Tung oil finishing

Tung oil is great, just have patience to allow many coats to dry properly. Gives you a beautiful finish.
You shouldn't see blotching with tung oil, but sometimes beach wood is very temperamental. Most nice hardwoods don't blotch.

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I watched another video, if I recall correctly, by the same guy and it was about shellac.
I don’t know if shellac is a good idea for gun stocks but I did learn some neat things.
One thing I wasn’t aware of was, once you open the can and don’t use it in a fairly short time it is no longer useable. Another thing I learned was you can buy shellac in flake form and you just mix it with isopropyl alcohol
and when you apply it it immediately starts drying and depending on the size of the project, by the time you’re done you can start applying a second coat, and so on and so on.
 
I've seen lots of Stumpy Nubs videos because I do a lot of woodworking. He is a pretty decent source on woodworking. Tung oil is a very traditional finish and would be OK for gunstocks if you don't mind reapplying it regularly. Better than boiled linseed oil because it is more water resistant. The current "in thing" in woodworking finishes are hard wax oils. Rubio monocoat is one which I have not used and Osmo Poly oil is another that I have used on a table and chairs and a bedroom set. I will probably try it on my next gunstock. These finishes are literally wipe on finishes. You do not want to leave a layer on the wood, you wipe off excess before it dries. Usually you would apply 2 or 3 coats about 8 hours apart. Periodic reapplication is not necessary but can be done if the finish gets dinged. Osmo comes in various sheens. You can get satin and probably glossier types. The main disadvantage to Osmo is cost. It isn't cheap but even the smallest container would easily do several gunstocks - because you apply so little.

My gunstocks to date (I've made 4) have been finished with polyurethane. It is the most durable. Oil based will give an amber cast and water borne will be totally clear. On the first stock I think I applied linseed oil and let it dry a month before applying the polyurethane. Oil and hard wax finishes will make unusual grain more apparent. Poly not so much.
 
I've seen lots of Stumpy Nubs videos because I do a lot of woodworking. He is a pretty decent source on woodworking. Tung oil is a very traditional finish and would be OK for gunstocks if you don't mind reapplying it regularly. Better than boiled linseed oil because it is more water resistant. The current "in thing" in woodworking finishes are hard wax oils. Rubio monocoat is one which I have not used and Osmo Poly oil is another that I have used on a table and chairs and a bedroom set. I will probably try it on my next gunstock. These finishes are literally wipe on finishes. You do not want to leave a layer on the wood, you wipe off excess before it dries. Usually you would apply 2 or 3 coats about 8 hours apart. Periodic reapplication is not necessary but can be done if the finish gets dinged. Osmo comes in various sheens. You can get satin and probably glossier types. The main disadvantage to Osmo is cost. It isn't cheap but even the smallest container would easily do several gunstocks - because you apply so little.

My gunstocks to date (I've made 4) have been finished with polyurethane. It is the most durable. Oil based will give an amber cast and water borne will be totally clear. On the first stock I think I applied linseed oil and let it dry a month before applying the polyurethane. Oil and hard wax finishes will make unusual grain more apparent. Poly not so much.
Thank you. Good info.
I have a piece of walnut a friend gave me recently. I think I’m going to sand it and try several different treatments on all surfaces to see what it looks like when finished.