27 Photos of Gun Stock Refinishing

Once I accepted the facts, life got easier. What I needed to do was reduce the finish by removing the glossy part, so the finish ends up in the wood instead of on it, as intended. I did, however. still cling to the hope of some sort of protective finish above the wood’s surface.

I began to remove the gloss using Birchwood-Casey Stock Sheen & Conditioner, but that didn’t work. It’s a mildly-abrasive rubbing compound, and it was too aggressive for this purpose because the Lin-Speed finish was too thin.

Once I gave up on any finish above the wood’s surface, I used steel wool to take down the Lin-Speed to the surface of the wood. This left some low-grain areas which remained shiny.

I attempted to use the semi-liquid Stock Sheen & Conditioner compound to “un-shine” the lower areas where the steel wool didn’t reach, such as down in wood pores and recessed areas of the grain. This was folly; some areas did get dulled up, but others did not.

In the end, I have a Lin-Speed oil finish with a classic look that certainly won’t reflect and shine in the woods, but isn’t as protective of the wood as I would like. If your firearm is going to see hard use, use something that finishes both in and on the wood (Tru-Oil is the best I’ve found).

Not bad, really. What do you think of it?

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.