refinishing gunstock.

[Jim O'Dell]

A friend and co-worker has a gun stock that the finish has "shattered" on. I haven't seen it yet, but sounds like a hard finish that has cracked. Any ideas on what to use to strip and refinish this with? I doubt that he knows what finish is on it, but I'm thinking what ever he refinishes it with needs to be something easy to repair or redo.
I appreciate any ideas you can help with. Jim.

[jeremy levine]

A friend and co-worker has a gun stock that the finish has "shattered" on. I haven't seen it yet, but sounds like a hard finish that has cracked. Any ideas on what to use to strip and refinish this with? I doubt that he knows what finish is on it, but I'm thinking what ever he refinishes it with needs to be something easy to repair or redo.
I appreciate any ideas you can help with. Jim.

I hear good things about tru-oil
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=3979

[John Timberlake]

I have used Waterlox finish on gun stocks before. Seems to be holding up and looks good. I did not have to down to bare wood - just mineral spirits and a light sanding on the lacquer that was on it.

For muzzle loaders, I use linseed oil. Not very durable, but easy to repair and appropriate.

[Dan Gill]

I did one several years ago with Tung Oil. It looked pretty good, but I doubt it was terribly durable. I sold the gun, so I don't know for sure. But you could easily renew it just by wiping on some more.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Jim,
"shattered" sounds like a hard oil based uerathane was applied to the surface w/out a lot of prep work being done.
Could also be a two part coating that wan't mixed properly. I've seen that happen when too much hardener was added.
Paint and varnish remover should remove whatever is on there.
It may require several applications.

There's two critical areas to be concerned with:
1.) Where the action is bedded into the frame.
2.) Where the barrel is bedded into the frame.

Prior to taking the action/barrel off for refinishing, slip a dollar bill under the barrel in between the barrel and the forestock. If you can work it all the way to the back end of the barrel, then the barrel is mounted "free floating".

When the action is taken off of the gun, make sure to check inside these areas. If there's fiberglass bedding, then extreme care needs to be taken to not disturb it with the remover.

Likewise, if the barrel is "free floating" it's critical not to sand too much material away from the inside channel. It's also critical to use the proper oil & or finish inside the channel so as not to swell the wood.

Here's a good link that will give you some ideas & provide additional links.

http://riflestocks.tripod.com/

Refinishing a rifle stock is pretty detail intensive, since the least little slip can ruin the accuracy.

[Jim O'Dell]

Thanks for the information guys!!! I've printed it and given to Tony. Don't know if I'll get to see it before or not. If so, I'll try to take some before and after pictures. Jim.

[Bob Smalser]

Here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=7691&highlight=varnished+hardwood

Just holler if you have more questions. The hard part is removing the polyurethane finish without sanding, which you shouldn't do without guidance. And do the gun a favor by not applying a finish equally difficult to remove when the time comes. Browse the professional stock finishes at Brownells.com.

Truoil, Linspeed, and the polymerized tung oils that contain real tung oil (most don't) are all renewable finishes....they can be topcoated without stripping, preserving age patina....and are the best choices.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3866245/47638240.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3866245/70170613.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/3866245/48227080.jpg

Restoring old firearms is a fun sideline.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL12/1104763/2080858/221241380.jpg

[Randy Denby]

Growing up, my dad was in the Texas Highway Patrol, then moved into Border Patrol. There was a fellow officer that was into woodworking and making gun/ pistol stocks my dad was friends with. We stopped by often and the "art" this man worked on these guns was pure magic. Beautiful wood, custom fitted to the customers hand or wants.He was popular thruout most of Texas and had a huge backlog of orders. This memory is when I began a big interest in woodworking ,and was around 1966-67.

[Mike Cutler]

Bob. Wow!!! That was some thread on Gun Stock restoration. I don't think I've ever seen that much info on the subject in one place.
I have a 1936 Browning O/U 12ga that could use some work. Maybe,,, just maybe.
Nice tutorial Bob.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Bob,
Wow! Very nice.
I've redone a few old .22's that I "rescued" from the used shelves.
One area that's always given me fits though is around the ejection port, where the powder residue & heat burn the wood.

Any tips for getting that area to blend in would be appreciated.

Dang, I might have to make a run to the gun shop and see what they have cheap on the used rack.:D

[Bob Smalser]

Hello Bob,
Wow! Very nice.
One area that's always given me fits though is around the ejection port, where the powder residue & heat burn the wood.

Any tips for getting that area to blend in would be appreciated.



To maximize value, you generally don't want legitimate age marks eliminated, you just want the inappropriate add-ons and ham-handed refinish jobs reversed to original. Like the .35 Rem 141 brush rifle in the article. A hundred-yard rainbow gun that needs a cheap, modern scope like it needs another round of abuse. ;)

That said, powder residue, like oil in the inletting (including linseed oil) rots the walnut. If you really want it gone, you have to splice in and hide a patch like I did above. But I usually just raise the grain, and treat those areas with CPES epoxy sealer (Smith Enterprises) to treat any punkiness and apply finish atop it. After the stock is sealed, you can control color and repair blending using oil pigments as I did above.

Dark stains can also be treated with oxalic acid bleach (crystals and water to make a thick paste) and stained to match afterwards. Just make sure you neutralize the acid with a baking soda wash before using CPES or stain, or the residue can gum up your first coat of finish and you won't understand why.