Will this finish work OK?

[noahmercy]

I'm about to finish my GPR stock. It is a pretty piece of walnut with quite a lot of dark figure on the right side. I want to keep the contrast like it is, avoid severe darkening, and end up with a satin/low-gloss finish. Weather resistance is a low priority. (I will wax the stock with carnauba/beeswax to keep water and snow off.)

My thought is to use a few coats of tung oil and finish with a coat of Birchwood Casey Tru Oil.

Is this workable? I have limited space and tools to work with (not to mention limited woodworking competence ). I want something simple, relatively quick, and easy to maintain/repair. (I had planned on using Lin-Speed oil, but was warned that walnut may darken overmuch from the linseed oil.)

I surely do appreciate your input, folks. :thumbsup:

 

[rusty]

I think if you use tung oil it will be just fine.I don't think you need to use the tru oil at all, just use the tung oil then wax it if you want.I :m2c: finished my GPR with linseed oil it turned out fine as well.good luck...rusty

 

[Zonie]

As Rusty says, you can use just the Tung Oil.
I should mention that both Tru-Oil and Tung Oil will darken the wood on the first coat.
To see what it will really look like, take the stock outside into the sun and apply some water to the surface. The darkness and color will be what the finished gun will look like. After the wet stock has dried, lightly sand the wood with the grain with 220 grit (or finer) sandpaper to remove the rough "whiskers" that will rise.
(IMO, you should wet the whole stock and lightly sand off the whiskers at least twice before you apply any oil to the wood.)*

If you want to use just the Tung Oil, apply as much as the wood will absorb and then let it sit for at least 12 hours. Do this several times.
This will leave the wood with an "open grain" look. In other words, it will not fill the millions of open pores on the surface of the wood.
Many people like this look, and if you do, your all set.

The TruOil will also be absorbed but it typically drys leaving a hard non porus surface. If you want a smooth non porous surface, multiple coats of Tru-Oil will fill the grain.

If you want to fill the grain faster, you can apply the Tru-Oil using fine "wet/dry" sandpaper. The small amount of wood removed by the sandpaper will mix with the oil and fill the open grains.

If you use the Tru-Oil and don't like the glossy finish it produces, you can lightly rub it down with #0000 steel wool.
That will make a waterproof, non glossy finish.

* These are the kind of things that make your home made gun much better than the factory guns. They can't afford to do things like multiple whiskering on production guns.

 

[hobbles]

Noah Mercy
Mornin to ya,,
Ya know Saddle soap will do all that you are after, and it will make it Weather resistance,,

 

[noahmercy]

Thankee, gents, for your kind replies. I'll try the tung oil and if it looks too porous for my taste, I'll put a few coats of Tru Oil on it and sand to fill (Lin-Speed works just like this, so I'm familiar with the process). I've already wet the wood and the improvement in contrast and grain is pleasing to my eye. I'll try to get some photos posted of the finished stock.

 

[Mike Brooks]

The more coats of tung you put on the glossier your end result will be. I'm not overly fond of tru oil, used it for years and it wears rapidly and looks quite ugly in a short while. I switched to a tung base finish a few years ago and love it. eace: