Filling the pores of wood stock?
- Thread starter elmerdeer
- Start date
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royinidaho
Well-Known Member
Step 1 - apply finish.
Step 2 - very finely and cautiously sand.
Pore filled?
If no then repeat Steps 1 & 2
If yes then sit back and enjoy.
Or get a piece of walnut and sand it saving the dust. Mix the dust with the finish. This will fill the pores faster. However, it may change the stock looks a bit.
What I do is use bondo or some such auto body filler and do the full show car preparation then paint it. Note: I don't have any pretty pieces of walnut.
Step 2 - very finely and cautiously sand.
Pore filled?
If no then repeat Steps 1 & 2
If yes then sit back and enjoy.
Or get a piece of walnut and sand it saving the dust. Mix the dust with the finish. This will fill the pores faster. However, it may change the stock looks a bit.
What I do is use bondo or some such auto body filler and do the full show car preparation then paint it. Note: I don't have any pretty pieces of walnut.
NesikaChad
Well-Known Member
What I would do:
Green scotchbrite the stock.
cut yourself up a white cotton shirt.
Apply True Oil with shirt. When I say apply, I mean heavy wet coats. don't be shy with the stuff. If the action is bedded, clean the bedding with alky and use a good automotive grade masking tape everywhere you don't want finish to build up.
Let dry.
Scuff again with green scotchbrite.
Apply more true oil.
Repeat this a few more times. You just want to "etch" the surface so that the next coat will stick. You don't sand it down. Your building up layers to seal up the wood. Since it already has a finish it'll be mostly sealed already which is good cause the wood won't swell up on you saving a pile of work.
Be careful around any checkering. Loading the finish there will just make it look like crap and it's tough to go back and dress the lines up if your not experienced with it.
Then start sanding with 320 working up to 1200. Apply additional coats between sanding sessions and allow to dry. Wet sanding works and when you get to the 1200 grit wet sand with the True Oil. let it sit for a solid week after sanding and then go after it like you would if you were spit shining boots. Just a soft cloth dipped in True oil.
When you are all done carefully remove the tape and then get yourself a stiff piece of plastic (a bondo applicator works good) and use it to scrape the excess along the bedding/showline surfaces and anywhere else it built up. Bolt handle inlets can gunk up on you too as well as around floor metal mortises. If your inlets are nice and tight take care while doing this so that you don't go too far.
Results can vary but this is what it looks like when I do it:
Green scotchbrite the stock.
cut yourself up a white cotton shirt.
Apply True Oil with shirt. When I say apply, I mean heavy wet coats. don't be shy with the stuff. If the action is bedded, clean the bedding with alky and use a good automotive grade masking tape everywhere you don't want finish to build up.
Let dry.
Scuff again with green scotchbrite.
Apply more true oil.
Repeat this a few more times. You just want to "etch" the surface so that the next coat will stick. You don't sand it down. Your building up layers to seal up the wood. Since it already has a finish it'll be mostly sealed already which is good cause the wood won't swell up on you saving a pile of work.
Be careful around any checkering. Loading the finish there will just make it look like crap and it's tough to go back and dress the lines up if your not experienced with it.
Then start sanding with 320 working up to 1200. Apply additional coats between sanding sessions and allow to dry. Wet sanding works and when you get to the 1200 grit wet sand with the True Oil. let it sit for a solid week after sanding and then go after it like you would if you were spit shining boots. Just a soft cloth dipped in True oil.
When you are all done carefully remove the tape and then get yourself a stiff piece of plastic (a bondo applicator works good) and use it to scrape the excess along the bedding/showline surfaces and anywhere else it built up. Bolt handle inlets can gunk up on you too as well as around floor metal mortises. If your inlets are nice and tight take care while doing this so that you don't go too far.
Results can vary but this is what it looks like when I do it:
Last edited:
NesikaChad
Well-Known Member
Dern Reposts!!
msalm
Well-Known Member
Here's another way I find works much faster and turns out just as nice. Wet sand the stock with your wood finish. Work with it in small areas at a time. You will see a muddy looking slurry develop. Go over entire stock in this way leaving that sanding slurry on the stock. Set it in the corner to dry for a few days. After it's dry, do the same wet sanding with the finish again only this time after working an area over, wipe the sanding gunk off the wood. You just want to sand down to the wood, but not into it. You're grain should be filled in one or two applications at the most. After you have the grain filled in, then you can rub light layers of finish on the wood with a very light wet sanding in-between to build up the finish depth.
If doing this from a raw blank with no finish on it your first coat of finish is thinned with mineral spirits and liberally apllied to the wood until it will soak up no more. Then wipe off excess and let dry and start with the above.
It works for me, and I've found it's much faster than the tried and true sanding, apply finish, repeat...
If doing this from a raw blank with no finish on it your first coat of finish is thinned with mineral spirits and liberally apllied to the wood until it will soak up no more. Then wipe off excess and let dry and start with the above.
It works for me, and I've found it's much faster than the tried and true sanding, apply finish, repeat...
