Question about Minwax Finish...

[tonaka]

Hi guys!
Did any of you used minwax finish for your stocks? Is it good finish to go with or not good one?
Any ideas about using it, please. Or should I use differnt one? If yes, than which one?
Thank you

[daveshoot]

Do you mean Minwax stain, for color, or the Minwax finish products, for polish?

I like the Minwax oil based stain. I think it is very good for gunstocks. This is for color, only- you still need a "finish" to protect the wood.

I do NOT like the Minwax water-based stain. Thatmight beOK for doing a floor, but definitely not for a rifle. Hope this saves you a step.

If you use the Minwax oil stain, take the extra step of using the OIL prep first. It does make a difference. A few extra bucks for a small can will do you good for a long time. It really helps the stain soak evenly over tighter and looser grain.

I am a fan of Tru-Oil finish, and many coats at that. 1st one kind of heavy but clean drips up immediately, and many light coats after that. I read not to use steel wool to finish,and that proved to be good advice. Use fine sandpaper (400) andScotch brite instead- no metal residue. Nice. This is after you have finish-sanded to at least 220 grit prior to staining. You can sand any Tru-Oil bubbles after each of the first coats, then use the scotch-brite after that.

I have not use Minwax waxes or polishes for any kind of finish coat and have no opinion either way on that.

[tonaka]

Since nobody gives suggestion about minwax I will explain what I am doing.
Decided to make one piece stock for my Condor cuz was never comfortable enough with the unsupported tank. Also for better traditional wooden looks.
So I have some piece of walnut left from my QB79 stock project and I started to make my plans. After I had image in my head I got to work and that's what came out.
Sanding job pretty much done. Pictures are kind of fuzzy but it has really nice grain.
SOOOOO... I am struggling about the collor of the thing. Thinking of Codor's paramilitary looks I chose dark walnut minwax finish.
Last picture is the sample with that collor. What do you guys think about the stockand the collor? Any suggestions about collor and quality of minwax.
If it is going to be dark, it might match with the rifle's looks, but than, I have hard time of saying bye bye to nice grain on the stock.
Thank you for your input.

[tonaka]

Thank you Dave!
Where do you buy Tru-Oil Finish?

[joeblow]

absolutely beautiful stock there guy. almost hate to put anything on it! minwax is an alright product kinda cheap though with there stains there a little light on the pigment though. usually gotta apply two or three times to get a nice rich color. coupleapplications of blackwalnut stain along with 4 or 5 applications of teak oil. and 2 coats of minwax paste wax hand polished and that thing will look sweet!! don't ya think? just my two cents..

[Magnum]

Nice work on the stock :) My experience has been with furniture only!..I would agree the dark walnut is the way to go, if it were me I would not go so dark s to totally lose the beautiful grain in the wood I had an early sako with really dark walnut you could see the grain as almost black lines with a gloss clear coat very nice and different:) good luck on your wonderful project. Tony.

[tonaka]

Thank you guys.
If I would make it little bit lighter collor than it is now, what would you suggest to thin it with?....Minwax I mean

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

[Bogey]

Save the grain.  Why hide the interest that the wood has showing.?

Personally I like oil finishes.  I have one rifle stocked with Birds eye curly Maple with a 'glass' type finish that while it looks good always needs touch-up.  Which is a pain.

Also, I admire your dedication....it appears that you take your rifle to bed with you.   And I thought I was the only one.

[tonaka]

Yeahhh! I think I am fanatic. Serious case of un(in?)curable airrifle fanatism- that's what I am.

[daveshoot]

I like the color you have right there. That is looking great, and I personally wouldn't go much darker. You could oil right over that.

You can get Tru-Oil at Big 5. You can also go to their website at Birchwood Casey and download a very nice PDF guide on how they expect it to be used, which I found helpful. Having done a couple, I do avoid the steel wool. There are other oils and they work well too, I guess. Tru-Oil just has a wide following in the gunstock biz and it is a good product.

If you haven't tried it already, wipe the stock down with a wet rag and you will really see the grain (also a few extra flaws, perhaps). Knock it down again with the 220. Then start with the Tru-Oil and remember the scotch-brite trick.

Think about how you are going to hang your stock to dry between coats, without leaving any marks or fingerprints. I hung one from wire through the stock screw holes, and used a very long nail to make sure the wire didn't touch either side.

Also, if oil is a little too heavy, it will drip and harden with the drip marks, and you have to sand that out between each coat. Ditto for bubbles and fingerprints. The drips are more common in the early coats. I did about 13 coats and it kept getting better. It might sound like a lotbut you'll start to see the payoff. You can do one every morning before work and every evening when you get home, and after a work week you will see some deep lustrous gorgeousness, with a grain like you have there.

Some guys paste wax over the last coat of Tru-Oil to protect it further.

[RedFeather]

I've only tried MinWax stain on one gun stock and that was an old Savage 23AA that I simply cleaned and wiped down with a couple of coats.  From what I've gathered, MinWax does not really penetrate - more like covers the wood.  Something to consider for long term maintenance.  It did give the stock a nice tone and kind of a good feel to the touch.  (I didn't top coat it.)  Being an over-lay, if you do get scratches, you will have to reapply the stain, which may highlight them.  If you go with something traditional  like Tru-Oil, touch ups are much less noticable, which is why it's such a popular stock finish.