Well my next date to the range is almost ready. I sanded and shaped the laminate stock with 150, 220, 320, 400, 600 and finally 1400 grit sandpaper. The wood was like glass before I applied the first coat of Tru-oil. I noticed through the process though that even with the finer grits, deep pockets in the wood emerged simply from the sanding process and the fact that this is laminate. The first coats of Tru-Oil have made a few of these pockets (divots) really evident. So, what do you all use to fill-in the pockets on a laminate stock ?

The pockets are from the laminate which is very soft and tears eventually separating from the substrate. To fill those pockets you need to add a high quality slow cure epoxy made by System Three called G2. Warm the stock so you can just hold it with your bare hands. Use a brush and apply the epoxy until none soaks in. Wipe it off with a lint free cloth and let it cure for 48 hours.

You can the add your finish. Don't cut through the epoxy when working with the oil and NO WET SANDING.

I believe you're a little late in the game for sanding sealer. I would keep putting the oil on and sand after a few coats to fill the grain. Keep repeating the process until all the grain is filled. The key is not to sand through to the wood when sanding between coats.

I hope it is the wood grain you're talking about and not sanding lines, if so thats the character of the wood and not from the sanding process. If I would find sanding lines, I'm going back to a rougher grain and work back up to the fine grain while removing sanding lines.

Forgot to mention that you need to strip it first then clean it throughly. Use a soft bristle toothbrush to dislodge any loose wood leavings then clean it again.

Don't want anything to mix with the epoxy which is difficult to remove.

Akso don't attempt to stain it as the stain will not soak into the laminate glue. If you have to add color the stain must be sprayed on so it dries right away and not run.

Good luck.

These aren’t sanding lines. For example, if you take the laminate stock and look at it from the top of the stock (as if holding the rifle) you can see the laminate layers. Some of the wood leaves the laminate layer via sanding because it was not completely bonded. My intent is (was) to add a coat of Tru-Oil, sand lightly and repeat until I can see depth to the wood – like I would do on a hardwood stock…. Normally this process would fill in wood grain but these divots aren’t going to fill in that way. I am learning laminate is a little different and I hope it is forgiving as well…..

They will fill in with Tru Oil it will just take many, many coats. Oh and don't use steel wool at any point. It is normally oiled and the shards from the pad will embed themselves in the finish and eventually rust.

Use a synthetic pad.

Interesting. I've refinished 6 or 7 sticks with tru oil, and I've always buffed with steel wool then wiped down with tack cloth. I'll switch to a synthetic pad next time. Do you have one you like in particular?

I'm a woodworker, though not a stock maker. The most recent finish I've used on a stock was Minwax Antique Oil. Worked great. The last thing I do on any gunstock or on most furniture projects (depends on the finish used) is to rub it out gently to a satin finish with 0000 steel wool and paste wax. No rust issues in 35 years.

Sorry to hear about the divots in your stock. The System 3 approach sounds reasonable, though you won't get any of the TruOil to soak into the wood at the points you've used the System 3, so I would recommend that you test the 'fix' on a scrap piece of walnut or something similar.

If the divots are small, like porous wood grain (which can actually have noticeable hole/pores), they will fill in eventually if you wet sand with the TruOil or with any similar wiping varnish (Danish Oil, Tung Oil, Antique Oil, etc.). It's a slow process and can be sped up a bit if you use a slurry of Rottenstone. Wet sanding or use of Rottenstone will not fill a shallow divot of any real size.

A good woodworker isn't the guy that won't make mistakes, but is the guy that can fix his mistakes so that you won't see them.

Youtube for the win.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lnFVj322A4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjWPSIwh4Y8

Strongbad, I looked at the videos, and his approach is Ok, but not the way I'd do it. And his technique for filling grain wasn't well thought out. That said, there are many ways to do the finish, and I'm not saying my way is best of all. The last couple of stock finishes that I did were - to keep it short - sanding to 600 grit, wet sanding with Antique Oil a couple of times and then Antique Oil application without sanding a couple of times. The wet sanding will fill some of the porous grain, but probably not all. If you have a particularly porous stock to work with, you can use a Walnut colored filler (I have some, but forget who sells it) right after the sanding and before application of the finish. The hard part, when using wet sanding or using the filler, is to not pull it out of the wood pores when you wipe the stock down.

