Another question about paste wax.

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Deus Machina

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So I'm refinishing my dad's old pheasant gun. A Stevens 311, so it was never the flashy barbecue gun, but I'm surpassing its previous workhorse status to something showcasing all my limited skill (but abundant care) to brightly polished bluing and wood.
I've heard the praises of Johnson's paste wax, and figure since it will spend 99.9% of its life in storage that's worth a try. But however good the receiver looks in satin, I want one that will retain the beautiful bluing on the barrel and won't dull the polish on the wood.
Johnson's advertises a 'satin sheen'. Is that incorrect, or has anyone used anything that keeps a high gloss?
A big preference for being able to pop by Lowe's or Home Depot and grab a can.
 
The more you rub it, the higher the sheen. I think it will be as shiny as you care for it to be!
 
Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish

https://www.amazon.com/Renaissance-Micro-Crystalline-Wax-Polish-65/dp/B001DSZWEM
71WDYuJyt7L._SY550_.jpg
This will give you the finish you want.
Johnson's or Min Wax paste wax will give you a nice finish, but to get that deep gloss finish the wax has to be built up. This is where the Renaissance will out shine the others. With standard paste wax you will get a slight hase, kind of milky look as it is applied thicker. The Renaissance wax will be clearer and end up glossier.
There is nothing easy about a hand polished wax finish. It's a lot of rubbing and buffing and it takes time. But in the end it's worth it.
 
Renaissance wax is used by museums to shine and protect a lot of their displays.
I use it on my guns. Wood and metal parts.
One can will last a long time.
 
Well, you guys have sold me.
Renaissance wax it is.
I was worried about time, but between waiting on a couple other parts and refinishing the wood, I think it'll take a while anyway.
 
Polyurethane. I believe it's oil-based. Unfortunately the only other stuff I can find is lacquer, which I worry about cracking under use, and takes even longer, spar urethane that doesn't look as good, and shellac which I definitely worry about chipping.
So poly it is.
And it's already gloss, so I don't intend to wax that much. Just the metal. I just want something that won't haze it because it's impossible not to get a little over the edges.
 
I used Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane in a spray can on this stock. It was very easy to apply and is tough.

IMAG0840~2.jpg
 
Deus Machina said:
Polyurethane. I believe it's oil-based. Unfortunately the only other stuff I can find is lacquer, which I worry about cracking under use, and takes even longer, spar urethane that doesn't look as good, and shellac which I definitely worry about chipping.
So poly it is.
And it's already gloss, so I don't intend to wax that much. Just the metal. I just want something that won't haze it because it's impossible not to get a little over the edges.
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POLY??:barf: Sorry that doesn't belong on a Savage 311. Better using a spray lacquer if you don't want to build up a oil finish of some type. It will look more original and the modern rattle can laqs look great and are very durable. But Poly belongs on yard furniture. Sorry. :thumbdown:
 
I initially had a build up of many hand rubbed coats of Tru-Oil on the gun in my pic. It took several days. I banged up the gun and decided to refinish it. The rattle can Helmsman job was done in a day. I believe the finish is more durable than Tru-oil.
 
I initially had a build up of many hand rubbed coats of Tru-Oil on the gun in my pic. It took several days.

I've used Tru-oil for years and it is durable and looks great if you apply it properly.
It takes weeks or months for it to properly cure. I've also use Minwax Helmsman on wood furniture and oars. It's CRAP in my opinion.
If you build up either it looks like a coat of plastic. Using Tru-Oil you knock the coats down between drying so it looks like a oid hand rubbed finish. Not build it up thick. The spray Polys look like a coat of plastic. Plus in my experience it peals, chips or flakes. I'd never use it on a gunstock.
 
I know, guys, I know. If I had my choice, I'd be using oil on it.
But the front and back wood are mismatched, and had been previously finished with god knows what. I already sanded as much as I'm willing to and nothing promises to penetrate without looking blotchy. And the back is hardly absorbing anything except where whatever it is soaked into the endgrain.
At least this colored poly looks less plastic than a clear. It has more of the appearance of lacquered and waxed wood so far--almost exactly how it was before--and hopefully won't change with another coat.
 
Well, I've already got a couple coats of poly on the front, and one on the butt. If it doesn't work out--I already had to strip the butt down after mistakenly taking the advice that it 'works great over just about anything else'--I'll go the traditional route. I know it's a pain to make mismatched woods look the same, and I was hoping to not spend months on it like a proper oil finish can take.
If it won't cause issues where whatever it was soaked deep into endgrain.
It's nice enough wood, I'm trying to show off a little and give it deep, polished look something akin to expensive skeet guns. Maybe not quite that Rolls Royce shiny; the wood probably isn't nice enough. What do they use for that? Something like French polish? Or just a couple dozen coats of oil?
 
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I've been doing stock work, repair, refinishing and restoration, for over 30 years. I am more then happy to pass on the things I've learned over the years.
To tell you the truth, I would be embarrassed to show you what the first stock I ever worked on. It was one step away form an abortion. But I got better.
 
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