HW99 stock refinish

valevelo · Oct 28, 2025

chouchin66 said:
A pre -stain conditioner application prior to staining & sand end grain( front of pistol grip/ fore end tip) to a finer grit than the rest of the stock's final sanding. Both of these will lessen " blotchiness" that Beech is famous for & keep end grain more even & in line with the rest of the stock's stain color.

Cheers Chris. How much of a gap in grit would you say between majority of stock and end grain? I've got 600/800/1000/1200/1500 paper

chouchin66 · Oct 28, 2025

valevelo said:
Cheers Chris. How much of a gap in grit would you say between majority of stock and end grain? I've got 600/800/1000/1200/1500 paper

Not much need really to go past 320 on the stock main body ( whiskered & cut back) & up to ~ 600 - 800 on end grain. I'll wet sand in the first coats of top finish with fine grit to level out things. Use an oil based stain though to not re - whisker your surface, after all that careful finish sanding. I've learnt after a couple stocks, more finer grit on ends.

... The pre stain stuff is only a really mild cut of shellac, but off the rack stuff works well ( Minwax product here).

Michaelmilneminster · Oct 29, 2025

As the the master @chouchin66 has said sand down to 600-800 and use a finer paper on the end grains with a wood conditioner. After this knowledge was shared to me my first beech stock came out spot on

Michaelmilneminster · Oct 29, 2025

As the the master @chouchin66 has said sand down to 600-800 and use a finer paper on the end grains with a wood conditioner. After this knowledge was shared with me my first beech stock came out spot on

Stockscrew · Oct 29, 2025

Ian Cartmell said:
I've had great success with walnut, but the grain ends on the pistol grip/cheek swell with beech always end up darker and in my daft head I add more coats thinking it will help the rest of the stock match in, but it just makes the grain ends even darker
It's strictly a pro job on beech/stains for me.

Beech stocks stained with alkanet oil do not, in my experience, send end grain darker. Alkanet chips fully steeped in raw linseed will stain beech after many coats to the colour shown on the two guns below. The more coats applied, the darker the wood will go. To achieve a gloss finish I use artists grade linseed that has had the fats filtered out. This grade of oil dries much quicker than ordinary raw linseed without the use of driers as in boiled linseed. Using this grade of oil allows it to be applied in flood coats that eventually soak into the wood without drying on the surface as can happen with the boiled variery.

valevelo · Oct 30, 2025

Will likely order conditioner and stain today. Rustins Pre Stain wood Conditioner and Rustins Walnut stain

Should I seal with wax after?

Gareth Tee · Oct 30, 2025

Don't ask me, it's your rifle.

Just saying before you ask me?

chouchin66 · Oct 30, 2025

valevelo said:
Will likely order conditioner and stain today. Rustins Pre Stain wood Conditioner and Rustins Walnut stain

View attachment 833889

Should I seal with wax after?

You'll be wanting to top coat ( for longer wear, & ease of care and maintenence) after stain application( & drying of same). There's a lot of ways to go...raw Linseed oil( takes an age to dry), raw Tung oil ( takes an age also) - either of these cut with Turpentine & added Japan Drier( cobalt & Naptha) will speed drying process immensely. Danish oil ( essentially a wiping varnish), Birchwood Casey " Tru -Oil" also a type of oil with resins added ( varnish)... Long list. Any of the above will require multiple ( very thin) coats & a dry time of ( in your climate) ~ 48 hours to be safe. Wax, as a final finisher , should you need to fix a ding or scratch, will need removing with a rag( s) dampened with Mineral Spirits , before any added ( oil/ varnish) finish will take & stay put.

Danthepainter · Oct 31, 2025

Sanding really shoul be a last resort. Old finish is best removed with a proper cabinet scraper. Anything past 240 is merely polishing and will inhibit the dye penetrating the wood properly. As you're following the grain and beech is a close grained wood it wont be noticeable. The end grain like the pistol grip will be ok to 320. When done you can wet it to raise the grain, let it dry and then dye it. 240 again, dye again then start with the oil. Steel wool is fine as long as you aren't using any water based products. Taught by my Dad who was a cabinet maker for 50+ years.