Bedding compound of choice

W

Workin Man

CGN frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
68   0   0
Location
Near Coldwater, Ont
I have a couple M98's I want to bed this winter. One is in a wood stock, the other I have both a original wood stock and a synthetic (Butler Creek ) stock. I have heard recommendations for accraglass, accragel, devcon plastic steel and JB weld. What have you used? What worked and what did not? I am looking at 1lb of the Devcon at $114 C$ with free shipping on Amazon, is that reasonable?

Thanks, Jim
 
Ive read regular acraglas is the most chemical resistant, marinetex shrinks the least, and devcons thick putty like consistency is easy to work with and get pretty results.

I have tried a few but always go back to acraglas gel. I like the 50/50 mix ratio, and I like it’s consistency. I honestly don’t think there is one head and shoulders above the rest - just pick one with some characteristics you like and use it.
 
The first time I glass bedded a rifle was 1967 and I used Brownell's AcraGlas... and I continued to use it for many years until Brownell's AcraGel was invented... and I have been using one or the other now for 53 years... never felt a need to try something else. It's an excellent product.
 
Yep I find it hard to beat acraglass. I like the brown and black dyes that come with it. It has the release agent as well and all the utensils for mixing it up.
 
I had bought a couple pounds of Devcon Plastic Steel - both the putty stuff and the "runny" stuff - it works very well - but they are not kidding about the expiry date on the back of the box!! A couple years later, it was so stiffened up I could no longer use it, so do not buy a "bunch" thinking you are saving money to do some later on!! An acquaintance went to JB Weld simply because he could buy smaller quantities and use them up and does not have to "store" any... My last purchase of Acraglas Gel, which I prefer, was through Amazon, I think - what I got was one tub with numerous hard lumps in it - could be mixed out when stirring, but I missed a couple and they are showing as white globs in the bedding job. I have also used White Marine Tex and discovered virtually no amount of that Acraglas dye from Brownell's will colour it - was told the Grey Marine Tex can be dyed.

I have used the "old" release that came with the original Acraglas - paints on and comes off like a thin blue-ish film. It works! So does Kiwi Neutral Shoe polish. Paint or brush it on - shiny it up a bit by polishing, then apply second coat to cover all the places that got missed - shiny that coat up and seems to work fine. My very last bedding job used MG Chemicals 8329 Epoxy Mold Release - must have got it on Amazon? Is a spray on stuff - found I had to take the time to make sure I actually did cover everything that I wanted covered, but it did work well, too. So several choices for release agents.
 
Last edited:
When mixing AcraGel warm the mix under a light bulb for a minute or so... mix some more - when the temperature is warm the stiffness and lumps go away and it becomes very smooth and glassy looking...

When in the original container you can warm the whole container in boiling water and it becomes quite soft again... similar to honey.
 
guntech said:
The first time I glass bedded a rifle was 1967 and I used Brownell's AcraGlas... and I continued to use it for many years until Brownell's AcraGel was invented... and I have been using one or the other now for 53 years... never felt a need to try something else. It's an excellent product.
Click to expand...

My impression is that the gel or Devcon putty would be more "controllable" so easier to work with. You bedded your first rifle before I was born, so I do respect your opinion.

Jim
 
guntech said:
When mixing AcraGel warm the mix under a light bulb for a minute or so... mix some more - when the temperature is warm the stiffness and lumps go away and it becomes very smooth and glassy looking...

When in the original container you can warm the whole container in boiling water and it becomes quite soft again... similar to honey.
Click to expand...

When I first open the acraglas it is very smooth and easy to mix but after time it does start to harden up.
It took me a bit to figure out how to make it better. I ended up using a hair dryer and i get a bunch of bedding jobs from it now.
 
I agree that the "runny stuff" is sometimes more desirable! I wanted to do some internal cross reinforcements in front of trigger / behind magazine, without showing on outside. Routed out an inside "trench", then also up the inside walls. Partially filled bottom of the trench with epoxy and dropped in a length of threaded rod. Set in place a "form" - dribbled the runny stuff into one side - it flowed through, underneath and rose up on the other side, so I knew I was getting a good fill under that form. Maybe could be done with the gel, but I liked the runny stuff better for that operation. I do find the gel a bit easier to do the recoil lug area - stays in place better - but earliest jobs were done with the original runny accraglas, so it can be done that way as well - just might need an extra "dam" or two. I have inserted steel rods from top of rear action inletting rearward and down to inside of pistol grip - without breaking through with the drill - so the runny stuff worked very nicely when gooped into that dead end hole, and oozed back out as a threaded rod was slid and rotated into there. I have never tried that wrist reinforcement with the gel stuff.
 
61pGZX8pXLL._AC_SX425_.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom