Looking for help finishing walnut stock

[fahopity]

I have a nice American walnut stock that I am about ready to finish. I need some advice about fillers and stain. It has a lot of pores/open grain. I am going to use tru-oil as a finish and either a water or alcohol based stain. So having said all that I guess I need advice on fillers, what works, and how to use them. Stain first then filler or filler first then stain. Is sanding sealer the same as a filler? Rookie here looking for help.
Thanks in advance
Fahopity

 

[Len Graves]

You don't have to use fillers with walnut, however you willneedtodo many many coats and sand in between eventually filling thoseores with dried oil. So filler fills the pores witha very fine powder. I mix my stain and filler on walnut let it dry clean filler as directed then use the tru oil as directed. I Bieleve sanding filler is filler that can be sanded with a fine grit paper or steel wool after drying. On this last point you experts feel free to correct me

 

[Len Graves]

Gee sorry I ran my words together. Hope you can make some sense of what I was trying to convey.

 

[necchi]

When I'm running tru-oil or similar on open grained wood like Walnut, I just rub the first several coats "cross grain" while it's still a bit tacky.
I'm never in a hurry to apply finish coats on guns so taking time to sand lightly between and rub a few extra coats isn't a big deal for me.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I like a 50/50 mixture of "old Masters Grain Filler" and walnut oil on walnut stocks for the first coat. And then a pure tung oil for additional coats. The main thing about oil finishes is to let the coats thoroughly dry before doing another coat. all are available through woodworking supply places. :idunno:

 

[kaintuck]

Len,
I like to apply my sealer coat with OOOO steel wool, and these aren't heavy coats....but rubbed in before it dries well....then let it dry, and repeat till you fill those grain valleys....I like spar varnish, plain ol Wally World stuff.....it looks satin, and it will last into the 24th century :stir:

 

[curiousgb]

I haven't done a flintlock but I have restocked some modern rifles. With walnut I use a wet/dry sandpaper dipped in finish to make a slurry of sorts. The slurry is used to fill the pores of the wood. I let the slurry coat dry and do the same again. This will fill the pores. I then sand or steel wool back and apply more finish.

 

[Zonie]

Several thoughts here:

Usually, walnut doesn't need any stain to look good. Of course, what's good and what's not good is a matter of opinion so here's my suggestion.

Before you stain or seal or do anything except the final whiskering, take the stock out into the bright sunlight along with a wet wash rag.

Wet the wood and give it a look, both up close and at a little distance.

While the wood is still wet, the darkness and color are exactly what the wood will look like if you do nothing but apply a good finishing oil.

If you like what you see, forget the stain. If you don't, then have at it with the stain but be sure to use only water based or alcohol based stains. Do NOT use an oil based stain like Minwax.

IMO, wood sealer is not needed for a good gunstock finish. The finishing oil will do everything needed without applying a sealer.

If you do apply a sealer, remember, it seals the wood so all staining must be done before using it.

As for filling the open pores, some people like them left open. As you asked about filling them I assume you don't.

I've used Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Filler and it works fine.
A cheaper way to fill the grain is to apply a small amount of the finishing oil and then sand the area with some 120 or 220 grit sandpaper.

The sanding dust will mix with the oil and fill the open pores.

Yes, it takes some time to use this method but it works well and its only expense is a little sandpaper.

 

[Pete G]

Its a bit radical, but Rustolem flat black paint sprayed on the stock and then sanded back level will really make walnut pop.

 

[BigBoreBLR]

You got plenty of test spots inside the barrel channel.

Also, If you buy a stock from a place that makes stocks. Always ask for a couple of sample pieces. They always have a few small chunks of wood they cut out when making the stock. Like the curve on the butt when they fit the piece in for your parts and length of pull.

I've done the paint thing to spice up wood for a more exotic finish. I done it on hemlock and fir, but never walnut.

Sand up the inside channel for some test spots.

 

[frogwalking]

All the above advice is good, and it does depend on what look you want to achieve. I have stained a walnut stock with aqua fortis, then used Chambers black filler to get a stock that looked very good, but possibly very old. I think this treatment looks better on a flintlock firearm than a natural walnut. Either way is ok.

 

[fahopity]

Thanks everybody.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Its a bit radical, but Rustolem flat black paint sprayed on the stock and then sanded back level will really make walnut pop.

Any pictures?

 

[30coupe]

Several thoughts here:

Usually, walnut doesn't need any stain to look good. Of course, what's good and what's not good is a matter of opinion so here's my suggestion.

Before you stain or seal or do anything except the final whiskering, take the stock out into the bright sunlight along with a wet wash rag.

Wet the wood and give it a look, both up close and at a little distance.

I recommend wetting it with mineral spirits rather than water. Mineral spirits drys quickly and won't raise the grain, but you still get a good look at what the wood will look like.

While the wood is still wet, the darkness and color are exactly what the wood will look like if you do nothing but apply a good finishing oil.

If you like what you see, forget the stain. If you don't, then have at it with the stain but be sure to use only water based or alcohol based stains. Do NOT use an oil based stain like Minwax.

Hmmm. I have to ask why no Minwax. I've used it on both furniture I built and guns (see pic below) without issue. I used dark walnut Minwax under about 8 coats of Truoil on my Hawken and it really made the grain pop. So, can you explain the reason for avoiding Minwax?

IMO, wood sealer is not needed for a good gunstock finish. The finishing oil will do everything needed without applying a sealer.

If you do apply a sealer, remember, it seals the wood so all staining must be done before using it.

As for filling the open pores, some people like them left open. As you asked about filling them I assume you don't.

I've used Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Filler and it works fine.
A cheaper way to fill the grain is to apply a small amount of the finishing oil and then sand the area with some 120 or 220 grit sandpaper.

The sanding dust will mix with the oil and fill the open pores.

Yes, it takes some time to use this method but it works well and its only expense is a little sandpaper.

I much prefer this method to fillers. Another reason to avoid fillers is that they often contain silica, which fills the pores but is hell on checkering tools. :cursing:

Here are a couple shots of my Hawken.





I can't complain about the Minwax, but I'd like to know if there is a reason to avoid it on gunstocks in the future. :hmm:

 

[Zonie]

My dislike for Minwax and other oil based stains is it quickly fills the wood with oil which prevents the use of more than a few coats.

This isn't necessarily a problem with walnut where a few coats are adequate to do the job but if someone is wanting to stain a blond wood like maple (or in the case of some Spanish guns, Beech) they can find themselves with half the darkness they want and no way to make it darker.

The alcohol based stains can have an unlimited number of coats applied and each one will give additional darkness, color or character to the finished stock.

'Course, this is just my opinion and worth every cent it cost. :grin:

 

[30coupe]

My dislike for Minwax and other oil based stains is it quickly fills the wood with oil which prevents the use of more than a few coats.

This isn't necessarily a problem with walnut where a few coats are adequate to do the job but if someone is wanting to stain a blond wood like maple (or in the case of some Spanish guns, Beech) they can find themselves with half the darkness they want and no way to make it darker.

The alcohol based stains can have an unlimited number of coats applied and each one will give additional darkness, color or character to the finished stock.

'Course, this is just my opinion and worth every cent it cost. :grin:

Great answer! I know I've had some frustration with oil based stains on lighter furniture. I just used the oil stain on the walnut to bring out the colors a bit instead of the flat brown one often sees on walnut factory stocks. It worked for that, but I can see where using it on a lighter stock would cause some grief. Some furniture makers use dies rather than stains on light colored wood to bring out the figure as well.

Do you have any particular brands/sources for stains?

Thanks!

Russ