While the metal is being rust blued more coats of finish are going on the stock. The idea is to fill the pores you do not want a build up of finish which is why all the wet sanding. A simple stock takes around an hour to sand out for the next coat of finish. Stocks with shadow lines will take two or more hours if their is very much detail. By the time you are done you may have as many as 15 or 16 coats of finish on the stock. Once all the pores are filled and the stock is like glass wet sand it out one final time with 600 grit and you are ready for the checkering. Once the checkering is done you will have to seal it with around two coats of thinned (50/50) finish. I usually brush this into the checkering and rub as much as I can out of the checkering by hand and over the rest of the stock.

It is the stuff like this shadow line that takes the time in sanding if you do not want to round the edges.