Air Arms Owners Club

Been treating my walnut stock on the s410 TDR to some coats of oil to bring out the grain.

How many coats do people usually apply, or is it a case of just suck it and see and stop when you are happy?

I think I've put four coats on now, will put a couple more on (adding one every day) and see what it looks like....

depends on the wood. but I would be leaving it longer than one coat a day. one a week is more likely. have you taken it back to bare wood ? or just putting more oil into it ?

Am using CCL oil, the bottle says to apply every day...

Did not take it back to bare wood, am just applying over the original walnut, the grain is slowing coming out and the colour is getting deeper, its slowly working and looking better than the standard.

Pjgtech,
Modern finishes, used by Air Arms and other fine gun makers, do not resemble oil finishes of olden days. New finishes can contain polymers, acrylic, or urethane that make it virtually impenetrable to things like CCL oil. The oil may set on top of the finish but will not penetrate to "rejuvenate" the wood's condition.
A different approach is to smooth or buff the existing finish to a pleasant luster and perhaps a coat, or two, of paste wax or auto type wax for a tad more protection.

Careful sanding with 600, 800, then 1000 grit sand paper can really clear up a finish. After that you'll decide weather to polish to a high gloss or use 0000 steel wool, or a Scotch-Brite pad to attain the luster, or sheen , you desire.

The TDR is a very interesting rifle I hope to have the pleasure of shooting some day.

Best of luck,
Higgs

Not sure if AA have applied any top coat, it just looks like polished walnut to me, applying a few coats of CCL oil does appear (to me) to have brought out the colour and grain a bit... see photos





I'm happy with it...

I`d be amazed if applying anything over a factory finish made the slightest bit of difference, but hey PJ, if you see a difference -more power to you, I think you`d have to strip the original finish back to bare wood (which I would NOT recommend) before any kind of oil would make, well, any kind of difference if I`m honest!
as for how many coats, I`d stop if IWY, sounds like you`re making the stock slippery- & that`s not a good thing either!

My walnut stocks have taken oil just nicely.

BBF

My answer to the original question is probably a dozen really thin coats with several days between. It needs to be a hardening/oxidising oil - what I would call Danish Oil as an amateur woodworker but they are all emulating the old boiled linseed oil. Basically you try to wipe off what you just put on - that is how thin it needs to be.
Bare wood will often take oil well, but not all woods. Walnut or mahoganies yes, beech probably not. But also a sound "varnished" wood will also be improved and protected. The difference is bare woods will darken and have a depth, where finished woods will simply have a new sheen. Scratches may darken however.
Taking off the factory finish is full of risks. The cheaper the stock the more brown may have been applied to the finish. Go cheap enough and SMK stocks will basically have brown paint on. If you are lucky enough to have walnut it is probably worth the risk.
My blond Poplar stock with blue veins and thick acrylic finish that chips off would probably look awful if I tried to strip and oil it. I just fill the chips with more acrylic varnish. Getting a custom metallic red paint job would probably look better!

wastrel wrote:I`d be amazed if applying anything over a factory finish made the slightest bit of difference, but hey PJ, if you see a difference -more power to you, I think you`d have to strip the original finish back to bare wood (which I would NOT recommend) before any kind of oil would make, well, any kind of difference if I`m honest!
as for how many coats, I`d stop if IWY, sounds like you`re making the stock slippery- & that`s not a good thing either!

Hmm, the stocks not slippery at all, feels very nice actually.

could anyone tell me how a factory finished (sealed) gun stock is absorbing oil & changing in ANY way (colour for a start?) I`ll dig my heels in here! if your gun stock is changing with layers of (whatever) oil you`re coating it with, then the manufacturer needs to look at it`s finishing process!