gun finish help

[cridertj]

I bought an unfinished stock and forearm for my encore as a winter project and I fallowed the finish instructions that came with the stock which was few coats of Tung oil rubbing with steel wool in-between coats and a couple of coats of linspeed on top .it is done now but now that it is dried I have noticed some spots in the finish it looks like little dust spots in the finish I tried to clean it good between coats but bust have got some from the air any way is there any way to smooth this out with out sanding all the way down ? Also I need to fit the forearm to the stock and was looking for info on pillar beading and correct fit for an encore with standard field barrel and pillars.

[gunnut69]

Generally 'pillar' bedding is a bolt action rifle thing.. It simply means installing sleeves or pillars of material around the screws which retain the bottom metal and the receiver together. The pillars are usually aluminum and the technique was developed originally to keep a well bedded and accurate rifle from 'going sour' as they say. This was usually due to compression of the wood between the action and the bottom metal by the constant pressure of the action screws. Of late its' come to be seen as an accurrizing process but that would more properly be called bedding. Bedding the forearm on a single shot rifle is usually the first path to better groups. I've not a lot of experience with the Encore but would bed it solidly then test fire and see if the rifle is happy! If not a spacer can be installed between the barrel and fore arm in the inlet.. This effectively free floats the barrel.. The little dust bumps are likely as you said bits of dust in the finish.  Very lightly rub the stock with 0000 (4 '0' grade) steel wool. This should JUST remove the bumps, nothing more. Then depending on whether you want a gloss finish or a satin either apply a wet coat of Lin-Speed and protect from airborne dust or just wax with a fine grade of carnuba bearing wax. Dust in the air is the bane of finishes..

[gunnut69]

I forgot to add that when applying LinSpeed or TruOil use no more than what is needed to give a lubricated feel to the hand on the stock. Usually 2 - 3 drops per side. Spread the material quickly and evenly and stop before it gets sticky! I wet coat is just a very thin coat applied and not rubbed out with the steel fur.

[cridertj]

thanks i will try the steel wool this weekend. how many coats of linspeed do you recommend?

[gunnut69]

That's a very difficult question. A lot depends on the eye of the beholder and the individual piece of wood. If doing a TruOil or LinSpeed stock using just those materials apply and steel wool back a bit the finish until the pores are filled. Usually 4-6 coats..sometimes more.. Then apply at least 4 and as many as 10 coats to get to the amount of finish build up on the wood you want to see. When doing this build up I usually don't steel wool heavily and use the 0000 (4 ought) size only.. Alsio I use no more oil than it takes to keep the surface slippery?? The thinner the coats the better the finish will turn out.. After the amount of coverage you want is reached, level the surface of the finish with steel wool (0000) and either wax(satin finish) or apply 1 last thin coat as a wet coat(gloss finish).  When the pores are filled it's up to YOU! Good luck!!