I just picked up a 1954 model 94 which someone in this poor guns life had decided the stock would look nice with a shiney stock. Is it possible to just remove the varnish to see what kind of stain is underneath? I know nothing about woodwork.
Removing varnish
- Thread starter Tazzy
- Start date
- Location
- West Quebec
Works very well..and generally available
http://www.henkelna.com/product-search-1554.htm?nodeid=8797899325441
About $10.00 a can is spray. Works well on wood.
R
About $10.00 a can is spray. Works well on wood.
R
Circa 1850, or my favorite gelled poly stripper, or any paint remover. "Take the stock off the gun first" butt and fore end. Make sure the butt plate is off the stock as some of these strippers will soften and eat plastic, that particular gun has a metal butt plate, no matter take it off anyways. Lather the stripper on, let it sit for 10 -15 min until the varnish bubbles up. Wipe it off with 000 steel wool. Repeat until you have it all off down to the wood. That stock appears light in colour for a 54 vintage. May have been sanded previously, not to worry. After getting the varnish off rub it down good with #0000 steel wool. If the wood is to light in colour for your liking you can stain it a darker. You have options here, either water based or oil based stains. Water based dry quickly and don't affect the drying of the oil finish. Oil based stains take longer to dry and may affect your oil finish drying rates and hardness if the stain is not left to dry up well. Patience and more patience is a good thing when refinishing a stock.
Sounds like you don't like gloss finishes or you wouldn't be tackling this. Walnut is an open grain wood and the pores need filled. There are many ways to do this. One easy and effective way is to lightly sand the wood with 220 grit, leave the dust on the wood and apply a drying oil such as polymerized tung (Lee valley Tools) several drops at a time to create a slury of wood dust and oil rub it all in good and let it dry for several days. Take it all off down to the woods surface with #0000. Add two more coats of the oil drying it well between coats. Take it down again to wood with #0000. The pores should be filled by now if not apply more oil and take off until it they are. then apply your final finish. Worse comes to worse and you don't like your results you can just take it down to the wood again and start over so relax take your time don't be afraid to experiment a little. Google and CGN is your friend for getting info and recipe's for finishes. Keep in mind there are as many recipe's for gun stock oil finishes as there are for chocolate chip cookie's. Personally I use several different types depending on the gun and what I want to achieve. Tung 100% pure, polymerized tung, (tung oil with dryers), Lin-Speed Oil. A commercial product linseed oil based, very good product and gives great results. Not available in Canada though. A lot of folks swear by Birchwood Casey's True Oil. It's okay, I have a tin of it, I was never overly impressed with the results. But a lot of guys swear by it. You have to leave any of these finishes dry up for at least a month or so after they feel dry to let them harden up. Even longer when your using tung oil without dryers. Stay away from boiled or raw linseed oil, in this state it has very poor abilities to resist water despite what your grandfather says. Hope this helps and gives you some ideas.
Sounds like you don't like gloss finishes or you wouldn't be tackling this. Walnut is an open grain wood and the pores need filled. There are many ways to do this. One easy and effective way is to lightly sand the wood with 220 grit, leave the dust on the wood and apply a drying oil such as polymerized tung (Lee valley Tools) several drops at a time to create a slury of wood dust and oil rub it all in good and let it dry for several days. Take it all off down to the woods surface with #0000. Add two more coats of the oil drying it well between coats. Take it down again to wood with #0000. The pores should be filled by now if not apply more oil and take off until it they are. then apply your final finish. Worse comes to worse and you don't like your results you can just take it down to the wood again and start over so relax take your time don't be afraid to experiment a little. Google and CGN is your friend for getting info and recipe's for finishes. Keep in mind there are as many recipe's for gun stock oil finishes as there are for chocolate chip cookie's. Personally I use several different types depending on the gun and what I want to achieve. Tung 100% pure, polymerized tung, (tung oil with dryers), Lin-Speed Oil. A commercial product linseed oil based, very good product and gives great results. Not available in Canada though. A lot of folks swear by Birchwood Casey's True Oil. It's okay, I have a tin of it, I was never overly impressed with the results. But a lot of guys swear by it. You have to leave any of these finishes dry up for at least a month or so after they feel dry to let them harden up. Even longer when your using tung oil without dryers. Stay away from boiled or raw linseed oil, in this state it has very poor abilities to resist water despite what your grandfather says. Hope this helps and gives you some ideas.
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And while not relevant here ...anybody following these excellent instructions should note that most of the "white line" spacers seen on foreend tips and PG caps etc ARE plastic and will melt when using a stripper if you arent cautious .... ask me how I know
Thanks for the info mrgoat, I am trying to get back to the original look. I removed the stock and forestock from the gun. The previous owner had shellaced it and it was flaking. He also decided to do this while they were on the gun. The gun does have a steel plate.
I used the Circa and removed the varnish with a plastic card and then rubbed the wood with 0000 steel wool.
I used the Circa and removed the varnish with a plastic card and then rubbed the wood with 0000 steel wool.
Pretty sure these were varnished originally by Winchester. I've redone a few with tru-oil (Birchwood Casey product), and they looked spectacular when done. It doesn't change "colour" too much, maybe a shade darker than the raw wood, but does enhance grain.
AP; so you also found out the hard way about white line spacers. I had bought a nice M- 70 back in the early seventies, ruined all the spacers on it with poly stripper. Could have cried at the time.
I do not know what Winchester is using on there stocks now. But for the sake of high numbers production the stocks are sprayed and Iam sure this is the way it was done in 1954. It would be a mixture of varnish with the stain added to save a separate staining step. It will be interesting to hear what the original stain and formula was. Everything I know is from trial and error and reading articles here and there over 40yrs or so. Always lots of room to learn more.
I did a new Win. M-70 last winter. The current finish is impervious to ordinary strippers, definitely sprayed on with a good dose of stain added to the mixture. Very difficult stuff to get it off, but well worth it as the wood in that Alaskan had nice grain that the original finish masked. The checkering on most new guns is lazer cut which is not very precise and is dam near impossible to recut with standard checkering tools with out making runovers.
I do not know what Winchester is using on there stocks now. But for the sake of high numbers production the stocks are sprayed and Iam sure this is the way it was done in 1954. It would be a mixture of varnish with the stain added to save a separate staining step. It will be interesting to hear what the original stain and formula was. Everything I know is from trial and error and reading articles here and there over 40yrs or so. Always lots of room to learn more.
I did a new Win. M-70 last winter. The current finish is impervious to ordinary strippers, definitely sprayed on with a good dose of stain added to the mixture. Very difficult stuff to get it off, but well worth it as the wood in that Alaskan had nice grain that the original finish masked. The checkering on most new guns is lazer cut which is not very precise and is dam near impossible to recut with standard checkering tools with out making runovers.
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- Location
- West Quebec
I'd go with the Minwax as a first step...it's a good product when I used it..
