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Refinishing a Sykes Stock

2K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Snyper762 
#1 ·
Anyone ever have problems getting PTO to soak into a Sykes stock?
Just to give you an idea of the process I'm using I first started with stripping the stock, I did this twice over two different nights. I then did the sanding starting with 150 grit down to 400 grit. I then (and this may be where I made my mistake) applied a coat of natural stain to help bring out the grain. Finally I applied a coat of 50/50 mix of PTO and mineral spirit. I let dry 24 hours and when I came home from work tonight it looks as though I had applied a coat of polyurethane on it. I'm assuming that it did not soak in and is just drying on top the wood. Am I wrong?

So, do I start again? I really don't want to because I'm sure most of you know what its like waiting to get your M1A bedded in that nice piece of wood...
Thanks in advance for your help...
 
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#6 ·
I've had real good luck on walnuts using the above mentioned "salad dressing", but both Doug Carlton and M1Army have their own special recipes as well.They BOTH do spectacular things with stocks that look like they should be firewood. They really do. Look up some of their past posts. Key to mine is not letting the liquid stay on the stock too long,10-15 minutes at the most or the linseed oil will start to get tacky. Wipe off real well, let it sit overnite then repeat.
PS, I call it salad dressing because of the vinegar aroma.
 
#7 ·
Hey guys figured I would bump this thread up ! I bought a New 1903A3 C Stock from CMP, its Walnut and a nice looking piece. Anyways I stripped it with acetone and got it down to bare wood pretty much & have been doing coats of Pure Tung Oil and the Citrus cutter at 50/50 mix. I have several coats and all was going well at 1st but after I started Hand Rubbing it in I was getting spots of gloss and dull areas ! The gloss is normal and I would just steel wool the stock and get it all back to dull/matte finish. I was wondering what the heck is going on so the other day I went over the "dull" area with a cloth and it still is dull after drying ! Is it sucking all the oil up ? I can take some pics to better explain but just wondering. Thanks for any help guys.
 
#9 ·
Guys my great grand dad taught me how to do stocks when I was in jr high & this has worked for me all these yrs. I still use 50/50 BLO & REAL turpentine. nothing else works as good as REAL turps! The mix HAS to be rubbed in hard, hard enough that your fingers start to burn. when it dries you will see little "sweat" beads on the surface, rub these off with a coarse rag or 400 steel wool before the next coat. sooner or later the stock will stop accepting the oil & then rub it out with a soft cloth. Don't be shy with the force you rub with, you can't hurt it. The next step is wax, but that is optional but I use Johnson's paste floor & furniture wax. Can't go wrong!
 
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