How to protect a matte finish on a walnut Gun Stock?

I have been using Hoppes #9 on my winchester 1300′s stock for about 5 years now, and I have noticed that it is getting a very nice shine to it. I just give it a rub down after taking it out each time. Last weekend I got a new Super X3, but I do not want to lose the matte finish of the walnut.

Does anybody have any ideas on how to protect the stock without giving it that hand oiled look?? The vast majority of my shooting is in nice weather, but I do like to take it out for upland and waterfowl hunting in the fall. So, it does get a wet a couple times a year. Any advice is very welcome.

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4 comments a "How to protect a matte finish on a walnut Gun Stock?"

Try using some furniture wax. If you get your gun wet hunting, you might want to remove the stock and fore end and treat any unfinished wood with a thin coat of varnish or wood sealer….I use Thompson’s wood sealer.

What you have been doing is actually damaging the stock over time. Hoppe’s #9 is a gun oil, not a stock finish, meant for lubricating metal parts. If you have a satin finish on your stock, that gun oil is slowly eating that finish away.

Switch over to a linseed oil based or carnuba wax based stock rub. It will maintain your stock’s finish and protect it as well.

Try Brownell’s at:

I can’t imagine why you would be using Hoppe’s #9 on your gun stock. Hoppe’s #9 is a nitro powder solvent not a stock polish. Use the Hoppes to remove burned powder fouling from the action and bore. To protect the finsh on your stock, use some paste wax. My preference is Renaissance Wax. It is available from such places as Cabelas or Midway USA. Sometimes you can find it in fine furniture stores. Just apply it according to the directions and it will protect your stock from the elements and keep it looking nice. It is excellent for protecting the metal surfaces of your gun, too. Do not use it in the bore. It is excellent for exterior surfaces but don’t put it on interior surfaces because it will be burned by the heat of the cartridge and leave some gunk in your barrel. This is the stuff that museums use to protect all kinds of surfaces from wood to metal.

Boiled Linseed oil, available at your hardware store, is the way to go. I just stained a light colored riflestock to a darker Walnut color, then applied 2 coats of the Linseed oil. It doesn’t have a shine to it all, yet is somewhat protected by the oil. Just wipe a coat of it on the stock, wait about 15 minutes, and wipe it off. Put it up overnight to dry thoroughly, and repeat the process the next day. It wont hurt to put several coats on if you want to build up a little shine. After hunting season is over, you can reapply it the following year when you want to hunt again.

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