16ga.com ~ View topic - Tru-Oil

Joined: 17 Oct 2007 Posts: 15 Location: West Allis, Wi.

Has anyone ever used a product to refinish gunstocks called Tru-Oil? I shot some sporting clays with 2 guys who showed me some Brownings they used it on, and the finish looked like a factory job. I have an older Savage Fox that I may try it on that could use a refinishing. They said the trick with this product is to let it dry 5-6 days before recoating, they did about 6 coats.

Prepare stock (sanding and such)

Apply Tru-oil.

Let dry COMPLETELY.

#0000 steel wool lightly to get rid of imperfections.

Wipe with tacky cloth to remove steel and dust.

repeat.
repeat.
repeat.
repeat.
repeat....

Member Joined: 31 Aug 2007 Posts: 238 Location: Lodi, CA

There are a lot of different ways to used Tru-oil all depending on what kind of finish you are looking for. I have used a lot of different finishes, most on the market, and have even made a few myself.

Tru-oil can be difficult to use to get a professional finish. For a thin high-gloss finish here are the steps I use.

1. Sand your stock through the grains to 400.
2. Now you have to whisker the stock. Otherwise, the first time that stock gets wet it will lift the finish. To whisker, take a damp cloth and wipe down the stock. Then take a torch or heat gun and heat the stock until the moisture disappears. Then you will see "whiskers" that have lifted and need to be sanded down. Sand. Repeat this process 3 times.
3. Now stain your stock.
4. Now seal your stock. You can make your own sealant by mixing 50% Tru-oil with 50% mineral spirits.
5. Now fill the pores of the wood. You can do this by applying several coats of Tru-oil and using steel wool to remove the surface coat in between applications. The idea is to build the finish up in the valleys (pores) and not on the peaks until the stock is all one surface. When done, the stock should look like it has tiny reflective speck where the pores once were. Then steel wool one last time.
6. Now the finish coat. Clean the stock so it is immaculate. I use a compressed air and then a wax coated tack cloth. Mix Tru-oil with mineral spirits in a 50/50 split. The stuff should be runny like water. Apply a very thin coat using a clean 1/2 x 1/2 piece of fine cotton material that will not leave streaks or hairs behind. Let dry and only buff out any imperfections in between coats. The idea is to leave as much finish behind untouched as possible. Repeat this process three times letting the finish completely dry in between coats.
7. Finally very lightly buff out the finish using rotten stone and linseed oil. This finish is durable against the elements but also very thin and very natural looking. If you buff too hard, you will buff through the final finish and have to reapply the coats in step 6. Clean with lemon oil. Apply light coat of beeswax/linseed oil or some other high quality wax.

Member Joined: 26 Jun 2005 Posts: 425 Location: Big D

IMHO, steel wool should not be used on a gunstock. The steel strands often are not completely removed, and remain behind to rust. Wet/dry sandpaper is better, and Pro Fin oil finish is far superior to Tru Oil.

Pro Fin and Winchester oil are way better that true oil. Try to avoid the sanding but where you must "Go Easy". Length of time between applications depends on the temp. and humidity in the area its in. Prep a hunk of scrap walnut and mess with it before you attack the real one Laughing

All advice so far pretty good. One thing I do different is in filling the pores: First I use a pore filler. Lately I have been using Herters French Red available from Brownells. This is only if I want that "Old Winchester red" look on the gun.

Then I wet sand in a heavy coat of TruOil. To do this, apply a liberal coat of oil to an area then sand the finish with 400 sandpaper. Keep sanding until you get a "sludge" of drying oil and sawdust. Move to other areas until stock is covered evenly with this "sludge". Let this dry a day and check for spots that you can see pores that you might have missed. Fill and sand these spots. Now you have a real mess before you. Don't worry. Set the stock aside to dry thoroughly.

Now the work begins. Start cutting off the dried sludge on the surface with 0000 steel wool. Try to go ACROSS the grain as much as possible. This way is less likely to tear out the finish in the pores.
Once you get all the sludge off the surface you can go to the final light finish coat as described above.

I learned the "wet sand" method from a custom stockmaker and have finished several stocks using that method. It's a real bitch to get the sludge off but it saves you the time and labor of oil, dry, oil, dry, etc.

Another idea I'd like to offer: It has taken me years of finishing many gunstocks to learn the art of stock work. I didn't start out on a Fox. I'd suggest you cruise pawnshops for cheap guns with walnut stocks in need of refinishing. Buy them cheap. Refinish. Sell nice looking gun for profit. Do it again. Not only will you have fun cruising gunshops and buying guns, you will improve your art so that you can do a great job on your favorite gun.

Joined: 17 Oct 2007 Posts: 15 Location: West Allis, Wi.

Thanks very much for all your suggestions.