Hi All,

Pretty sure my stock is walnut, caked on oil and grime etc. I plan to strip it without sanding too much and using Star-brite teak oil.

Anyone try star-brite teak oil on a wood stock? Looking for experiences, ideas, and lessons learned...good bad or indifferent.

Thanks

How pretty do you want it to be? If you just want a serviceable stock that looks decent, I’d sand it down. Probably use 150 grit and hand sand it, then go to 220 grit. Raise the grain a few times and use 320 grit between grain raisings.

Next step could be Teak Oil or Boiled Linseed Oil or Walnut Oil. Or, if you want it to look better, after all the sanding, apply and wet sand using Minwax Antique Oil. After using the Antique Oil for wet sanding, wipe it off before it gets too tacky. Three coats should do it, and it’ll look real nice. That’s the finish I used on a couple of my 22 lever rifles. But maybe you don’t want an M14 to be too pretty.

If you use just the basic oil approach, I’d go with the teak oil.

If the M14 stock is an original stock it is most likely birch. I would go to the M14 and dM1 forums and search for refinishing.

I wanted to keep the patina on mine, so I used mineral spirits and linseed oil mix with an extra fine 3M Scotch Brite pad to clean of the old dirt and grime, then applied a few coats of hand rubbed linseed oil. Later I decided I wanted a shiny stock so I bought another stock, stripped it down, stained it with a Chestnut Ridge stain that had the red tint that old military stains had.

If it’s not walnut, forget what I suggested.

First I love the old wood stocks, I only have 3 weapons with the mattel plastic. If I could make them a wood stock I would.

Here are some reads to look at on staining and finishing.
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=415289
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=38272.0
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=215
https://www.firearmsforum.com/firearms/article/3037
https://uplandjournal.ipbhost.com/?act=ST;f=1;t=89564;&#top

Research Crane Creek Gunstock Finish, I am working off old memory, but I believe this was the method developed for the military to stain and finish gunstocks in a hurry. Somewhere I have more note about it, but basically they dunked the stocks in huge vats of stain, dried, then applied linseed oil, boiled linseed oil, same as what is usually called by the initials BLO.

I was taught this finish almost 50 years ago by a gunsmith. The closest equal version is in a print of Frank Whiton's Classic Gunstock Finish listed above.

It was my go to finish for gunstocks and game calls, it is a mix of (1) linseed oil, (2) spar varnish and (3) mineral spirits.

These were the high end gunstock type finishes, a finish that was equal to a Weatherby or any custom gun maker's final product.

I made up 2 mixes, one strong on mineral spirits and the second an equal parts of 1, 2 and 3. My first step to a finish was to wipe everything down with a real damp rag. Let those dry thoroughly, then sand with 500 or 600 grit. The apply my first coat, this is an eyeball guess, but equal parts of 1 and 2, and double on the mineral spirits.

Set it aside on the drying rack and allow 24 hour drying time. 24 hours later, they get another coat of the starter mix, and another 24 hours of drying time. Next day they get another coat of starter mix, but it is applied with using a 600 or 800 grit wet dry sandpaper. And another 24 hours of drying time.

By now I have 3 coats, and the wood is pretty well sealed inside and out. Depending on the type of stock the rest of the finishing varies.

My next step might be as simple as one or 2 coats of 1:1:1 mix of the 3 parts applied with a 1000 grit piece of wet dry sandpaper. But it also might mean 5 or more coats of the final mix. It depends on the wood. Some pieces of wood demand a good deep finish look, others a more muted look. Like a fine gunstock, you get to know when the finish is just right.

This procedure looks like it takes a long time, it does, and it doesn't. Each coat only takes a few minutes, even with the wet sanding.

Don’t sand off cartouche

Nice

I always start by spraying the stock down with EZ off oven degreaser. Spray a thick coat it on and let it work. It will absorb all the oil and grit from the outside layer and pull the gunk out of the embedded stock. Rinse with water, dry and work from there. It also removes any lacquered finish that may be on the stock. It the easy and most efficient way to do it.

Thank me later