What stock finish?

I'm toying with the idea of getting my stock refinished as it's got a bit marked up over a year of fairly heavy use. 

Are there are advantages/disadvantages over particular finishes? E.g. London Best being a bit slippy in the wet?

I need a hard wearing finish mainly, quite like the look of hand finished slightly matt.

Is this the Essevierre stock on your Rizzini? if so it's probably the same easily marked oil finish as on CGs because Essevierre make CG stocks. You can refresh it yourself as a very pleasant task on these long winter evenings. CG suggest boiled linseed oil but something like a Trade Secrets kit will give a harder finish. There's also Beretta TruOil which actually isn't all that true as it's a blend of oil and shellac (or similar) but is quite hard wearing.

Westward said:

Is this the Essevierre stock on your Rizzini? if so it's probably the same easily marked oil finish as on CGs because Essevierre make CG stocks. You can refresh it yourself as a very pleasant task on these long winter evenings. CG suggest boiled linseed oil but something like a Trade Secrets kit will give a harder finish. There's also Beretta TruOil which actually isn't all that true as it's a blend of oil and shellac (or similar) but is quite hard wearing.

Click to expand...

It is the Essevierre stock. I'm keen to keep it in the best condition I can hence asking about the best finishes. 

Would the use of a trade secrets kit require the existing finish to be stripped back? 

I've put a number of coats of the 'Slippery Dicks' wax on to keep it protected and waterproofed.

I have always used the Trade Secrets or CCL products to good effect. I have never liked Tru-Oil because of the final finish that I achieve, although I do know that others have used it without problems. As far as waterproofing the finish goes, I have only ever used a wax spray designed for furniture. This has proved to work well and the stock does not take on that 'white' effect in the rain. If I need to re oil the wood, I use some 0000 grade steel wool and a drop of stock oil, GENTLY rubbed over the surface before re-oiling with stock oil. This has worked for me over the last 50 years or so.

Doug Pinnegar said:

Would the use of a trade secrets kit require the existing finish to be stripped back? 

I've put a number of coats of the 'Slippery Dicks' wax on to keep it protected and waterproofed.

Click to expand...

No need to strip back to bare wood but it would need to be cleaned with something like Liberon 0000 steel wool with white spirit to remove handling residue and get rid of the wax which would act as a barrier to the oil. Use a toothbrush on the chequering.

Here's a little pdf about Trade Secrets: http://www.ruag.co.uk/userfiles/file/what_is_trade_secrets.pdf

Personally, I would never spoil a properly oiled stock from the likes of Essevierre by putting wax on it. Their finish is rainproof as it stands - which is more than you can say about certain (cough)Berettas.

A traditional oil finish will always dull down with use and weather. The only reason they are finished with a high gloss is that they look good when the customer buys it. Once you have a good oil finish, which does take time, all you need to do is apply a little oil every so often. The benefit over a Truoil style finish is that scratches are easily rectified rather than have to strip and refinish. All depends on what you like. The London finish has been used for years and I'm sure if it could have been bettered it would have as it does take a long time to do properly. What you do notice with guns that have had a traditional oil finish from new is that many retain most of their wood, that is they have not been sanded to be refinished. Our last SxS sidelock was over 115 years old but the wood still perfect and easily kept in great shape with a little oil every so often.