Stock refinish

[Ranch Dog]

Holy cow! Another great looking finish! Picture in the header!

[Dingo745]

Hi all,
I just took delivery this week of my new Rossi 92 and there is only one thing which I think needs to be done, and that is the finish of the wood, the rest of the gun performs very nicely out of the box.
I have been reading the various stock refinish threads, and like the look of one I saw by ?, but it said "7 coats hand rubbed tung oil not pure tung- Fromby's low gloss"
The finish of that gun is to my liking, but wood and me don't mix, so I am totally ignorant of varnishes or oils or whatever a Tung oil , Tru-oil and a Fromby is ??
BTW. I'm not located in the USA so that might have something to do with that as well, and I live down in Australia.
One of the things I read concerned how the factory finish or lack thereof can cause rust between the stock and barrel and magazine tube.
Now this might be a real problem for me as I live right near the ocean, so corrosion is a big problem.
So should I oil or varnish my stock for a nice durable finish ??

Thanks.

[Ranch Dog]

I just took delivery this week of my new Rossi 92 and there is only one thing which I think needs to be done, and that is the finish of the wood, the rest of the gun performs very nicely out of the box.

In that the Rossi stain is water based it lends itself well as the base stain. You need to be very careful with it as water contact will spot it. The same with any pre-application products. For your application in that you like the base color, my advice would be use fine steel wool, either 000 or 0000, and wipe it down like you were just cleaning it. Light pressure on the pad, not trying to remove anything, just lightly buffing the surface and removing imperfections that attached themselves (dust) when the stain was wet.

One of the things I read concerned how the factory finish or lack thereof can cause rust between the stock and barrel and magazine tube.

That is a concern. I've worked with the Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and many, including myself, use it as the barrier during the refinish. After several stocks, I took the time to read the details of the product and what B/C recommends purpose is the Filler-Sealer so I started using it. Tru-Oil soaks in and does not really leave a barrier where the Filler-Sealer leaves the barrier you are looking for.

Now this might be a real problem for me as I live right near the ocean, so corrosion is a big problem.
So should I oil or varnish my stock for a nice durable finish ??

I would go with a oil type finish as it is a "living" finish and can be touched up at any time. Not so with varnish.

BTW. I'm not located in the USA so that might have something to do with that as well, and I live down in Australia.

As a "full service" forum Admin, I took the time to find the three products I think would serve you well. They are in stock in Australia. I am going to go ahead and list how I apply them, it looks lengthy but the detail will only take a few minutes in practice:

• B/C Filler-Sealer ~ After you have buffed the wood and used a tack cloth to remove the dust. You will apply a coat of this to the wood, the complete surface including that which is hidden when the rifle is assembled. Pour a small amount in a glass or metal cup. Do not use a plastic cup as this will burn right through the bottom! This is best applied with a small foam brush, 1" in width or less. Apply it with the grain and work with small amounts on the brush. The brush should never get saturated. I also have another brush that I use to clean up anY imperfections in the surface or any runs. This is important as it dries in about an hour. This is really going to soak in quickly and is easy to apply. Once dry, in about one to two hours, I apply a second coat. Buff between the coats with steel wool like you did at the start and clean with the tack cloth before this second coat is applied.
• B/C Tru-Oil ~ Once the Filler-Sealer is dry, buff again and wipe down with the tack cloth. B/C has some detailed instructions online that need to be followed but I can sum them up very quickly based on the number of stocks that I have completed.
  • Don't shake the bottle!
  • Poke a small hole in the foil seal on the bottle. A sharp pencil works best.
  • Pour a very small amount into a small cup. The plastic Dixie type cups work best. Just cover the bottom of the cup with the oil. Seal the bottle up tight and store the bottle upside down, sitting on it's cap.
  • Dip the tip of your finger in the Tru-Oil and work it into the stock. Work in it with the grain back and forth. This product will soak in rather quickly, going from very slick to slightly tacky.
  • Don't get impatient, use the tip of your finger. It is only going to take a couple minutes to completely work the butt stock. Using just the tip of your finger will avoid any runs in the finish.
  • If you see any lint or other foreign material land in the finish, remove it with the tack cloth.
  • Hang the stock on wire (cut coat hanger works great) and let dry.
  • Throw away what Tru-Oil is left, do not return it to the bottle as once exposed to the atmosphere it has already started to cure.
  • Secure the cap on the bottle and store it upside down.
  Once the stock dries, 12 to 24 hours depending on the humidity of your location, apply additional coats to your liking. I would suggest a minimum of two. Buff with the steel wool between the coats and wipe down with the tack cloth.
• B/C Stock Wax - Once the final coat of Tru-Oil is dry, I would give it 24 hours, apply the wax per the instructions.

These are the three products that I would buy. Again, this reads lengthy but in reality it is very quick work. Store the Tru-Oil as I suggested, upside down, and it will be available for future projects or touch up.

[Dingo745]

Words of Wisdom from Michael. Thanks for taking the time to explain in detail the procedure.
You were right again, I did some more googling and found Tr-Oil and Tung Oil is freely available here in Oz.
BTW Michael, I got a "good one". My 92 works like a charm, cycles and feeds perfectly 38 & 357 rounds and will only get better with more use.