refinishing stock

A

adubbert

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To sand or not to sand.That is the question.I'm currently refinishing an old cooey 22 reapeater as a test before I start on finishing a pepper laminated stock(from Boyds) for my p-17 300 win mag.I know I will have to sand the stock from Boyds.The cooey stock finish was so bad that I could scrape all the old finish off extremely easely.All old finish is removed and it appears that I will have to steam one ding out of stock.Was wondering what kind of stain I should use.Want a deep walnut color.I will also be doing a true oil finish any help with regards to this project would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks in advance for your help
 
this is a berch stock- what I use is a
dk walnut alcohal spray stain, also you could
try a water base stain, thou I haven't tried that.
I just did a old cooey 39? and made a 30.oo gun in to
a 120.oo gun- turned out nice, also stuck the barrel
and reciever in my wood lathe and sanded and polished
the steel -about 20-30 min. job and dropped it into
some cold blue.- But in the winter time ,I don't value my
time very high. would never pay to pay someone to do it.
If you are going to stain hardwood- you have to completly
sand - and no finer than 220 to get the stain to take.
after a few coats of oil- then you can smooth the finish
 
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I usually sand my stock down completely, often wet sanding to get all the old finish off and imperfections out.
When completely dry put on a heavy coat of tru oil (wear rubber gloves)
Dont worry about sags and runs, let dry compltely, apply a second heavy coat. Let dry two days
Now wet sand it with 400 grit back down to wood.
You will be left with a very smooth finish.
Wear thin latex gloves now and dip one finger in the tru oil and rub lightly all over stock serface. Add more oil as needed to make a light covering, no runs or sags this time, you just wat a wet look, probably with a few streaks. Let gry overnight.
Now you wet sand lightly with 600 grit, let dry and aplly another coat of tru oil. repeat this process applying light fingertip application forabout 8 - 12 times, being careful to gently wet sand with 600 grit between coats.
THe very last time you add the tru oil switch over to using your bare finger tips, keep a little solvent nearby for cleaning afterwards..
Now let it dry overnight. Examine the finish and look for light streaks and minor imperfections, if you find any, wet sand again with 600.
Apply one more light coat of tru oil. When dry you need to get some rottenstone from a hardware store and mix up a mild paste with water.
Using a soft cloth and lots of running water rub the finish down with the rottenstone mixture, this will now remove the slightest of burrs and imperfections and a nice gleaming stock. Finally give it a good coat of paste way and polish it up.

Tip, keep your tru oil container upside downand sealed well. The film will be formed on the top of the oil that is upside down and when you re usethe tru oil there will be no film on top.

I have used this method for many years and never had any unhappy customers. Some people will disagree with the wet sanding on the wood
saying that it will absorb moisture and warp.
I have never experienced this in all my gunsmithing years.

Cheers

PEte
 
On my Cooey, because I didn't really care about the end result, I used steel wool to take down the old finish and rubbed the hell out of the stock with brown kiwi shoe polish and melted it in and repeated. Holy Cow!

- don't laugh, it worked really well!
 
Sanding peril

All good advice, but I have seen too many gunstocks (and antique furniture) ruined by "sanding to remove the old finish" -- FWIW, I suggest paint stripper first, regardless of what you do next.
 
Sandpaper and gun stocks do not mix it only removes the softer wood ....use a mild finish remover like 1886 fine furniture stripper. Very mild to wood but tough on the old finish. I have used it on my old Winchesters and no damage. To refinish...use the finest steel wool and tru-oil ...the oil picks up the fine wood dust and fills in the wood grain again. After following the product instructions and letting it dry, use a good paste wax like Minwax to give the finish protection from moisture.
 
oldstarfire said:
All good advice, but I have seen too many gunstocks (and antique furniture) ruined by "sanding to remove the old finish" -- FWIW, I suggest paint stripper first, regardless of what you do next.
Click to expand...

+1, Circa is your friend. Sanding removes wood. A lot if you don't know what you're doing. Circa has been awesome for all my stock needs.
 
Circa 1886 tung oil is very nice and enough coats make a watertight finish. It doesn't add color although I notice some slight darkening over the last 5 years on my 602.
 
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