Most durable wood stock finish/treatment

[HushHog]

So I am going to begin building a big bore rifle with the hopes of someday putting together an Alaskan trip (moose if God willing)

I give synthetic stocks their due, but they don't have the same 'soul' as wood stocks for me. So since this build is starting from scratch, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of the best weather resistant finish for a wood stock?

Something that would hold up to the rain and adverse conditions of Alaska and survive.

I have heard rumors of folks using the 'cactus juice' to plasticize or stabilize wood stocks but haven't found anyone that does that type of work.

Ide love to hear y'all's thoughts!

 

[mark-hunter]

I love wood, and I am not thrilled about composite stock.
I respect extreme bad weather.

So:
For rough weather, my recommendation would be - buy laminate blank. And make laminate stock. Then make proper bedding and float the barrel.

Laminate stocks look just like wood!

 

[BeeMaa]

There are a few AK guides here and I thought one of them was using an O/U rifle with a wood stock. For the life of me I can’t remember who it is.

It will come to me as soon as I’m not thinking about it.

EDIT - @1dirthawker is who I was thinking about.

 

[CharlesT]

For what it's worth, I have been using polymerized Tung oil from Lee Valley on all my wood stocks with great success.

CT

 

[steve white]

Thin the runny acraglass with acetone 30% and it will soak in like water. Wipe off all you can. It will set up in the wood. Follow with lightest possible sandpaper (800 or finer) and finish with polymerized finish, like Permalyn. Be sure to do the inner inletting.

 

[Puddle]

Probably not what you need for the potentially nasty Alaska weather, but I carry a M1 Garand on my daily 5 mile strolls in the foothills of the Cascades year-round. For that I use multiple coats of boiled linseed oil with fresh coats annually.

 

[Nevada Mike]

Check out a product called CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer). This is a marine undercoat/sealer. You would need to add a durable finish on top of it, but it has worked for me in marine environments.Use in a well ventilated area.

 

[Wishfulthinker580]

Does anyone have experience with this product?

McLaughlin's Old World Stock Finish — McLaughlin Metalworks

Provides a sought-after finish for high grade rifles and are simple to use with restoration of antique firearms. This product makes stocks very easy to maintain with trouble-free touch up when necessary, so our customers can touch up their scratches at home with ease.

www.mclaughlinmetalworks.com

 

[BeeMaa]

Check out a product called CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer). This is a marine undercoat/sealer. You would need to add a durable finish on top of it, but it has worked for me in marine environments.Use in a well ventilated area.

Gotta watch out for this type of stuff. If you put epoxy sealer on a wood stock, you might as well have gotten yourself a synthetic or carbon fiber to save yourself the trouble. A lot of times this finish will get small chips of cracks in it, with no ability to match the repair to the original finish. Best to keep it to something that soaks in and needs reapplication as necessary.

Loggers in the PNW use a variety of compounds on the handles of their wood handled axes, but will universally swear against using a poly or lacquer coat to protect the wood. Find something that allows the wood to breathe.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Agreed, wood must breathe or you may as well have a synthetic one. Linseed oil is the best.

 

[Red Leg]

I use an oil finish on all my wood stocks. I refresh them periodically, and they simply gain depth over time. Nicks and scratches easily buff out.

Were I hunting truly wet, rainy conditions, then I use a rifle equipped with a synthetic stock.

 

[mdwest]

I concur with others that have said oil finish..

the process for me... whether we're talking rifle stock, hardwood/exotic wood knife handle, or fine cutting boards (all things I expect to get wet at some point)... its a combination of food grade mineral oil and pure beeswax...

when I initially make a cutting board or a knife handle or finish out a wood stock for a rifle, I'll give it an extremely liberal rub down of the oil/wax combo and let it soak in for a bit before wiping off the excess.. then let it set up overnight.. and then repeat the process 3 times over the course of 3 days.. at that point its about as water resistant as you're going to get it using natural products (which is by the way, very water resistant...)..

then as needed (typically about once every six months), I'll give it another good rub down... as @redleg says above, the finish gains depth over time and looks great...

All of that said.. In Alaska (Ive only hunted there once, but am in the process of trying to put together another trip next year) its going to be a synthetic or laminate stocked rifle for me.. in either stainless.. or with a very good cerakote finish applied to all of the steel..

the last time we hunted kodiak, we (wife and I) stayed soaked from sun up to sun down the entire week... I don't imagine that was untypical, and expect that when we go back, we'll stay soaked all week again..

