27 Photos of Gun Stock Refinishing

Lin-Speed told me not to clean off the wood after the final sanding, so I didn’t.

The first coat of a gun stock finish is always exciting, to see how it transforms the wood.

I applied Lin-Speed to inside corners and such with a cotton swab, then removed excess from those areas with a folded paper towel edge or the other end of the swab.

After three coats, these dull areas concerned me; I had become accustomed to finishes which dried with a uniform sheen.

Between coats, I allowed it to dry and then reduced the finish with dry steel wool. Lin-Speed said I ought to use boiled linseed oil during the steel wool process, but I didn’t have any.

The first coat dried quickly, but the second coat remained tacky for days in an air-conditioned house. The company owner informed me that even a stock fully finished in Lin-Speed could be “technically dry” even though it feels tacky.

Now this gave me pause. After 5 days of air conditioning, this third coat was still slightly tacky, and some areas are mighty dull-looking.

Not the look I thought I was going to get.

(continued)

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.