# stock stripping/refinishing



## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

I would like to strip and refinish and old stock, and I'm looking for some opinions on the best way to go about it.


----------



## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

For te stripping, try a medium grit paper to remove the old finish, and smooth it out with a fine grit.

Im not sure what your going for, but try sanding off the original coat, stain it to your liking, and seal it with a nice synthetic sealant. polish it all up with some Orange oil and it should be a beautifull new stock for ya! :thumb:


----------



## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

I thought about sanding it, but its already a very thin stock and I don't want to make it any less safe to use.


----------



## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

i was wondering about that...do you have any kind of a Varnish remover than maybee could take that off? how deeply is the stain set into the wood? my sks needs re-finished ( im just going to buy a new stock, and re-do it myself, the original has to much historic value) but i bet you could take off the stain with some sort of thiner or solvant, becase the stain is only set into the wood about 1mm.

What kind of gun are we talking? .308? 12ga? .338 Lapua Magnum?


----------



## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

Yeah its not very thick, I'm thinking about using formsby but I'm still open to suggestions. It's a mauser.


----------



## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

That sounds like it would probably be a good idea. undfortunately my knowledge of wood working is limited to a 7'th grade shop class, helping my dad build donghouses/sheds, and making a few boxes and benches on my own :-? but iv got a Carpentry Major in my Dorm room. Ill ask him if he knows of a good way to take stain out of wood withough removing material. :beer:


----------



## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

Thanks Trooper


----------



## mr.trooper (Aug 3, 2004)

Thats a No-go on the stain. i asked my roomate and he said that the you may just have to be carefull and sand verry lightly ( just enough to take off the finish).

Sorry i cant be of more help.


----------



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

MT

There is a very safe stripper at Wally World. I can't remember the name right now. It is in a plastic container and the stripper is orange colored. I hope that is enough description for you to check it out. If you stock is old that type of finish will come off easily, and the stripper I am talking of you can use indoors. That will remove the finish and no wood. After that try double 00 steel wool. It should pull some stain off with negligible wood removal.

If you are going to restain I like Minnwax. I use 224 Special Walnut. If you want it lighter mix it with Golden Oak until it looks like you want it. Use a rubber glove and apply the stain with a rag. Use little stain and rub it in hard. This will make the grain stand out much better than using a brush.

If you desire the finish to show patina like the old finishes do use an oil finish like True Oil. I apply mine with two fingers and rub in thin layers with the heal of my hand. It will give you a hand rubbed finish much like classic tung oil. Hope this is of some help.


----------



## SniperPride (Sep 20, 2004)

Exactly Plainsman, sand and make sure its all dusted off well, use Tru-Oil, put in a heat cabinet and let her dry, of course you will have to use alot of coats, I would recommend 10+ more is better....Ive done the procedure many times with excellent results every time. Tru-Oil works wonders


----------



## GunRunner (Oct 18, 2004)

actually, use a good stripper on the stock, and remove finish,stain and all. remeber that most oils impregnated in the stock will be down just below the stain. sand it smooth using sucessively finer sandpaper, and RINSING WELL AFTER EACH . use OOOO steel wool to wisker the stock. pick a nice walnut ( or whatever color you personally like) and restain the stock AFTER your where you want to be with your sanding)

personally, as far as finish goes, i generally use minwax poly in either gloss or semi-gloss, whichever the customer prefers. apply as many coats as it takes to completely fill the grain, using OOOO steel wool between coats.

youll be very happy with the results, and youll find the poly will seal the stock up completely, protecting it from the harsh effects of the weather, and will look like a million bucks.

stock refinishing is requested by my customers quite often. my customers have been quite happy with the results ive given them.


----------



## SniperPride (Sep 20, 2004)

customers?


----------



## GunRunner (Oct 18, 2004)

SniperPride said:


> customers?


yes, im a firearms dealer/gunsmith/state certifed handgun instructor/state certified handgun combat instructor.


----------



## SniperPride (Sep 20, 2004)

ah cool, Im a gunsmith too. I usually do custom rifles and such.


----------



## northerndave (Dec 6, 2004)

I've done a few. I like getting rid of the varnish type finishes with a chem stripper like zip strip. It draws most of the stain out too. Rinse very well with water before you start re-finish. I use the birchwood casey stains (be sure the wood is completely clean & completely dry forst) rub the desired amount of color in, let it dry & start with the true oil. I love an oil finished wood gun stock. Hardwood or walnut, heck it's the way to go but it takes time. The right way is very time consuming, they say to basically wet sand with postage stamp sized squares of 1000 grit, useing the true oil under the sandpaper. this looks messy, you end up creating a sludge & the true oil/sanding dust is pushed into open pores... that's stage one, it goes on from there. let me see if I can find you a link that I used to reference..... here it is. I think this guy is probably trying to sell product too but this gives a good idea of the efforts that can be spent for a high end oil finish.
http://www.winrest.com/oil%20instructions.html

You don't have to put this much into it though, I've done some by rubbing coats onto th stained stock, letting the oil dry, buffing with 0000 steel wool, re-applying oil, let dry, over & over until the wood grain is sealed & then some, then buff a final tome & use stock sheen compound to buff to gloss if desired, maintain with gun stock wax.

Good luck, I have plans to do several walnut stocks this winter.


----------



## Pete K. (Dec 8, 2004)

The link below has a lot of great info not only on stock refinishing, but also abarrel bedding, barel pillaring etc etc. You may want to set it to your "favorites" for future use. 
Hope this helps you,
Good Luck with your project.
Pete K.
http://riflestocks.tripod.com/


----------

