[ShotgunPro]

I have bottom of the barrel Remington 870 Express, just plain jane wood stock. I want to put some sort of semi gloss varnish or lacquer on it to make it a little more water proof and all around a little tougher. Anyone have some first hand experience with this or some really good advice? Was considering a out door semi-gloss brush on lacquer, but am concerned with the smoothness of the finish, figured I would have to sand and buff, which is an entirely different subject we'll have to address in the near future.
Also, with a stock set from a regular 870 fit on an Express? Thought about just buying a nicer set of wood of a Wing-master or other model.

 

[ShotgunPro]

Try a hand rubbed teak oil finish. Start out by wet sanding with the teak oil and fine grit wet paper. The wet sanding with teak oil will help to fill the pores of the wood. Keep doing this until you start to see a slight gloss and then start with cheese cloth and rub coats in until you are sastisfied with the finish. If you want a super gloss you can rub on urethane as a final coat.