Gloss finish on my 39A

[bandit1250]

I am headed down the home stretch on getting the finish done for one of my 39A's that I want to be gloss finished wood. Maybe 1 more coat and then let it cure for a couple months and then polish it. It is getting Tru-oil rubbed on it and using Armor-all wipes between coats. It dries super fast using the armor-all between coats and is harder than straight Tru-oil. I know most folks will say it can't work but all most all my stocks are done that way and have never changed in appearance or gave me a bit of trouble. I have been able to put 6 or more coats on in a day if I want to get one done fast using this method. The next thing I will do is some minor fitting on the stock but a lot more fitting will be required to change the barrel channel on the fore arm from octagon to round barrel application. The finish can cure while I am doing the fitting. The first picture the stock has a little haze to it because it was drying to fast while rubbing it on.

The opposite side. Should look good after it is buffed and polished.

[CT_Shooter]

Nobody does it better, Bandit! Awesome wood and finish. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[RetiredSeabee]

That is real purty!

[North Country Gal]

Nobody does it better, Bandit! Awesome wood and finish. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Amen to that. I drool every time I see one of your wood projects.

[Henry88]

So you mask off the checkering, so it doesn't get slick?

[roddy]

That looks really good. I have to get around to trying Tru-Oil. I like to slowly rub an oil finish in by hand, and I'm afraid of the drying speed of Tru-Oil. I have heard of the Armor-All trick. I like working with linseed oil, but the finish isn't overly durable, and it takes a long time to dry. On my CZ 455, I tried some Lee Valley polymerized tung oil, and found that to be a good in-between, time wise...slow enough to really rub it in, but quick enough to completely dry over night. It also makes for a high gloss finish...too much so for my taste. I had to knock the shine back a bit on mine by applying a non-hardening chopping block wax with 0000 steel wool. This gives it a semi-gloss finish that is pretty close in gloss level to many factory finishes.

[bandit1250]

So you mask off the checkering, so it doesn't get slick?

Henry88,
I mask the checkering off with painters tape. If the finish builds up in the checkering it will look like a Bubba job. The checkering should be kept free of finish except for a sealer coat of Tru-oil thinned down with mineral spirits applied with a tooth brush then wiped while still a little wet with a lint free cloth to remove what doesn't soak in. Only takes a small amount on the brush to do a complete panel. You don't want a build up of finish in the checkering where it loses its line depth and take away the grip. After removing the tape I take a checkering tool and go around the border to clean out any finish that crept under the tape which is very little since going with the painters tape.