 

[Longwalker]

I'm going to offer an alternate opinion regarding epoxy finishes. They are very tough. I'm not a Remington fan, but one thing I believe Remington did right was their epoxy finish on rifle stocks. I think they called their version "RKW". It is very durable. I had a Remington 700 "classic" .35 Whelen for many years. Used it in nasty conditions, and was never let down.
The worst conditions I subjected it to was the time I was leading my horse down a creek bed on a rainy Yukon mountainside through a hellhole tangle of willows. My rifle was snatched from the saddle scabbard by a branch that snagged in the sling. I didn't notice till I got back to camp after dark. Rifle lay in the creek, mostly submerged until I retraced our steps and retrieved it the next day. Stock was undamaged. After a quick wipe down and inspection, and a test shot, I went on to kill a really nice mountain caribou. An improperly sealed stock, or any oil finish, would not have survived that night in the creek.
This is me after finding my rifle in the creek. I was relieved!

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Use paste wax to protect an oil finish. It easily removable in the case you need to add more oil.

 

[BeeMaa]

I concur with others that have said oil finish..

the process for me... whether we're talking rifle stock, hardwood/exotic wood knife handle, or fine cutting boards (all things I expect to get wet at some point)... its a combination of food grade mineral oil and pure beeswax...

when I initially make a cutting board or a knife handle or finish out a wood stock for a rifle, I'll give it an extremely liberal rub down of the oil/wax combo and let it soak in for a bit before wiping off the excess.. then let it set up overnight.. and then repeat the process 3 times over the course of 3 days.. at that point its about as water resistant as you're going to get it using natural products (which is by the way, very water resistant...)..

then as needed (typically about once every six months), I'll give it another good rub down... as @redleg says above, the finish gains depth over time and looks great...

All of that said.. In Alaska (Ive only hunted there once, but am in the process of trying to put together another trip next year) its going to be a synthetic or laminate stocked rifle for me.. in either stainless.. or with a very good cerakote finish applied to all of the steel..

the last time we hunted kodiak, we (wife and I) stayed soaked from sun up to sun down the entire week... I don't imagine that was untypical, and expect that when we go back, we'll stay soaked all week again..

Wood Butter for use on any wood kitchen utensils or cutting board...
Melt 8 ounces of beeswax in a mason jar sitting in a pot of boiling water. Once melted, add 4 ounces of food grade linseed oil and stir until combined. Take off the heat and out of the pot of water. Allow to cool for 20 minutes or so and give a final stir to make sure it didn't separate. Let it cool overnight before screwing the lid down tight. Use as necessary.

I use this at about the same intervals as @mdwest. Not sure how it would work on a rifle stock, but my cutting boards look amazing. Cheap and easy.

 

[mdwest]

Yep… that’s very similar to how I make my butter…

I go slightly higher on the beeswax content with about a 3:1 ratio, which produces a butter that’s just a little thicker in consistency than Vaseline…

Works exceptionally on rifle stocks in my experience and looks great as well..

 

[BeeMaa]

Yep… that’s very similar to how I make my butter…

I go slightly higher on the beeswax content with about a 3:1 ratio, which produces a butter that’s just a little thicker in consistency than Vaseline…

Works exceptionally on rifle stocks in my experience and looks great as well..

That's about the consistency of mine as well. Maybe my ratios are off. I was doing it from memory but I thought it was 2:1. I better figure it out soon, I'm getting low.

 

[colorado]

I have a BDL 9n 270 I bought in the late 60s. I've hunted with it in rain and snow from the Adirondacks to Western Montana, some years (when I was lucky) hunting 50 days a year with it. Not sure what the finish is but it still looks good except for scratches when I slid down a talus slope with it. Though i hunted in wet weather it was not Alaskan coast wet. The BDL is on the bottom the top rifle is a Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby, synthetic stock / Trinyte finish on the metal. I'm interested in this thread as well as I have a 500 Jeffery with a walnut stock I'd like to take bear hunting on Kodiak Island some day.

 

[fourfive8]

As others have suggested, any kind of thinned epoxy finish will do what you want. Even the old Rem 700 bar top epoxy type finish is tough as nails. But surface damage is hard to re-treat and cosmetically cover with the super durable finishes. Classic oil finishes are not very weather resistant nor durable but are easiest to “repair”. Always a trade off I guess.

One of the well known AK guide/outfitters just slathered on a thick finish to resist AK Peninsula weather. Shoemaker IIRC. Then on top of that he wrapped or gobbed on some kind of baseball bat tacky junk for grip in wet conditions.

 

[Pheroze]

Scherell Schaftol is a German oil that is worth considering. I rub a tiny drop into the stock after a day or week in the field. No build up and it fills the grain very nicely.

Gun Stock oil from Scherell bright

Every gun stock needs regular care. Our top quality Gun Stock Oil optimally conserves open pore wood. Bright 75 ml and each other color available. Read more.

www.ballistol-shop.de