clear. No dyes or thinners, just straight out of the several years old bottle.
Only difference was a tropical depression came through 2 days after coat 3, and dropped close to 7” of rain in 72 hours.
Stock in question, IF walnut, is black walnut sapwood, or lower end thin shell (English). Instantly oxidized to light ochre when air hit fresh scraping/sanding. Nice random curl in a couple spots, and some mineral lines. Older (late 1940s) USA built.