Browning BLR high gloss finish

HChammer

HChammer

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
148   0   0
Location
Pretty close to North Bay Ontario
So I have a older browning BLR in 257 Roberts that my wife claimed as her own so I figured hey excuse to buy myself a new one.. so I bought a new one a couple years ago in 30/06 and I just don't love the high gloss furniture!

My question is how difficult is it to strip off the gloss finish and refinish it? I have refinished a few guns in the past but never anything with the glossy plastic like stock.

Thanks and sorry if this has been asked, i didn't read much through the posts.
 
I hear you on that horrible plastic finish Browning seems so fond of. Shows scratches and such no matter how carefully you treat them.

With much trepidation I stripped the finish off my Browning Citori 20ga O/U and was quite please with the oiled stock end result. I uses a 3M product called "Safest Stripper". Strange stuff, a non toxic milky white jelly. Slather it on, let sit for x hours, then scrub off the finish with a stripper pad (course sponge like thing). Rinse and repeat as needed.

Don't scrub the checkering to aggressively.

M
 
Last edited:
I've done it with many and they turned out great. Some use various oils. I use true oil with my own formula. It comes out a bit shiny as well but there are ways to dull it down. The original browning hard surface is not a good one both for being shiny and for durability.
 
Sacrilege! ;)
Funny really how different strokes work for different folks. I really like the gloss finish - it is so much part of what a BLR is to me.
It seems a shame to destroy the finish. Have you thought of buying aftermarket wood and selling the originals? Or perhaps trade for some grotty ones that need refinishing.
 
A light sanding with 0000 steel wool will dull the finish and preserve the excellent sealing properties of the original finish.
Definitely worth a try before committing to a full strip and refinish.
 
I have done quite a few in matte finish. I sand the stock with 600 grit sandpaper by hand to knock off all the gloss for adhesion but try not break through the original finish Scotch brite scuff pad the checkering. Then matte clear the stock with automotive clear coat. They turn out great
 
257Wby said:
A light sanding with 0000 steel wool will dull the finish and preserve the excellent sealing properties of the original finish.
Definitely worth a try before committing to a full strip and refinish.
Click to expand...

Love it's appearance of high gloss or hate it is in the eye of the beholder. That being said the average person and some gun manufacturers, Browning, do not understand that wood has to breath, and it moves, expands and contracts, with humidity levels. "Sealing wood" completely in an attempt to keep out moisture is a mistake, it has to breath. Try and stop that process and your going to have wood movement issue's in the form of wood cracking or finish failures. As an example take a good look at your wife's good dining room table. It is only finished on the top plus the top is held down in such a way that the top is allowed to move in length and width. If it wasn't it would split. This is true only of course if the table top is built of solid wood. Plywood's, chip board etc. are a different story. The top breaths through the open bottom and can move through seasonal humidity changes. Wood is like your skin, it has to breath to be healthy.

Regardless I am a hater of the Browning high gloss finish. Totally cheapens the appearance of even a piece of AAA + walnut. That finish is an epoxy base I believe and standard strippers will not touch it, that I know. There must now be chemical strippers that will remove it. I had a method of blistering the finish with a torch which turned it very brittle and it was easily scrapped off. A very tricky procedure which I would not recommend.

So go ahead and take it off and apply what ever recipe of oil type finish you like. The wood will thank you for being able to breath properly and it will be much more pleasing to your eye's.
 
Last edited:
I've stripped lots of them sing circa 1850 furniture or heavy stripper. Use a stiff bristle toothbrush on the checkered area. I find a sharp razor scrapper makes quick work of the finish once it is softened up by the stripper. A mask is a excellent idea as that stuff is high!
 
257Wby said:
A light sanding with 0000 steel wool will dull the finish and preserve the excellent sealing properties of the original finish.
Definitely worth a try before committing to a full strip and refinish.
Click to expand...

Don't sand too hard if you go out this route the stain is only a spray and a very thin spray which iseasily scratched and hard to fix.
 
Last edited:
Familiar story. It's been several years now since I sold a BLR which I had purchased new, and had used but a few times. I didn't hate the finish on the wood until I had the gun out in the field. Seemed to me I was spending far too much of my time trying to avoid scratching it up ... kind of stole the fun out my day whenever I took it out, so selling it was the best way to put a stop to that. No regrets!
 
icedog said:
Familiar story. It's been several years now since I sold a BLR which I had purchased new, and had used but a few times. I didn't hate the finish on the wood until I had the gun out in the field. Seemed to me I was spending far too much of my time trying to avoid scratching it up ... kind of stole the fun out my day whenever I took it out, so selling it was the best way to put a stop to that. No regrets!
Click to expand...

Exactly, I'm just not sure I want to sell it haha... perhaps I just need look at different and not worry about the scratches..
 
My brother likes his.
He has a miroku gold trigger lightweight '81 takedown with the barrel band in 308 Win.
If it gets cracks and deep scratches he repairs it with clear fingernail polish and it looks factory new.
 
257Wby said:
A light sanding with 0000 steel wool will dull the finish and preserve the excellent sealing properties of the original finish.
Definitely worth a try before committing to a full strip and refinish.
Click to expand...

Anyone done this and have a pic to share? Sounds easy to suggest to someone else, would like to see results before I try it.
tia
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom