Stock Refinishing - Compilation and Questions

[lineofsight]

Below is a summary of what I understood from other posts, please let me know where I am off or suggestions for a better way:
(x) indicates procedures on which there appears to be consensus
(o) indicates mystery procedure, unclear on when/why/how
Will edit as am shown the error of my ways so hopefully a good summary results.


(x) Chemically remove finish (to avoid changing size with sanding)
(x) Apply wet cloth to dings/dents and iron to steam out.
(o) Remove old oil using oxalic acid concoction
(x) Raise grain with moist (not wet) cloth
(x) Remove whiskers with 0000 steel wool while stock is damp.
(x) Stain if desired
(stain need be compatible with tung oil - Birchwood Cassy / Lee Valley)
(x) Sand (~300 grit) with pure tung oil to create slurry and fill pores, dry, repeat...
(x) Sand (~400 grit) clean with compressed air or brush.
(dont remove fill from pores...)
(x) Apply oil finish, rub to set (use copper/steel wool between finishes for want satin finish), repeat. Rub with linen or cheese cloth (no particles).


If checkering
(x) brush in chemical stripper
(o) remove stripper
(x) brush in oil

Oil better than boiled linseed for water resistance & longevity.
Pure tung oil is better than tung oil finish.
Water based polyurethane more durable, little more work to fix than oil (but annoys some purists).

That about right? Cheers.

 

[sunray]

Fine wood is fine wood. Use the same products and techniques that you'd use on fine furniture. Don't sand off any finish. Use a finish remover. Sanding changes the size of the stock. Even a tiny change can alter the fit.
Dents will be steamed out using a damp, lint free, cotton, cloth. Soak it, then wring it out and apply a regular clothes iron. Soldering irons are usually too small. Stay away from any cartouches on a milsurp rifle.
Raise the grain with water. A damp cloth will do it. Then remove whiskers with 0000 steel wool when the stock is wet. Not soaking wet though. Just damp. Emery cloth (wet/dry sandpaper) works too.
Getting oil out of wood depends on how long its been there and what kind of oil.
Polyurethane is for cheap furniture. Scratch it and you need to re-do the whole stock. An oil finished stock, either BLO(boiled linseed oil) or Tung oil, is fixed with a bit more oil rubbed in. BLO gives you a flat finish. Tung oil, properly rubbed in(24 hours per coat with drying time) gives you a shiny finish.
Pure Tung oil soaks into wood to about 1/4". There's no staining after applying it. Nor is there a compatible stain. Minwax is a wood finishing product company. They sell a tung oil finish and pure tung oil(not cheap). Forget the 'finish'. It's not the same thing.
The really important part of this is that fine wood is fine wood. Pine doesn't count. If there's a furniture finishing course near you, it'll teach you how to do gun stocks.

 

[jethunter]

Here is a very good source for refinishing military stocks: http://www.jouster.com/Bulletin/refinishing.htm Google "refinishing gun stocks" and you'll find a bunch more sites.

I try to minimise the use of water as much as possible because if you get too much moisture in the wood it may warp when it dries.

And always remove the old finish with paint and varnish stripper instead of sanding to preserve the size and prevent rounding of square edges.

I have built a steamer for fixing dents that works a little better than the hot knife damp cloth method. I used an old tea kettle with a nozzle attached to the spout. I attached a 3 ft section of automotive heater hose (CanTire, $3) to the kettle spout. When i want to steam something i throw the kettle on a coleman stove in the workshop and get after it.

 

[44Bore]

There is some debate about using steel wool to de-whisker the stock--some sources say it pulls the fibres out making the pores larger--fine sandpaper used lightly is supposed to be better--I have used both methods and didn't notice much difference.

I also like to use oil based polyurethene thinned 50% to seal all inletted surfaces and the end grain under the butt plate.

44Bore

 

[Ian Robertson]

My local GS told me to use paper instead of steel wool and after trying it I think he is right, the sw tends to pull the finish out while filling the grain. I have tried many different finishes and I think it is very hard to beat Tru Oil if you want a filled built up finish which you can then dull down if you like. After checkering I use a concoction of my own to avoid giving a gloss. No finish is "waterproof". Avoid the edges like the plague while sanding, sandpaper is the most dangerous damaging tool in the shop when in the wrong hands!! Wood is my hobby, composite is my profession!

 

[Ian Robertson]

Forgot to add, always sand with a block. Use blocks of different hardness to conform just enough to suit curves. Use hard blocks around the edges and sand the edges last.