I did my Winchester 9422, which had terrific Walnut, and it turned out great, with few visible pores. Smooth as a baby's butt. My Marlin 39A had wood that was nowhere near as good as that on the Winchester, and I did fill it fairly well but it just isn't ever going to be as pretty. I didn't stain either one of them, though I do have some great wood stains for Walnut (my formula) because it's hard to not damage the stain job if you do any sanding at all after staining. I use water based stains.

Anyway, I can't say my way is the best way, though it works pretty well.

Bear Tex pads. Long lasting and the scratch patterns are very consistent. Not perfect but many times better than any steel wool made anywhere.

The epoxy is the only waterproof finish. There are no oils or combination thereof that are. To prove it cut a piece of walnut 2x2" add whatever oil you want and weigh it carefully. Submerge it water and check itthe next day. The difference in weight is the absorbed liquid. Do it with epoxy and it will weigh the same.

Might not want to wet sand a laminate. I don't wet sand any of the stocks I finish. The slurry will wash out a figure. Fill them with oil and you'll see a huge difference. Do it once and you'll never wet sand again.

Here's one of mine that I did as described. Seldom have time to refinish mine.

Karnis, I misunderstood you. I thought you were suggesting filling a few holes with the System 3. You were suggesting using it as the stock finish. Yes System 3 is good stuff and is waterproof. Still, I have always preferred oil or oil/varnish finishes, which are not truly waterproof, but are waterproof enough for generations of rifles.

As for wet sanding, you and I will remain in disagreement. The slurry produced will only remain in the pores of the wood and act to smooth the surface and improve the look of the wood.

I have several methods; the main one I use now is to apply a coat of finish, let it dry, then wet sand using water to removed the buildup on the wood. Its very easy to see using water where you have any buildup. I start at 320 grit paper, and do this until I fill the pores, stopping at 600 or 800 grit. After the pores are filled I rub the stock out with pumice stone and rottenstone, then will rub 2-3 top coats on, rottenstoning between coats.

Some people like Art's like the epoxy finishes, they have thier advantages and disadvantages. At the end of the day my customers dont want epoxy anywhere near a $15k+ custom or bespoke/best gun, nor do they want a built up finish.

I'll disagree with Karnis about the wet sanding too, but alas its a free country. I'd rather wet sand with hard backed paper than rub with steel wool or 3m pad, mainly for the desire of keeping definition on intended lines, keeping things flatter, etc...

On a laminate stock, I guess I would slather finish on, let dry, then wet sand buildup off removing the resulting slurry with a rag. Repeat until pores are filled.

Works okay...

The bear tex pad is used to provide a scratch pattern for adhesion. Oil, wipe off, wait til it dries. Bear tex, clean then again. Pores fill quickly.

I can see wet sanding on a piece of tightly pored wood and used to do it. Claro is usually wide open and IMHO benefits greatly from a straight clear finish. Many ways to skin a cat for sure.

Here's another done the way I describe. Works pretty well. Kimber 84L in .270.

Very nice work there. I'm sure the owners are very pleased.

In the full sun. Obviously the same rig.


And a Ruger redo.


TDK: Post more pics. Nothing like nice work on a fine piece of walnut!

tdk's approach is about what I do. Sometimes I just do a BLO hand rubbed finish, but lately it's the Antique Oil (which is part BLO). I do the wet sanding after the first coat, particularly if it's some bit of stained woodwork. I don't want the sandpaper to cut into the stain, and even 600 grit will do that if you aren't careful.

Karnis' work looks terrific, as does tdk's. I still do prefer the look of the hand rubbed oil finish. I've got an old copy of The Shotgunner's Book, by Col. Charles Askins, and in the book is what I consider the definitive method of applying a hand rubbed oil finish. It's very similar to what tdk does. It takes a lot of work.

Ever tried ProCustom Oil by Chempak? Tung oil and urethane. Dries quickly and pretty easy to work with. When I was doing the wet sanding thing you could work the.stock daily once you got everything else lined up. Had some major surgery last year which prevents me from dedicating a daily schedule. It sucks.