Air rifle stock finishes

[Gerwyn]

Hi all
I’m new on here and I’m hope somebody can help me with a project, I’m looking to refinish my old air rifle stock and I’m looking for advice on the most durable finish

 

[hlvd]

Hi all
I’m new on here and I’m hope somebody can help me with a project, I’m looking to refinish my old air rifle stock and I’m looking for advice on the most durable finish

I messed around with air rifles as a teenager, I seem to remember you’d use stuff called gunstock oil.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250916516560?hash=item3a6bca32d0:g:O9YAAOSwQItT3loG
Other suppliers available. Brilliant stuff.

 

[Gerwyn]

I’ll have a look at that. The gun stock looks like it has a vanish but not as thick

 

[mark61]

I messed around with air rifles as a teenager, I seem to remember you’d use stuff called gunstock oil.

I've found a few applications of Danish oil gave a nice finish on my old webley.

 

[Steve Medlock]

A lot of old air rifles from a certain period were simply stained and varnished. Sometimes though, this can hide quite good looking wood underneath. Maybe consider what wood you have, Walnut, Beech etc. and do you want to keep the grain showing? Is the colour what you would like or do you want to stain it? I re-finish many air guns and firearms and hardly ever use the same finish twice - I tend to go with what I think will suit the particular gun. At one end of the scale boiled linseed oil/tung oil/danish oil will give a durable finish. At the other, True Oil as mentioned above, can give a glossy finish. Walnut Oil is one of my favourites giving a nice satin finish. What ever you go for, the level of prep on the bare wood will determine how good your final result will be.

 

[Gerwyn]

A lot of old air rifles from a certain period were simply stained and varnished. Sometimes though, this can hide quite good looking wood underneath. Maybe consider what wood you have, Walnut, Beech etc. and do you want to keep the grain showing? Is the colour what you would like or do you want to stain it? I re-finish many air guns and firearms and hardly ever use the same finish twice - I tend to go with what I think will suit the particular gun. At one end of the scale boiled linseed oil/tung oil/danish oil will give a durable finish. At the other, True Oil as mentioned above, can give a glossy finish. Walnut Oil is one of my favourites giving a nice satin finish. What ever you go for, the level of prep on the bare wood will determine how good your final result will be.

Hi Steve I have a complete collection of Theoben air rifles all walnut with a except for two which are hedua ( I think thats how it’s spelt) while the bluing is great the stocks have dinks and scraps so I was planning a total redo of the stocks ?

 

[disco_monkey79]

As Steve Medlock mentions, gloopy stain/varnish can hide some pretty timber. I sanded back an old Gamo to find a very pretty piece of beech, which came up beautifully with 5 or 6 coats of danish oil.

 

[Gerwyn]

How do you stop danish oil going to a high gloss? I looking for a semi Matt finish

 

[Homeless Squirrel]

Hi Steve I have a complete collection of Theoben air rifles all walnut with a except for two which are hedua ( I think thats how it’s spelt) while the bluing is great the stocks have dinks and scraps so I was planning a total redo of the stocks ?

Have one myself mk2 rapid 12 in .20.
The warm iron trick works to worm dents out.
Wood they used on some is Shedua Shedua - Hardwood Distributors Association

 

[Gerwyn]

Have one myself mk2 rapid 12 in .20.
The warm iron trick works to worm dents out.
Wood they used on some is Shedua Shedua - Hardwood Distributors Association

That’s the stuff,it’s got a stunning grain on it, don’t see it easy to work on?

 

[Wood&wool]

Before the government took all my semi automatic rifles away! By far one of the best stock treatments was walnut oil,you only need a small amount and rubbed it in with your Palm until it was warm which set the oil, have a look in gun shops all my local ones have closed.
Good luck

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Have one myself mk2 rapid 12 in .20.
The warm iron trick works to worm dents out.
Wood they used on some is Shedua Shedua - Hardwood Distributors Association

or Hyedua.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

How do you stop danish oil going to a high gloss? I looking for a semi Matt finish

You can finish it virtually as you wish according to how you rub it down. In this weather leave it for a few weeks to harden fully before finishing it, it's much easier when it's bone dry.

 

[William2020]

+1 for walnut oil worked in by hand. Easy to get online and there’s a couple of makes out there, but I can vouch for Philips English Walnut Oil Preparation.

 

[Gerwyn]

+1 for walnut oil worked in by hand. Easy to get online and there’s a couple of makes out there, but I can vouch for Philips English Walnut Oil Preparation.

Thanks for this I’m going to give it a try this weekend

 

[Reffc]

Oils are fine but without resin hardeners will require frequent top ups to the finish to keep them good. They're not as durable for applications like stocks in the field which is why most timber stocks are varnished. Fine shotgun stocks are not knocked around as much as rifles and tend to follow more traditional routes but the better gunstock finishing products do have resin hardeners thinly applied to the finish coats, and kept nice and clean and shiny with the odd drop of orange or lemon oil based top up oil.

I've finished many gunstocks and have had some good success with my own rifles using Liberon fine finishing oil which is more a danish oil and does contain resins. It's not as durable as a good harwax oil though. You could try some walnut oil or tung oil to help bring the grain out (just the first few coats then use a hardwax oil. Two coats of decent hardwax oil over a base coat of walnut or tung should be enough for a satin finish and there's specific satin finishes you can buy.

 

[Gerwyn]

Oils are fine but without resin hardeners will require frequent top ups to the finish to keep them good. They're not as durable for applications like stocks in the field which is why most timber stocks are varnished. Fine shotgun stocks are not knocked around as much as rifles and tend to follow more traditional routes but the better gunstock finishing products do have resin hardeners thinly applied to the finish coats, and kept nice and clean and shiny with the odd drop of orange or lemon oil based top up oil.

I've finished many gunstocks and have had some good success with my own rifles using Liberon fine finishing oil which is more a danish oil and does contain resins. It's not as durable as a good harwax oil though. You could try some walnut oil or tung oil to help bring the grain out (just the first few coats then use a hardwax oil. Two coats of decent hardwax oil over a base coat of walnut or tung should be enough for a satin finish and there's specific satin finishes you can buy.

That’s great. I have been a bit concerned in using oils just due to the durability when out in the field but never thought in using a hard wax.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

From asking various manufacturers there is no set formula for Danish oils ( which is why it pays to buy one of the better ones such as Bestwood which will probably contain more tung oil) and the main difference between Danish oils and finishing oils is that Danish oils have more resins in them to make them more water resistant.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Incidentally, TruOil is great stuff to use, it's so easy.