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Teak Oil Refinish Question

11K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  habu1 
#1 ·
I am refinishing the stock with teak oil; have read the previous posts some as old as 2007 - with good info in them; I read the teak oil can directions but it does not address multiple coats very well ...

The first couple coats it soaked it in pretty good, 24 hrs minimum between coats. Now on third coat.

Question: In between coats of teak oil do I gently go over it with Fine Steel wool?? If yes, do it in-between coats for all 20 coats or stop at 18 or 19 coats ...

Note for others after me: For anyone else going to do teak oil it seems to take a long time to dry the Teak oil - second coat I let dry for 48 hrs but 24 seems to be the absolute minimum needed
 
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#2 ·
Steel wool can be a pain, with loose fibers getting into the oil finish. Synthetic pad are a better option. After the first couple of soaking coats, you can wet sand the top coats, using the synthetic pads.

Teak oil is apsorbed into the wood. It's not a top coating like varnish. You don't need 20 coats. After the 2-3 soaking coats and 2-3 wet sanded coats, you can cover it with something like urethane spar varnish if you plan on taking it out in a rainstorm or swamp.
 
#3 · (Edited)
There are more experienced folk that may chime in but having done this several times I will mostly agree with KurtC. I let a couple good coats soak in, perhaps buffing it a little with a cloth in between then I use a synthetic pad that is the equivelant of 0000 steel wool to apply another 2-3 coats wet sanding as I go. KurtC is absolutely right, this is an "in the wood finish" not a topcoat and you don't need anything like 20 coats. I like the more satin look of just the oil but if the rifle needs more protection then I prefer a light coat or two of Tru-Oil instead of a spar varnish as it is easier to touch up by rubbing some more on with a cloth. If it is too shiny after using Tru-Oil you can knock it down by buffing with a cloth or using the 0000 equivelant pad. Be careful what teak oil you use and get a pure one such as the Starbright. Some, like the Watco, are mixed with urethanes and give a harder, glossier finish. A lot of this info is thanks to "Doug Carlton"...
 
#5 ·
I used something like 5 coats of Teak Oil on mine, didn't sand between coats as it didn't need it. I put a few coats of gun wax on after letting it sit for a few days after the final coat. Turned out great. I used Watco brand IIRC - think I picked it up at Home Depot.
 
#7 ·
Different methods will yield different results. It all depends on what you want:

Finishing walnut with steel wool between coats in my opinion inhibits contrast. It is exceptional at dulling the sheen of Oils that contain dryers and polymers, but will never truly remove the buildup on the finish that these kind of oils leave and is unnecessary for oils that do not contain those components. Thus the dull, less contrasted result.

My eyes and fingers like a pure, transparent result that makes the wood appear glass-like in chemistry, in composition, but not glossy like a restaurant table with an inch of varnish between you and the wood.

For that type of finish I use a specific teak oil and wet sand between coats until I can finish no higher, usually between 800 and 2000 grit. With walnut most of the work is in "Finishing the finish" or finely polishing this final finish with the finer and finer grit until it is glass-like but not glossy.

You have a high-dollar rare stock. Whatever you do, go slow. Go with your intuition and learn from what you do in your efforts. You will develop your own way and it will be special to you in doing so.

Enjoy the ride
 
#10 ·
An almost disaster - Someone else can learn from :
It has been 20 years since I last refinished a stock so at one point I said "Self" didn't we use heat to bring up the grain - yeah we did; then I thought ... I don't remember if I'm supposed to wet it first then heat it or just heat it .... so instead of ask for directions I decided to try without wetting it < so I did the cheekpiece .... fired up the propane torch, figuring the blow dryer would be slow, .... you probably guessed it; half of it went black so fast I thought it was in a time-warp.... so I said might as well do the other half and I did ...black .... then I wasn't sure it was not still burning so I dunked it in water to be sure; and while I was still in a panic I grabbed a wire brush and started to rub off the black ...... Dumby .... water made the wood softer and the wire brush was hard, so I got 1/4" grooves in the black :$*..<@ etc.... at that point I thought of getting SAI on the phone and ask them to ship me a new one - instead I dunked it in water one more time to make sure it wasn't still burning and put it down to dry. I spent the next two days hand sanding and got it to the point it is at in that picture, although on top it is slightly shorter - I will not forget that one for many years.
 
#11 · (Edited)
when ya'll say synthetic pads are you talking about the green or blue ( non-scratch) scrubbie pads ??
 
#12 ·
My stock is still soaking in oil around the grip area top and bottom, so I will keep working it.

When I use the steel oil it takes off the gummy feeling left in some areas and gives it a sheen, but not a high gloss, so I will not use steel wool on it any more.
Wet sanding coming up.

How long to wait between coats ???? 24-36 hrs ?

I had bought Watco oil from Lowe's - If it turns out anything like Renisin's I will be Amazed.
 
#13 ·
My stock is still soaking in oil around the grip area top and bottom, so I will keep working it.

