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repair finish on oil finished stock

saserby
I recently picked up an older SxS with what appears to be an oil finish. There was a layer of grime built up in the wrist area, which I removed with a very soft scotch pad and warm water. It came off easily, but the wood underneath has a dry, dull appearance compared to the rest of the stock. Any suggestions on how to blend back the color to the original? I'm thinking of just rubbing in some linsead oil to the affected area. The stock is walnut, but has a slight redish color for walnut. Makes me wonder if there is some stain added.
I'm really not interested in taking the whole stock down and starting from scratch. I'm hoping someone can give me some ideas of how to blend it. Any advice?
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  • oldemagics
    sorry, just ran accross this post...
    you can match MOST finishes with linseed oil or tung oil
    just rub a thin coat at a time, and rub well with a soft cloth after dry BEFORE adding another coat
    if a stain is needed to match up, it can be added between coats with linseed, (sometimes) with tung
    if there is checkering, use a toothbrush to keep it from building up in the lines before it starts to set up
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  • slumlord44
    I have used TruOil with much success in the same manner.
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  • RCrosby
    Good advice on what to do. Nothing to add except that the dull appearance may have resulted from your use of a "soft scotch pad".
    For future reference I wouldn't recommend that kind of abrasive. When doing an entire stock I'll use 0000 steel wool between coats with good results; ending up with a nice satin sheen. Even the 0000 I wouldn't use on the final coat IF I was going for a gloss finish.
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