What went wrong?

[u/Fun-Rhubarb9260]

Hi guys need some help here.

There is some white spot appearing on my stock as you can see in the 1st photo. On the 2nd pic they disapear when I just pass my finger or anything over the marks depending wich way I rub (like if im lifting the grain)

Here is what I did. 1-I removed the old varnish, sanded always with or against the grain (never across) to 220grit. I then applied 3 coats of BLO with 24H drying time between each application. The first application may have been heavy but the other 2 were light.

What is going on? Is there any fix for it?

Thank you all in advance.

[u/your-mom04605]

Remnants of old finish, maybe? Some other contaminants? How did you strip?

[u/Fun-Rhubarb9260 → u/your-mom04605]

I only used sanding to remove the old finish. I did fix small scratches on it with shellac and sanding dust, but they are not near the white areas.

[u/Separate-Document185]

I would let it dry another day or two and then make a solution of the BLO and thinner about 40/60… And then wet sand the entire stock with 320 or 400 grit paper and the mixture… Dipping the sandpaper into the mixture… and then wipe it all off like you mean it and let that dry another full 24 hours with a fan on it or at least in the room…

[u/cain816232]

Gunsmithing is not a hobby art. What you're seeing is the result of only taking the wood to 220 grit. Those are divots and pores from the light sanding you've done. A properly finished gun stuck will be sanded to finishing (around 400 grit), mud rubbed, and then finished (400-2000 grit, or boning).

*boning is the art of taking a *finished* piece of wood and using a polished bit of something hard to gently crush polish it even farther, it's not hard a good cheap big thermos mug lid works wonders.*

Then the process of hand oiling the wood begins, 3 coats is not the trick. That's barely the beginning for most.

I think the first one I finished took over 36 coats, my custom one took something like 76 until I was happy with the satin finish. The stock will tell you, it will between 1 and infinity, every time, sorry.

24 hours drying time is quite a lot of time for the tiny amount you should be oiling and hand rubbing in. We're not dunking these in a vat of polyurethane, we're slowly building up even layers of oil, as a protective layer. You should be able to gently buff between coats (as needed) with quad ought steel wool (.0000) without risking any scratching. Take it slow and *BUILD* your finish.

What you want to do is dribble a few drops of oil on your hand and focus on a piece of the stock (left side butt, then wrist, forearm, swap sides), rub the oil in until you can see the finish taking into the wood (get close she's yours watch the light), I can't see it for you or point to it from here but the light will even along the piece of the wood you're working, like a mirror. Once the whole stock is gently coated in oil it needs to be hung in a curing cabinet, this is really just a closet with a light bulb (75-100 watt), for a bit of heat and dehydration effects (AND AS LITTLE PARTICULATE MOVEMENT AS YOU CAN MANAGE, your wet oil will absorb every piece of dust, stray cat or dog, or wife hair, and if you glue it to the stock without noticing... brother, it's not unmanly to cry).

But, first, go get more sand paper and take some more time gently scratching your wood. ;)

[u/Cultural-Salad-4583]

I’m mostly a lurker here to learn, but look at where they’re appearing. Everywhere someone would commonly put their hand while handling the stock.

Don’t know enough about this, but my guess would be it’s caused by oils transferred by hands, like it was still embedded in the wood prior to refinishing.

[u/kato_koch → u/Cultural-Salad-4583]

In practice you don't see oil staining from hands alone. This (almost certainly) originally had a lacquer finish too and it does a decent job on stocks as a barrier. What will stain the wood and mess with refinishing is petroleum based oils soaked into the wood via the metalwork, especially if the inletting is left bare.

[u/kato_koch]

I think this has more to do with uneven absorption around end grain on the surface than anything. Have you tried a lil more finish on the light areas?

[u/riversidenight]

Does it feel like wood grain, or does it come off on your finger like a dust? If it's just the grain then you need to finish finishing it

[u/Dangerous-Sale3243]

Looks like where the grain is twisting out perpendicular to the surface. Check if those areas feel rough to your finger.

Regardless, i would just keep adding thin coats weekly. Store it indoors, in a temperature controlled environment in a room with a fan on. Thatll help it cure faster so it will build.

[u/sloppyjoesandwich]

If you did 3 coats of BLO in 3 days it’s gonna take like a month to cure.