When I use the steel oil it takes off the gummy feeling left in some areas and gives it a sheen, but not a high gloss, so I will not use steel wool on it any more.
Wet sanding coming up.

How long to wait between coats ???? 24-36 hrs ? Yes wipe it on,wipe it off let sit for 24hrs or til dry.

I had bought Watco oil from Lowe's - If it turns out anything like Renisin's I will be Amazed.
Please don't let it gum up. you need to wipe it down with paper towels after a few minutes. Just wipe it on and wipe it off. If you find you don't like where you are, you can wet sand until you are as Wade said,"finishing the finish". Wet sand with 400 or 600 and work your way up to 1000 or 2000 grit. Then wipe the teal oil on with a paper towel and wipe off with a clean paper towel.

Wade also said go slow, that's good advice.
 
#14 ·
I think I've got it:

wipe on, wait a few, wipe off and then let dry, then wet sand, then let dry, then do it again.

Right?
 
#16 ·
Will start over tomorrow .....

Thank You so Much

I will post Pic's at the end of process ; then put rifle together, then post pics again.
 
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#17 ·
Sanded off excess .....

When I got excess teak off of the cheek-piece it looked BAD; so I broke down and called SAI to buy a replacement cheek-piece sent to me.

They were shorthanded due to the storm but gave me the answers I needed.

1. SAI does not keep any in stock
2. SAI does not make them / they buy them and serial number them to the rifle.

I will attached pic's of my old cheek-piece, which I need to send back - and if I want the cheek-piece to fit my rifle stock I also have to send the stock in .

SO, the moral of the story is - Be More Careful than I was because even if you try to pretty it up by putting lipstick on it it will still be a pig
 
#19 ·
I ended up going to NAPA for wet/dry sand paper : 600/800/1000/1500/2000 as recommended.
 
#20 ·
There is more to the story .....
 
#21 ·
and it gets worse before getting better
 
#22 ·
I call SAI and ask for a replacement cheek-piece: after a couple times on hold (because I wouldn't take "we don't have any" and "I don't know where to get one" I asked there where they got them and they told me to call Wenig custom gun stocks for a cheek-piece ..... I called and talked to a relatively new employee ( who was nice) but didn't know what an M1A was let alone an M21 adjustable stock looked like, but was nice .... she said if I sent it to them they would make me one but if I wanted it to fit my stock I would need to include my stock also; on their website it shows an M1A with a wooden handguard so I asked and she said they could make it just include it in the shipment.....
 
#24 ·
So I packed the stock, cheeck-piece, and handguard and put in the US Post Office; I decided for the heck of it to insure it and picked a random $ amount of $750. I tracked it that day - it shows "arrival" and then shows "put on truck to sorting facility"
I did address it to Wenig Custom Gun Stocks, Inc. - - - - Oops

Anyway as far as I can tell someone stole them ..... the box never re-appears anywhere.... I go to the post office and explain to the boss and he says " you have to wait a month to do a claim" NOT we will try to track it down. The USPS web-site says 15 days before a claim can be made and you have to have a whole list of stuff to include... As of today the box has still not re-appeared and I don't think it will.
 
#25 ·
then I call Wenig back and ask "what if my box never gets to you can you make me a stock for my M21 SA ..... she is nice but new ..... and can't find the specs or a listing and finally says IF you have one we can copy it.

I checked Boyd's and one other stock place and neither have a listing on their web-sites for an SA M21 type stock, Mcmillan either, nor Archangel

At this point I am wondering if it is being discontinued nationwide, but there is more.
 
#26 ·
I finally go back to the Post Office and ask if they found it ...no is still their answer

It was in Florida, there was no 50 car pile-up due to bad weather ......
no answer
 
#27 ·
So at this point I determine it was stolen and now I need an entire stock, cheek-piece, and handguard so I try Springfield Armory one more time:

I spoke with a nice person in Customer Service: she said hold on ........................ We have 2 in stock and NONE on Order so if you want one you better tell me now.

I said Yes, then asked how much ( including hardware and handguard clip, fitting, glass bedding, etc )
$725.00
 
#28 ·
I then had to send in my barrel, action, and left over parts to be fitted to the glass bedding and put together

hmmmm

should I send them US Post Office ??
I don't think so

Nice SA lady says how about FEDEX round trip - I say Only if I can insure it for full price, since it will be when it comes back. She says she can e-mail me a Fedex link and I can print my label, I say good but verify that I am insured, she returns after short hold and says yes insured.....
About an hour later I get the e-mail and look at "Declared Value" it says $ 100.00 and IF this document is not right don't print the labels.

I call her back but SA had closed Friday of Holiday weekend. So I take it to our local Fedex place and they say, Fedex won't pick up Sat or Sunday and Not sure about Holiday on Monday plus I can not change insured amount on my end; but I can make a new label and pay for it myself....
So I do new label ( with insurance) It costs me one way what it would have cost round trip with their business account .... and I leave it there.
Yep I got a receipt.
 
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