Recommended wood strippers?

L

Loki610

Regular
Rating - 100%
12   0   0
Location
Nobleford
What does everyone use or recommend for chemically stripping an old stock?

I've got this old '54 870 wingmaster with the old finish peeling off, I dont want to sand because of all the checkering.
I'm a metal guy and I usually farm this kind of stuff off, but I figured I'd try it myself this time.
 
I like the CIRCA 1850 stripper...suppose to be good for antiques, so I figured it couldn't hurt...but I'm by far no expert....
 
What he said ^^^^^^^^

Circa 1850......That's what I use... switched to years ago. Used to be old broken window glass and leather gloves for a long time, but my lil wifey said the house was getting too drafty !
 
Last edited:
I've used Heirloom paint and varnish remover with good success. I've used it on antique furniture, and firearm stocks. Think it can be picked up at crappy tire.
 
On a gun of that vintage which has a varnish type finish which is easily removed by any good paint stripper, Circa 1850, poly stripper etc. Lather it on good, let it sit for a while until you see the finish bubble and lift. Wipe it off with #000 steel wool. Reapply if necessary to stubborn areas until you have it all gone. To get it out of the checkering use a stiff brush of some sort. Not to stiff as to damage the points on the checkering. Clean it all up nice with #0000 steel wool down to the wood. If your a bit adventurous you can recut the checkering, as you rarely ever get all the stripper and finish out of it. Makes it nice and crisp and clean. Finishing is a whole other post.
 
I agree with the Circa product.
Tooth brush, potato brush, shoe brush and the sort.
Use an old iron and a wet towel after the finish is removed
and steam out some of the damage and dents.
Watch the checkering if there is any.
Time and patience is key.

If there are white spacers, stay away from them if they can't
be removed without damaging them.
This Circa goop can harm them.
 
Antique furniture stripper works great, tho a word of caution, I would stay away from using steel wool on the wood! In my experience the steel wool became imbedded in the stock and any moisture would Turn it black. Not very good looking, as for sanding it, I started with a 300 gritt, wet sanded it, wiped it all off, let it sit a week, repeated this process each week with a higher gritt paper up to 1000 gritt. Keep away from the Checkering you will be fine! At the bed you have an amazing stock set, smooth to the touch, stain it any way you like, finish it anyway you like!
 
Well I tried and failed to get some circa 1850 stuff, ended up with "R" brand paint and varnish remover and it seemed to do a great job. Checkering needs a little more cleanup but otherwise the wood looks great.
I'll post some pictures later. The original owner put on one of those slip on rubber recoil pads on it and left it long enough for the rubber to rot and decay staining the varnish. I was worried the wood would be badly stained but it seems to not have gotten through the varnish!
 
There are no Home Hardware's in the city anymore! They have all been pushed out by Rona, Home Depot etc. Next time I see one I will certainly stop and stock up on a few things....
 
Citristrip if you can get yourself some. Paint it on, walk away and do something else for a while, wipe it off with a rag. This was a single coating that I let sit about 2 hours before I wiped it down. It started out as standard 10/22 brown. I may do one more coating before I start sanding.

http://i1030.photobucket.com/albums/y361/godburger/image_zpslda26idf.jpeg

Ps... My apologies if the picture doesn't show up. This is my first attempt.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom