Walnut SMR finish

[Big_Rubber_Duck]

Hello all,

I finally put my order in for a 45 cal Kibler SMR in Walnut. I am looking at what sort of finishes you all have done for walnut stocks, and pictures are always appreciated. I plan to stay away from any stains since it seems walnut generally does not need any staining. Part of me wants a traditional finish for the stock, but the other part of me wants a durable finish, and I have plenty of time to decide while I wait for the kit.

 

[Phil Coffins]

BWC Tru-Oil is a good product that can give a durable finish to any degree of shine.
IMG_0841 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[ppb]

The finish on this walnut stock is Homer Formby's version of tung oil.
Seems to be holding up...

 

[CyrusP]

I’m hoping to take and post pics tomorrow of my walnut Kibler SMR I just finished a few days back. I did an extremely basic finish of 2 coats Laurel Mountain Forge Permalyn finish after a basic sanding. Sanding, coat of LMF, let dry 3-plus hours and another coat. That’s all I did. I liked what I saw and assembled. I KNOW this is not standard but it looks how I like. A basic, 19th/20th century utilitarian military finish with open grain. Here’s a quick pic. My photo quality is bad and while it looks a bit fuzzy, it’s not in reality.

 

[The Appalachian]

One coat Minwax red oak stain, several coats of BLO with Japan Drier, and when fully cured a couple coats of Axe Wax. Beautiful aged and very durable finish on walnut. Crappy cell phone pics don't do it any justice so i rarely bother.

 

[longcruise]

My first walnut stock was stained then finished with Tro Oil. The stain was a bad idea! The wood character was hidden. Not that it had a lot of character.

A coupe years later I aggressively sanded out and went with TruOil only. Looked much better.

Also consider a sanding sealer to fill the open grain.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I am a fan of walnut sealer first, I use the Birchwood Casey stuff, I think walnut looks better without the open pores. The grain sealer dries in a few minutes, I put on a few coats and sand the wood back to bare, more coats and sanding gets all the pores sealed.

I follow the sealer with Tru oil put on with a piece of scotch bright pad and scrubbed in, then wipe the excess off Tru-oil off before it gets tacky, 5 or 6 coats should do and will leave you with a very nice satin finish.

First coat of sealer on a TC make-over.

After 4 coats of sealer;

5 light coats of Tru-oil applied with a piece of scotch bright pad after sealing the stock.

Here is a Kibler I finished the same way;

 

[satwel]

My recommendation is Jim Chambers oil finish. I used it on a walnut stocked Jaeger I built during the pandemic and it turned out very nice. In addition to being easy to use, the finish is durable and not too shiny.

 

[1BadDart]

I like Minwax satin wipe on poly.

 

[longcruise]

I use that on bows. Maybe I should try it on a stock.??

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

I too LOVE the modern 'wiping varnishes' and use those made by Arm-R-Seal, that many fine custom furniture makers use. You can 'repair' any spot from damage or other and you will NOT see any difference to the wood finish. I build up the coats with gloss and then use 2-3 final coats in satin.

Now to make ordinary walnut POP, I used the trick touted by Mike Brooks, where I put on 1-2 thin wiping varnish coats, depending on how 'porey' your stock is, then spray paint it with flat black spray paint. And once good and dry, I then rub it off with a gray (fine or ultra-fine) scotchbrite pad, not to leave it ‘aged’ in some handling areas like some people do, but to leave it in the pores, as walnut is know for having open pores.

This method fills the pores, but also adds color and/or contrast. This stock here was ultra plain prior to this finishing treatment, meaning any pattern inherent in the butt stock wood was barely visible. Look at her now ... now it loks like something!

 

[Steve Martin]

I have never heard of that type of stock finishing, sounds interesting for the many "plain wood" stocks out there. I may have to try that on one of my own someday.

 

[FlinterNick]

I seal with Danish Oil, using a sanding slurry.

Then I use hard top varnish in three steps varnish to reducer 40/60, 50/50 and then full varnish.

I work down the varnish with 400 grit paper and water until the entire stock is pearly white, then I hand rub in linseed oil for the final pop.

 

[donjp]

I recently used Jim Chambers gun stock oil, and was quite pleased. Easy to work with, and with multiple coats I was able to achieve the desired sheen. I used 4 coats.

