I have an old Remington walnut stock that is battered, beat and chipped. I would like to refinish it for a new project that I have in mine. This project I feel I can do about 90% of it myself. So what is the best way to strip the old finish off so I can sand out most of the nicks and dings. I started sanding it but without a power sander, sanding by hand is tough plus the finish gums up the sandpaper very quickly. There's got to be a chemical that will remove the finish and most of the stain if not all of it. HELP!!
Stock refinishing
- Thread starter RonS
- Start date
Most any paint stripper will work. Be careful sanding by hand, you could sadly roll sharp edges, use a block of wood wrapped in sand paper. Miles and Gilbert, (I think that's right) makes a stock refinishing kit(midway), and they do produce a good finish, and comes with a DVD instructions. I finished an interarms rifle last year and it came out great, had a pretty nice chunk wood under all that varnish. O yea, tape off the checkering, after stripping, and before sanding. And, and, and, and lots more, get the dvd 
Just one more thing, I riding not care for the sealer in the kit. I use Permalyn, the only place I know to get it is at Track of the wolf, a muzzle loader supplier, probably the deepest penetrating sealer I know of, even had to use it on my new Cooper.
when i refinished my remington i used paint stripper (spray on type) to get the bulk of the finish off. I just sprayed the whole thing down. Once i got the bulk of it off(which took about 3 coats of stripper) I sanded the rest by hand...BUT do not sand the checking or even try to clean it out any further than what the stripper does you will ruin the checkering. I used an old toothbrush to scrub the checkering area while the stripper was working...seemed to remove the finish from the checking easily. I refinsihed with Tru-oil but had i to do it again i would have like to try Tung Oil. as far as a sealer goes I personaly didnt use anything just a hand rubbed oil finish with 0000 steel wool. but i would not be against using a sealer if i found a good one to use...btw..this was my first refinish job..and lets just say I havent even thought about doing another..To me its one of those things you do once to say youve done it...but its hard for me to get motivated to do anymore..simply saying to do it right it takes work, patients, and alot of time. I ended up with 14 coats of tru oil..also had to make a drying cabinet to prevent dust from sticking to finish while it dried
Back in the day they didn't! And most still don't, they would just put a liberal amount of varnish on and call it good. Walnut is a pretty wood, even the plane old stock stuff. If you do it right, you will be amazed at the results. Linseed oil will make for a nice finish, but use very sparringly, just a drop on the tip of your finger and work in, you will only use 6 to 10 drops per coat, let dry a day or two and repeat, at least 6 times, more if you really want a nice finish. As for stripper, zip strip works pretty well. Sealer, back in the really old days, 1700's, schlack, use the blond, unless you want darker.you can thin it with alcohol. You really should seal, and seal it well, otherwise the stock will soak up water like a sponge, and will reek havoc on groups, and holding zero.
Hello,
As for dings and dents in the wood. Get your wifes iron and a wet(not dripping) wash cloth. Lay the wash cloth on the area where the dent or ding is and put the hot iron on it for a few seconds, take it off, do it again. This takes a little time but it does raise the dents out so you dont have to sand all the material down around the dent. I have done this countless times. It works. It cuts your sanding time down too. Hope this helps.
mike
As for dings and dents in the wood. Get your wifes iron and a wet(not dripping) wash cloth. Lay the wash cloth on the area where the dent or ding is and put the hot iron on it for a few seconds, take it off, do it again. This takes a little time but it does raise the dents out so you dont have to sand all the material down around the dent. I have done this countless times. It works. It cuts your sanding time down too. Hope this helps.
mike
pdhntr
Silver $$ Contributor
shootr said:
Zip-Strip Marine will soften it up after a while. It will take several coats and can create a mess. There is an alternative way that is better.
What I do is scrape the finish to the point that it is almost all gone and then hit it with the Zip-Strip. This way most of the mess can be sucked up with a shop vac. Usually one or two quick coats of Z-S will remove the remainder, and you save yourself hours of waiting for the stripper to work. I use an old stiff knife blade to scrape. If done right, the finish comes off in long ribbons.
