I just received a Rhineland Para stock for my Remington 597 and need to finish it. I have a little experience finishing wood but it is mostly stain/poly type work on trim, flooring, and outdoor furniture...this is a whole new ball game. This is my garage varmint gun and it is going to have a collapsible AR stock to help keep it compact and my Wiljen predator light on the front, so this doesn't need to be the most fancy finish ever. White it is a nice looking piece, I don't particularly care if the wood grain shows or anything like that. I had even considered just spraying it flat black to match the hardware, but I figured without much more effort I could have a much nicer product with a real wood finish. The main goal is durability here.
I have it sanded up to 220 but still need to wet the grain and sand with 220 again. The manufacturer recommends Woodcraft Waterlox or basic spar varnish. I was wondering how something like Minwax Polyshades in a dark color would turn out. What would you experts suggest?