 

[Bad Karma]

I am a fan of walnut sealer first, I use the Birchwood Casey stuff, I think walnut looks better without the open pores. The grain sealer dries in a few minutes, I put on a few coats and sand the wood back to bare, more coats and sanding gets all the pores sealed.

I follow the sealer with Tru oil put on with a piece of scotch bright pad and scrubbed in, then wipe the excess off Tru-oil off before it gets tacky, 5 or 6 coats should do and will leave you with a very nice satin finish.

First coat of sealer on a TC make-over.

View attachment 146097

After 4 coats of sealer;

View attachment 146098

5 light coats of Tru-oil applied with a piece of scotch bright pad after sealing the stock.

View attachment 146099

Here is a Kibler I finished the same way;

View attachment 146103

Those are pretty and pretty much how I feel about open grain as well. Plus you can fill with a darker died sealer and give the grain a extra pop! Very nice work there.

 

[30coupe]

I am a fan of walnut sealer first, I use the Birchwood Casey stuff, I think walnut looks better without the open pores. The grain sealer dries in a few minutes, I put on a few coats and sand the wood back to bare, more coats and sanding gets all the pores sealed.

I follow the sealer with Tru oil put on with a piece of scotch bright pad and scrubbed in, then wipe the excess off Tru-oil off before it gets tacky, 5 or 6 coats should do and will leave you with a very nice satin finish.

First coat of sealer on a TC make-over.

View attachment 146097

I've used that before and it works, but be aware the filler is quite abrasive unless they've changed the formula, so any carving or checkering needs to be done first. That stuff will dull tools in short order otherwise. I agree with Eric though, it is undoubtedly the simplest and easiest way to fill pores in walnut.

For wood that I plan to checker, I've used Tru-Oil and "wet sanded" it to create a slurry on the stock. Let it dry, then sand it back to pretty much bare wood. It usually takes a couple or three times or so to get all the pores filled, but the wood dust has no effect on checkering tools and accomplishes the same thing, although it certainly takes longer.

 

[MN284]

I am in the process of finishing an unmentionable with a walnut stock. My plan is to use walnut stain before finishing. My question is what comes first? Stain, then filler and sealer, then either BLO or Tru Oil? Or does the stain go on after the sealer and filer? In the past I have not used filler or sealer, just stain and BLO. Thanks.

Tom

 

[tenngun]

Hello all,

I finally put my order in for a 45 cal Kibler SMR in Walnut. I am looking at what sort of finishes you all have done for walnut stocks, and pictures are always appreciated. I plan to stay away from any stains since it seems walnut generally does not need any staining. Part of me wants a traditional finish for the stock, but the other part of me wants a durable finish, and I have plenty of time to decide while I wait for the kit.

Traditional are very durable.
Linseed oil is a pia to apply. And slow. But it’s in the wood, not just on top.
Not saying it’s the best, but you look at the amount of old besses and WBTS guns, still good wood. Dont discount traditional finishes

 

[billraby]

For American walnut I start with Permalyn sealer. The I do a few coats of Tru-Oil. After that go over it with steel wool and then Johnsons Paste Wax. For European walnut I skip the Permalyn.

 

[The Appalachian]

I am in the process of finishing an unmentionable with a walnut stock. My plan is to use walnut stain before finishing. My question is what comes first? Stain, then filler and sealer, then either BLO or Tru Oil? Or does the stain go on after the sealer and filer? In the past I have not used filler or sealer, just stain and BLO. Thanks.

Tom

I really like Red Oak stain on my unmentionable lever guns.

Stain, let fully cure. Create a hot box if you can to speed it up. Then add Japan Drier to BLO and just start applying a coat a day, letting it cure out in the hot box. Between coats lightly scuff with 3M 000 synthetic steel wool. Don't scuff so deep you affect the stain. Eventually you'll reach a point that the grain is filling, fill to your desire. I like to leave some of it open so I don't completely fill it. Just looks like plastic to me. I like the old timey look.

Don't pay any attention to these amateurs that say BLO is slow, or hard to use, or doesn't protect enough, or whatever. Japan Drier and a hot box are the key. A coat a day and it cures plenty hard for a workhorse stock finish.