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!


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