clear coating stocks

eddief

Eddie Fosnaugh
Looking for someone to professionally clear coat a laminated Tracker stock with only 2 to 3 weeks turnaround.

I will have the stock in a few weeks and don't mind paying good money for a professional job. Thanks!

Eddie
 
clear coat

I have talked my cousin who does auto body to do mine. Check with some local body shops where you are.
 
Eddie...

Go down to your local automotive paint supplier. PPG makes a clearcoat, large aerosol can, for spot repair. It costs about ten bucks and is plenty for one stock, three coats. Have your stock clean and wiped off with thinner, put a handle on your stock to hold while you spray and a hook to hang it when your done, and spray it yourself. Follow the instructions on the can for drying and recoating times.

Jim
 
eddief,

All body shops shoot catalyzed automotive clearcoat routinely and that is a great clearcoat material for laminated stocks. The limitation of body shops is that they probably don't have the skill set to prep a wood stock properly for painting. And even if they are willing, you probably don't want to pay them for their time while the do something they are not already equiped for. One approach would be for you to prep the stock yourself and deliver it to a painter for clearcoat only. Be prepared, prep is the majority of the work required on the way to a finished stock. You may decide that you might as well paint it yourself with rattle cans and take the opportunity to wet sand between coats.

Another important question is who's going to bed it?

Greg
 
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eddie sir

greg is right on the money .i work in a body shop and the clearcoats on cars is the way to go but they can sure screw your stock up too not knowing about wood. i have had a few stocks cleared with catylized clear and if they bake it at all it will turn in to a bubble machine. but the clearcoats nowdays are tottally bulletproof,they can even resist carb cleaner,they have really good depth with very few coats needed as well,it will shrink eventually in a few years so a good sealer first can slow the shrinking down,if their clearcoat is compatible with fiberglass resin,about 2 or 3 heavy coats and then block sand it to 320-600 grit and do this your self this will seal the wood very well and wont cost you much to have it squirted then, normally,the clear coat is easy to do as greg said prep it if you want to save money and time.but make darn sure you tell them not to bake it at all and if you have bedded it already make sure they dont paint the bedding area ,that one has cost me a few times,i just get the pillers fitted and glued ,channel,trigger guard and front action bolt bushing hole cut ,then paint it and bed very last to be safe now. hope this helps sir tim in tx
 
I can have it done for you. Although I personally don't care for them. Everyone I've ever seen crazed and split shortly after being done.

Still, I have a local guy who does my automotive gun stock paint work for the blinged out palma/bench/varmint rigs.

Gimme a call Monday if you like.

Chad
 
tim in tx,

I've got a Shehane Obeche wood one to do. Could you tell me which clear coat brand would be compatible with epoxy? I'll probably slobber the liquid epox on with a brush and sand it out to flat. Then clearcoat.

al
 
Al,

I use West Systems epoxy thinned with acetone and sprayed for sealer (a brush will add bubbles) and PPG System 2000 (DCU 2021) clear coat for the finish. Your vendor will get you the right reducer and hardener. Don't breath any of this stuff. It's bad. Get your resperator from the guy that sells you your paint. A big mill file makes a good tool to flatten the epoxy on the flat contours of a Tracker stock.

Greg
 
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I've built several guns on Bill's stocks. The Obeche and the "Injun blanket" patterns mostly.

FWIW this wood will take True Oil very nicely. The depth and richness that an oil finish provides won't be matched by clear.

Plus if you ever have a nick/ding to repair its much easier. Just scuff and reapply VS dragging out the spray gun.


Just a thought.
 
Al,

I use West Systems epoxy thinned with acetone and sprayed for sealer (a brush will add bubbles) and PPG System 2000 (DCU 2021) clear coat for the finish. Your vendor will get you the right reducer and hardener. Don't breath any of this stuff. It's bad. Get your resperator from the guy that sells you your paint. A big mill file makes a good tool to flatten the epoxy on the flat contours of a Tracker stock.

Greg

Thanks Greg. This one is completely recontoured with inside radii all over :eek: gonna' be a bear to sand out to flat.

I'll go down to Bob's Paint Land, my automotive paint source, and get 'er done.

Dunno's I dare spray epoxy or cyanoacrylate either one....

al
 
I've built several guns on Bill's stocks. The Obeche and the "Injun blanket" patterns mostly.

FWIW this wood will take True Oil very nicely. The depth and richness that an oil finish provides won't be matched by clear.

Plus if you ever have a nick/ding to repair its much easier. Just scuff and reapply VS dragging out the spray gun.


Just a thought.

If I was sure Tru Oil wouldn't color the wood I'd do it in a heartbeat..... I'm a Brownell's trained gunsmith from way back. Done RUBBED me some oil.... but this thing is from Billy's run of Patriot wood, Red White and Blue in American Flag colors. I gotta' keep it sharp, snow white.

al
 
I just had a Shehane Obeche clearcoated. This stock is several years old and had some dings and the finish was starting to get gummy. I sanded it and took it to a guy that restores cars. He shot 3 coats of clear and sanded, 3 coats of clear and sanded, 3 coats of clear and sanded, and finished with 3 coats of clear and buffed. 12 coats altogether minus what was sanded. Since it was a clearcoat, not a paint and clearcoat, he couldn't use a heavy primer to fill the stock and then topcoat. He had to build up with clearcoat and sand. He said they had over 10 hours of labor but he charged me for 7 hours since it was the first one they had done and he wanted to get an idea of what was required so he could be ready for others that asked. I have another clearcoated laminated stock that is several years old that has no cracking or crazing. That is why I wanted to go that way with this one.
 
al sir

sounds like you have been given good advice already.we use sikkens,and speas- heckler and as far as i know you can clear over epoxy with most of the automotive clears.epoxy makes a good sealer and sands very well too.i have had my buddy clearcoat a few remington adl and bdl stocks over the orginal epoxy coating and they have turned out very well with no issues unless it was baked.if you are sealing with clear if you wet the surface of the stock before sealing and then let dry it will bring the grain up and you dont have to coat it very many times to get the wood to seal up .just adding to the good advice thar mr al. tim in tx
 
Sooooo, tim and others......

Is there any DOWNside to doing my seal/fill coats using a very clear epoxy? It sure seems an easy way, get it FILLED and get it FLAT and then mess with the clearcoat?

Does that sound doable?

Anything to be scared of?

I'd shore hate to wreck SEVeral hunnerd dollars worth of wood not to mention 50hrs time....

al
 
al sir

worst case you can sand it back off.i dont think you will find an non pigmented clear sealer made for automobiles . with that being said i would go with gregs suggestion and dont worry about it a bit. tim in tx
 
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