Refinishing a stock - Ruger m77 tang safety

[tommy88]

Hey everyone. Got an old tang safety 338WM that I just bought. It's in fairly good shape but I'm playing with the idea of refinishing the stock. It's not an oil finish (which would be easy to do), it has a top coat on it. I'm not very familiar with top coats. Would anyone be able to identify the finish and maybe suggest the best way to go about "sprucing" it up?

I should also add that it has nice checkering (almost looks had cut), and the previous owner glass bedded it.

 

[guntech]

Use masking tape and carefully tape off the checkering... then lightly sand the existing finish with 180 grit wet/dry paper until it disappears. Finish sanding with a finer grade if you still have sanding marks. Always sand with the grain. a soft block backing the sand paper is good to use where you can... then apply a good finish. Forget linseed oil, use a commercial finish that has dryers in the formulae... Linspeed (https://www.lin-speed.com/) and Truoil (https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...BS7Q-RntZztJzhUAJnNw6Nmg1ycJ0NBoCx34QAvD_BwE) are good. Flecto Varathane Number 66 Oil Finish is another...

When the finishing is done remove the masking tape and brush a little finish in the checkering and brush out the excess... do that a couple of times...

 

[DGY]

Use masking tape and carefully tape off the checkering... then lightly sand the existing finish with 180 grit wet/dry paper until it disappears. Finish sanding with a finer grade if you still have sanding marks. Always sand with the grain. a soft block backing the sand paper is good to use where you can... then apply a good finish. Forget linseed oil, use a commercial finish that has dryers in the formulae... Linspeed (https://www.lin-speed.com/) and Truoil (https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...BS7Q-RntZztJzhUAJnNw6Nmg1ycJ0NBoCx34QAvD_BwE) are good. Flecto Varathane Number 66 Oil Finish is another...

When the finishing is done remove the masking tape and brush a little finish in the checkering and brush out the excess... do that a couple of times...

Thanks I like that!!
I use shaftol for my wood stock!

 

[Buckmastr]

A Ruger finish is easy to strip with a paint stripper. Take off the pad, mask off the grip cap, strip it, scrape stubborn areas, toothbrush out the checkering, steam out dents, sand lightly avoiding the checkering, apply Danish or Antique oil, toothbrush out the finish in the checkering, dry 24 hrs between coats, wet sand w/320-600 after the first couple coats to the desired sheen.

 

[Snider shooter]

A Ruger finish is easy to strip with a paint stripper. Take off the pad, mask off the grip cap, strip it, scrape stubborn areas, toothbrush out the checkering, steam out dents, sand lightly avoiding the checkering, apply Danish or Antique oil, toothbrush out the finish in the checkering, dry 24 hrs between coats, wet sand w/320-600 after the first couple coats to the desired sheen.

This is what I do. Trying to sand a varnish type finish off will change the shape of the stock. Any sanding done should be extremely minor.

 

[The Kurgan]

Chemical stripper. Two applications will dissolve 95 percent of the poly finish. Use 320 grit sandpaper and a sanding block to get the residual goo off. Avoid rounding edges and be careful around the checkering. Go lightly. Finish with a quality oil, like Tung or Schaftol. I use a hardwood scraper tool designed specifically for removing chemically softened finishes. Well worth the $10 I paid and I've been using it for 10 years.

Personally, I think the Ruger tang safety stocks are a bit beefy and don't fit me well. I would seriously consider a nice Boyds laminate stock. $400 gets you a drop fit stock in a variety of colours and configurations.

My 77 Tanger...