Help with refinishing Swedish Mauser stock
- Thread starter cornelunc
- Start date
If you have to do it, use stock stripper, or if you are careful and can watch it and not let it sit too long, unscented oven cleaner. When the finish softens up, use fine scotchbrite or steel wool to clean off, with water. If you need, re-apply to get any remnants of the finish off and do it again.
The wiskers of wood grain will pop up with moisture, so use steel wool, and or fine grit paper to smooth down when moist, Do it again once dry.
The wiskers of wood grain will pop up with moisture, so use steel wool, and or fine grit paper to smooth down when moist, Do it again once dry.
Do NOT use bleach type products or oven cleaners it will destroy the wood cellular structure and can make it soft and pulpy.
Use finished wood strippers like Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher it contains a replenishing oil that keeps the wood from drying out.
NOTE: The Minwax product above contains a large percentage of Acetone and is cheaper but contains no wood oils to replenish the wood. Meaning the wood should be given a 50/50 mix of raw linseed oil and turpentine as soon as the stock has been stained with a alcohol or water base stain.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-1-qt-Antique-Furniture-Refinisher-67300/100166444
So remember, how many people strip and refinish fine furniture with Eazy-Off or bleach type strippers use for wooden decks?
Use finished wood strippers like Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher it contains a replenishing oil that keeps the wood from drying out.
NOTE: The Minwax product above contains a large percentage of Acetone and is cheaper but contains no wood oils to replenish the wood. Meaning the wood should be given a 50/50 mix of raw linseed oil and turpentine as soon as the stock has been stained with a alcohol or water base stain.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-1-qt-Antique-Furniture-Refinisher-67300/100166444
So remember, how many people strip and refinish fine furniture with Eazy-Off or bleach type strippers use for wooden decks?
A deck is a good bit larger. And yes, lye based cleaner CAN damage wood, IF you let it soak in for quite awhile. We're talking about lifting the finish here, and don't want a product with replenishing oil in it already, because when the wood is dry it might interfere with the finish being applied afterwards.
I'm sorry but you are incorrect, Minwax Antique furniture restorer will not effect alcohol or water base stains. And the Minwax and acetone will do the least damage to the wood stock.
So I will repeat myself because I have tried all the listed methods in the posting and Minwax is the best method but costly and Acetone comes in second. All the other methods listed can damage the cellular structure of the wood.
If you don't like my answer then Google refinishing wood furniture and if Minwax has ANY effect on staining and refinishing antique furniture. (which old milsurp stocks are)
CMP-CIVILIAN MARKSMANSHIP PROGRAM for refinishing M1 Garand stocks.
WOOD CLEANING ARTICLE
http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armorers-corner/wood-cleaning-article/
Stripping Off the Old Finish and Other Debris: Walnut and birch are easily worked with, but not cheaply and take some labor if you want a nice job without making a chemical mess of the wood. Any product or procedure that includes water is not appropriate for refinishing rifle stocks. The oven cleaner and dishwasher versions of cleaning stocks are not appropriate. Water, chemicals, and hot water are the death of wood fibers and any cartouche marks on the wood. Wood in many respects is a bundle of straws held together by glue. The active ingredient in Easy-Off Oven Cleaner (sodium hydroxide) attacks the natural wood glue (hemicellulose) holding the wood fibers together. Left on long enough, it will even attack the individual wood fibers. Even more problematic when unintended is that Easy-Off requires rinsing with water which raises the grain of the wood and requires sanding to remove the feathers raised. A dishwasher’s water and heat have the potential to swell wood fibers so much that the metal will not fit back in. Oven cleaners and dishwasher detergents chemically alter the wood fibers and remove natural oils in the wood. A lye like compound may be left in the wood to later leach out if damp and attack the metal placed against it. Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher, synthetic stripping pads, a stiff toothbrush, and a kitchen vegetable brush will get all the old finish off of the hand guards and off of a walnut or birch stock while putting needed natural oils into the wood and keeping the grain flat. Every bit of the stock, inside and out, should be cleaned with the Refinisher including the butt stock kit holes. It is actually good for the wood. Use something like a 3” deep 4” by 10” steel pan to catch the Refinisher that runs off so that the customer can keep applying it. It will run down the wood as the work progresses into the pan to reuse. The directions on the can should be read carefully before use. The can clearly indicatesm the Refinisher must be used in a well ventilated area. The fumes should not be inhaled.
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I'm not disagreeing that sodium hydroxide based cleaners CAN damage a stock if left on too long. The part you are missing in your quote the fact that he is not stripping an original finish stock covered in markings and cartouches, but an (in his words) "poorly refinished" one.
On the other note, it is standard practice to dampen the wood in order to raise the grain (again for a refinish and not to preserve markings) in order to steel wool, or fine grit sand them to a smooth surface.
Of all the stock strippers, and methods I've used to get runny, thick, incorrectly applied varnish of of stocks, the unscented oven cleaner applied, and left on only long enough to soften and bubble said finish (and not soak into the wood) works as good or better than finish strippers that are expensive.
That said, again I would not and have not used that method for any military rifle I wished to preserve markings on.
And again i repeat myself, this method is NOT for an original stock finish that you wish to preserve markings on.
