Rottenstone+Renaissance wax=GB stock facelift

[badrat55]

I spent a little time rubbing my wood last night.
Now normally, I wouldn't share this with all of you, but hey, it's Christmas, spread the cheer right?
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On a serious note, some rottenstone and Renaissance wax really transformed my GB stock.
The factory satin poly finish hid all the grain and color, now it's like glass and crystal clear.
I'd normally completely strip the factory finish and start the tedious hand rubbed oil finishing process, but I think I'll leave this one be.

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[PT7]

Badrat,

Totally agree on letting it be!

I've used Renaissance on a lot of wood stocks, and even brought back my wife's beautiful, older wood dresser with it. Always has done a good polishing job.

But I've not heard of rottenstone before. Can you talk about it a little more, and what you did with it in conjunction with the Renaissance? Thanks.

That GB wood, grains and color, turned out beautifully!! It's a definite showpiece now.
PT7

I spent a little time rubbing my wood last night.

On a serious note, some rottenstone and Renaissance wax really transformed my GB stock.
The factory satin poly finish hid all the grain and color, now it's like glass and crystal clear.... but I think I'll leave this one be.

[RanchRoper]

Sure looks good.

[CT_Shooter]

Beautiful wood! I'd like to know more about rottenstone, too. Thanks for sharing the pics. Wonderful.

[badrat55]

Thanks guys! The rottenstone is a fine powder, you work it into a slurry with water using a t shirt to work it on the stock.
You reapply water/stone to keep the consistency thick, but not so thick that it becomes gritty or sticky feeling.
Wipe off the slurry every so often and check your progress, then repeat.
It will get very shiny with the rottenstone itself, but the Renaissance wax really makes the glass like finish.
I picked up the Rottenstone from Walmart.
com and the wax from Amazon

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[Mags]

Nicely done!

[DRFROG]

I am confused. You said Rottenstone and Renaissance wax and leave it alone. Now you say Tru Oil finish. Can you just do it with Rottenstone and Renaissance wax or is there some where that you would start with the oil? I am new to this finishing technique so HELP.

[badrat55]

This is an older post.
I did this before I completely stripped the factory finish and refinished with Tru-oil.

This is the factory satin poly finish, rubbed out with rottenstone and polished with Renaissance wax to achieve a gloss finish.

My recent post about refinishing with Tru-oil involved completely removing the original finish, and the red factory stain, to reveal the natural colors of the wood.

I think you might want to watch some videos on how to use the Tru-oil and how to strip poly finishes to get familiar with what you need to do

[DRFROG]

rotten stone

[badrat55]

Yes Rottenstone.
It is a very fine powder, you mix into a slurry with water on the wood.
It buffs the factory satin poly finish out to a gloss finish.
Not the same results as a full strip and refinish with oil.
Just a gloss finish instead of satin.

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[robert6588]

I agree. The factory tends to cover up the beautiful wood grain. I might have to look into this process, though I will have to work up the nerve to tackle it.

[spsix]

That looks really nice. I may have to make a trip to Walmart.

[badrat55]

That looks really nice. I may have to make a trip to Walmart.

Thanks!
You won't find the supplies at Walmart though, unfortunately

[clovishound]

For information, rottenstone is actually an abrasive powder, more often called tripoli. It's just another way of abrading and smoothing out a film finish.

It does much the same thing as using steel wool, or very fine grade wet sanding in between coats of finish. I generally prefer wet sanding, but on items with lots of curves, nooks and crannies, it doesn't work so well, as it cuts deeper into the finish on corners and sharp curves. This is where steel wool and rottenstone shine. They follow the curves much better. With flat, or constant curving surfaces, wet sanding will give a super flat surface. If you like high gloss, nothing beats a hand rubbed lacquerfinish. This is actually multiple coats of lacquer that have been wet sanded in between coats. The final coat is wet sanded to a very high grit, and then buffed to a beautiful high gloss. It will bring out the grain and color of the wood like no other finish. Some don't care for the high gloss, but it can be very impressive.

[Mags]

.
Ren Wax can be found on Amazon, and I think Rottenstone too.

That looks really nice. I may have to make a trip to Walmart.

Thanks!
You won't find the supplies at Walmart though, unfortunately