Hello Finishing experts:
My FIL has this turn-of-the Century W.W. Greener side-by-side that he inherited from his grandfather. Back around 1930, his grandfather cut off the butt and butt plate (due to his stature) and threw it in a cigar box. The end was found recently, my FIL and I reattached it (the butt plate had been glued AND screwed so no way to remove) and he wanted me to try to match the finish. (He spoke with Greener's great-great grandson who now runs the company, but he couldn't tell us the finish they'd used ... guessed a concoction of BLO and or shellac ...) I sanded the reattachment smooth and told him that I didn't think I'd be able to just throw some Tru-Oil on and call it good. I got him to agree to let me sand it more uniformly but I didn't chemically strip (see second pix).
I then applied multiple coats of Tru-Oil waiting days between reapplications and then let it sit for weeks. (It looked really nice as in the 3rd picture). When I began to buff yesterday, it smoothed out, but was dull on much of the stock and shiny on others. I used wet micro mesh with the rubber pad for this purpose.
He wants to pick the gun stock up next week so he can show it off to his friends . . . yikes.
Anyone know of a quick fix I can use? I'm thinking of a coat or two of dewaxed shellac to hide the dull / shiny spots? (And yes, I've told him. I'm not trying to "hide" anything but the uglies!) He's almost 80 and is getting understandably impatient.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
IMG_1032.jpgIMG_1046.jpgDSC00378.jpg