Breda Shotgun refinish.. complete!

S

Skaal-tel

Regular
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Location
Ontario
G'day

So I've been doing some more stock finishing lately. I thought I'd post up my latest completed project.. a friend's old Breda semi. I've been working on it at the same time as another pal's cooey 64b so it shows up in some of the pictures... bear with me :)

Here is the woodwork "before"




Stripped with circa 1850


Rinsed off to get an idea of the end product


Let the sanding begin... I started with a 220 grit and finished with 400. Didn't need much work, although there were several scratches and general wear and tear in the cheeks and on the grip.


First coat of oil


The fore grip was cracked from the pin in the front forward and backward down the VERY thin grip. I used CA glue, flexed the crack until it penetrated the length, then bound it up with a few broccoli rubber bands. In this picture you can see the glue has melted the original finish but done its job.


Stripped and sanded


Oiled


Here they are buffed with a scotchbrite pad


Starting to come along



Wet sanded with 1500 grit in this picture. I then tried to polish it out but it just wasn't working for me. I went to 2000 grit wet sanded, then applied a final very thin coat of oil.


And here we are. I was very happy with the final coat, and simply polished it with some mother's car glaze. Brings a little depth.







The definition of a mirror finish.


The assembled gun




This was a reasonable challenging project. The wood was excellent but between the paper thin forend and the checkering there was plenty of room for error.

My friend is quite happy :cool:

Enjoy the pics


Supplies used:
Circa 1850 furniture stripper
green scotchbrite pad
220, 400, 600, 1500, 2000 grit paper
birchwood casey Tru-oil
mother's car polish and glaze
 
I just saw this thread after a Breda search - well done! How may coats of Tru Oil did you use and did you simply buff with the Scotchbrite between coats? The finish on my Breda is decent but I might wish to clean it up down the road.
 
Nice job!! I am also interested how many coats of Tru-oil you put on and if you used the Scotchbrite after every coat. Also, did you use stain before starting with the Tru-oil?
 
I lost count of the number of coats. Lots! I just kept at it until I was satisfied.
No stain, just let the natural wood colour through as the original finish was not stained, iirc.

Didn't scotchbrite after every coat.. some were just wet sanding with fine grit paper. Even the scotchbrite tends to leave some grit.. which drives me crazy
 
Skaal-tel said:
I lost count of the number of coats. Lots! I just kept at it until I was satisfied.
No stain, just let the natural wood colour through as the original finish was not stained, iirc.

Didn't scotchbrite after every coat.. some were just wet sanding with fine grit paper. Even the scotchbrite tends to leave some grit.. which drives me crazy
Click to expand...

Well did a great job. I pulled my Breda out of the safe a couple times already....but I have another project on the go right now.
 
You have more patience than me... starting the sanding at 220... I usually start at a 100... and ten coats of Tru is all I have patience for... looks nice, good job.
 
Hey, I like that! I restored a cheap Winchester Ranger 120 just to get a feel for restaining the wood and then sold it. I am looking to try again with something more worthwhile. I love the mirror finish on wood and can see the satisfaction you have with a job well done. Thank-you for posting.
 
I have the exact same shotgun. I just got it and I really like the quality. You did great work! I plan to do the same thing now and I will follow your method.

I have a couple of questions for you. First, I have a crack in the front grip about 1 inch long and 1mm thick. What do you suggest I do to stop it from running?
EDIT - I see you explained that already as you had a similar crack. Thanks.

With respect to the gun itself, do you have any chokes with your shotgun? Do you see a noticeable difference when you switch them? I cannot find them for the life of me and I'm thinking about giving up.

Thanks for posting your pictures. Let me know what you think.

Cheers.
 
Well it's my friend's gun. I think he acquired it with one or two different chokes. I don't think he ever patterned it.
Iirc... it has a thread on the outside of the barrel for that style of choke tube extension.

Your best bet if you really want chokes is to talk to a gunsmith :)

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback. I did it to make my friend smile.. and I like to keep busy. Lots of rubbing and sanding.

I saw a vid once where a guy thinned the oil down and sprayed it automotive style.... hehehehe
 
^ so did you spray or just use your fingers to spread the Tru Oil? I used my fingers on my last shotgun but wondered about spraying for a nice thin coat.
 
I just used my hand. I can't find it now, but I did see some info on the net about a guy who spray-finished a stock. He claimed it worked great and I can't see why it wouldn't. Might be a LITTLE messy to clean up though... hahahah
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom