Silk purse out of Sow's ear

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saskbooknut

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I am looking to improve the appearance of a well used, somewhat abused Cooey 840, 12 gauge, 36 inch barrel single that I am using for Black Powder Trap.
The extra weight and length of barrel seems to be an asset.

The metalwork needs some love but I have a pretty good handle on how to do that. Starting with a $40 pile of rusty parts held together with electricians tape, I now have an aftermarket forend spacer $25, and a recoil pad $30, so I am nearing a $100 investment.

The colour part of the stock finish has largely flaked off. It is apparent that the stock, made of Birch I believe, had a clear coat sprayed on it before the colour coat was applied. I know that exposed end grain will take up stain excessively, and thus the need for a clear coat.

I would appreciate any suggestions of finish products that can make an acceptable faux walnut finish on this gunstock set. I don't want a muddy brown barn stain appearance.
However, with $100 invested in a rusty Cooey, I don't want to break the bank in making an acceptable finish.
 
Min-wax sells a Gun Stock coloured stain.
Not sure how it will look on a birch stock.

Circa 1540 (#'s correct?) works well on removing old chit on wood.

I have the same stock re-do coming up hopefully today.
I am going to use Min-wax Tung oil finish as I'm pleased with the results.
 
Why bother, even at spending $100 dollars in parts and a bunch of time, you still have a firearm nobody wants and at best is worth maybe a hundred bucks. Old junk guns are almost worthless, even fixed up they are still almost worthless, I had a couple of my uncles single shot hinge break 1930’s shot guns extremely good condition. Lots of guys wanted them for free but no one wanted to pay anything for them. Not to mention if they are ancient then they can only fire light loads or you risk damaging them or injury to yourself. Not worth the time, but each to there own.
 
Unfortunately the hardwood in those 840's (likely birch) will almost always re finish with the muddy brown look you mentioned. When new the finish was a coloured lacquer. Best I found was using a dark walnut stain of any brand and finish with multiple coats of BLO. That wood will never look like walnut in any shape of form. Having said that it is solid and will last forever if taken care of.

Darryl
 
May as well paint it. And if you're painting, you can let your imagination run wild. Like a Cooey-sponsored competition gun. Or your favourite camo pattern. Or favourite cartoon. Maybe dress it with decals from a 1969 Roadrunner. Or paint it red with white lettering saying "Make Trudeau a Drama Teacher Again".
 
If anyone wants to fix/restore anything costing more than it will be worth who cares! If they think they can then sell it for what they put into it then that is entirely a different thing. For nostalgia or just to have something that you made for yourself the way you like it, that is worth more than running out and buying any of the new similarly designed firearms.

Onto the wood. Depending on how clean you can get it and how light the birch is, you could try a lighter oil colour to darken it to your taste. Multiple coats will make it darker but shouldn't make it blotchy or patchy to any great extent. The darker the stain, the harder it will be to work with I find with lighter grain older wood. Then finish with tongue oil, tru oil or varathane and enjoy a gun that will now last basically forever.
 
Not selling it, using it.
Regarding Cooey single shot shotguns- I have sold every one that I have offered in the first gun show, so obviously there is a demand.
36 inch barrels are a trifle scarce.
They are humble working tools, and can break Clay's just fine.
 
I picked up a Cooey model 84 28 gauge that the previous owner had inlaid some plastic discs into each side of the stock. I pondered what to do. Then it hit me. I have a friend who is an artist. I always toyed with the idea of having scenes of my present and past hunting dogs painted on the stock and forerarm. This gun is the perfect candidate. No checkering to deal with, it has a bit of Canadian firearms history and it will have the history of my dogs. Won't be worth a tinkers dam to anyone else but who cares. Could be another avenue for you if you know someone who is somewhat of an artist.
 
I had some fun with a hydro-dip kit from "My Dip Kit". I turned an older Anshutz into faux carbon fibre awesomeness! Might be worth considering.
 
Water based dye worke better on birch and maple than any stain I have tried... topcoat with 50/50 spar varnish and ting oil and lightly sand between coats with 0000 steel wool...
 
If you want to go the route of completely stripping the wood and refinishing it, I would second using Circa 1850. Once it is stripped you will have a much better idea of what you are working with, and maybe even pleasantly surprised. Watco Danish oil works well and offers choices of shades. Another advantage is that it is a stain/oil blend making wet sanding very easy.

I think a 12g Cooey with a 36" barrel would be pretty slick for for pigeons. Well worth cleaning up in my opinion.
 
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For the stock....remove, and tape or remove hardware..pad. Place a soaking wet towel on the wood and get it really hot by running your wifes iron on it, this will pop out or minimize most dings. Wood and finish will go mottled, of no concern. Affix a wire so you can hang each wood part.

Using tung oil, boiled linseed, or lightly coloured stain and 400-800 grit sandpaper(small piece of square scrap to avoid rounding) lightly sand the stain wet CROSS grain. The fine sanddust will mix with the stain filling micro scratches/voids/holes. Wipe with rag. Using a fine cloth rag friction rub the wood to polish( or use a buff wheel on your grinder). Hang to dry over night( somewhere the wife wont complain).

Repeat above paragraph 3-7 times. Reassemble.

P.S. If the wood has checkering you should also carefully tape that, to avoid ruining or deleting. It can be worked on gently with the same stain/oil using a dollar store toothbrush, right before you hang the pieces.
 
I did my cooey 840 by sanding off all the colour except for on the palm area and the front checkering.then cleared it with lacquer. Looks greats the light wood to brown contrast looks neat
 
Clean the old finish off with Circa 1850. Dents can often be removed with the previously mentioned wet cloth/hot iron application. Sand lightly with fine grit. I usually start with 220 or 320 and go to 400. The old finish is already off, and you're not trying to remove a bunch of wood, just getting the surface ready for a new finish.
There is stuff made that will prepare woods like birch or beech to better accept stains - goes by a few different names, and you will find it at most hardware stores. Buy some ... follow the directions.
Water based stains sometimes work best, and you can often mix colors to come up with something you like. Another option is to use a gel stain, which will give you more control over how dark you want the wood stained, and allow you re-stain areas that don't come out dark enough. ... just follow the directions on the can.
I usually finish with 1850 Tung Oil. Don't use it full strength ... use a 50/50 tung oil/mineral spirits blend. Apply the first coat with a brush. Let dry for at least 24 hours. When thoroughly dry, wipe down with extra fine steel wool. After that first coat, mix only a tiny bit of the 50/50 at a time. I usually mix an eye dropper of each together. If you mix up a bunch of it, it will jell up in a day or two and have to be discarded. Apply the next coats by hand. Dip your finger in the 50/50, and smear it around on the stock. Rub it in gently with your palm and fingers until the surface starts to get warm ... set aside, or hang to dry at least 8 hrs., 12 or more if you are able. Wipe with steel wool ... repeat ... repeat. Keep applying coats of the 50/50 mix intil you are happy with the finish.

OR you can make life easier for yourself by putting on top coats of "tru-oil" or "Wipe-on Poly". Both are easy to use, and will give a fairly durable finish with fewer coats and less time than the tung oil process.
 
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