laminated stock finishing

Sort of depends on what you intend doing with the rifle. Tung makes a good show finish, but linseed works better for use, if you want an oil finish. For a laminated stock, your better off with a satin polyurithane, tough but looks good. The satin is not as shiney.
 
I like Tru-Oil. It is much easier to use than tung and Lin-speed. It gives a very hard, durable finish that is easily touched up if needed. A little steel wool will make it a satin finish.
 
Many of the spray on clear epoxy finishes will work well on a laminated stock. The way a laminated stock is made it's about 1/4 or more epoxy. Many of the epoxy clear finishes will work well rather than an oil type finish that will lust lay on top of the epoxys used to glue the laminations together.

You can checker as you would a normal wood stock, but the epoxy glue used in the laminations will dull checkering tools faster than a straight wood stock would.

Many gunsmiths look at a laminated stock as you would an epoxy stock as far as strength and finish goes.
 
Lin-Speed high gloss. Lots of coats with 0000 steel-wool between coats. You can get super high-gloss finish with enough work, and it's durable.
 
Tru-Oil for all the reasons already mentioned.

The epoxy, lacquer, and urethane finishs are more difficult to spot repair than the oil finishes. Tung or linspeed work well but take longer to get to the same results. Finishing with the spray is a good idea to level out the top layers. Use a warm, well ventilated place free of flying varmints for the final spray coats. I wet sand the final coat, after it is well cured, with 2000 grit paper and then hand rub with Meguiares Cleaner Wax. Be careful sanding on corners or you will cut through the finish. The wet sanding further levels and removes small nerds and minor imperfections. The cleaner wax brings back the high gloss even better than the final spray coat.
 
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"... I wet sand the final coat, after it is well cured, with 2000 grit paper...



Where do you get 2000 grit sand paper?? Smallest I can find is 800.

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Quote:
Quote:
"... I wet sand the final coat, after it is well cured, with 2000 grit paper...



Where do you get 2000 grit sand paper?? Smallest I can find is 800.

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The stuff is called Premier Red Mirror Finish waterproof paper. It's made by Carborundum Abrasives (USA) and I got it at the local hardware. It's about as fine as frog fur and a bunch easier to polish out than 600 or 800 grit. You have to keep it pretty wet or it plugs up and quits cutting. I have used it on brand new guns to give them that hand rubbed mirror finish you see on custom guns.
 
Quote:
Where do you get 2000 grit sand paper??



You can also find it in a pack at most hobby stores (the kind that sell plastic models, etc). Microgrit assortment on mylar backing (very thin and durable). I believe 2000 grit is the finest in the assortment, but 1500 does a good job too.

I found some on line:

2000 grit paper
 
Thanks guys... just in time, as I'm about to refinish a AAA+ walnut stock on a custom rifle, and the wood deserves a high gloss, mirror finish /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

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