Through the years I have tried many different finishes for stocks. I have played with the automotive clear coats, the rub on finishes, and have tried many of my own concoction. The one I have been using for some time now is Minwax (Helmsman) SPAR Urethane in the spray cans. (the green ones) I use the Clear Satin. They have an excellent spray nozzle and the spar is for outdoor use, which will water proof the stock for hunting. The stuff is easily found almost anywhere, and you don't have to worry about investing alot of $ in a finish and then the rest going bad on the shelf.
The finish that you can get is excellent. I use a fixture attached to the butt so I can rotate the stock while spraying, and for a short time after to keep the new finish from running. If, for some reason, the finish is not to your liking, it can be rubbed out to a higher gloss, or brought back to a satin finish with a super smooth feel.
Jim
Spray strippers are convenient. Gel strippers tend to have a longer working time before deactivating. Lay the stock on a piece of plastic Brush a coat on. Cover the stock with the plastic. This will help drive the solvent into the wood. Periodically reapply and use a lite scuff pad (dish cleaner or brush) to help loosen it up with. Get a gallon of acetone to do a final wipe. This will pull the remaining material out of the pores of wood. Do this in the garage with rubber gloves. Also set a fan up to blow the vapor away from you while you work Good luck Lloyd
Almost any hardware store will carry Fornby's Refinisher. Use 0000 steel wool and work on half dollar-size areas until the old finish is gone and then start again with a new piece of steel wool until you have the whole stock cleaned up. This does not destroy the natural patina of the wood the way sanding does, it only removes the old finish. I use heavy chemical resistant rubber gloves when using this, but have had good results. The steam iron trick described above will raise all but the deepest gouges and dents.
Then I would get a Tru-Oil stain and finish set and follow the directions. take your time and let the Tru oil set up at least over night between coats and don't rush that. I put 14 coats on my last stock and it worked out great.
Then I would get a Tru-Oil stain and finish set and follow the directions. take your time and let the Tru oil set up at least over night between coats and don't rush that. I put 14 coats on my last stock and it worked out great.
laquer sanding sealer has been used as a great sealer for over 50 years!the sealer and laquer thinner can still be bought at sherwinn-williams stores >
shootr said:
it will work...as far as being durable....depends on how you handle it...all finishes at some point will fail if put to hard use...heck you can strip it down and spray paint it..put a sealer over it and call it good...all depends on what you are planning on doing with it...or how you want it to look...heck..you can just leave it bare wood if you want...what are you trying to acheive i guess is what you need to ask yourself..i personaly love a hand rubbed oil satin finish...but the next guy might like high luster...
I will be teaching a couple young family members how to shoot starting with the prone position and reduced recoil loads and also I will be using it in for hog and deer hunts. I too love a hand rubbed oil finish but after sanding the stock down to bare wood I also thought about just a clear finish. So I put the action back on the stock and the bluing is so badly scratched, discolored and just plain ugly with the rust forming that I decided the whole gun needed some sort of treatment. I may do the stock in a light tan and the barreed action in black, but who knows. I'm having fun!!
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
I have had a few refurbed. I find it much cheaper to have a qualified person do it. I know the old story about wanting to do it yourself or saving $5. I think I have out grown that. I had rather use my skills elsewhere.
This is a Mod 37 Remington rimfire that I did buy at a very reasonable price. Found out the stock was cracked and busted in the wrist. It was quite a chore refinishing it, but the results were great.
Not shown was countless time refurbing the original buttplate that I saw as a loss.
You may want to use your skills to make money to be able to afford somebody that can do a great job. Ain't gonna ask you to add the cost of stripper, proper sand paper, sandpaper holder, sanding sealer, and finish.
This is a Mod 37 Remington rimfire that I did buy at a very reasonable price. Found out the stock was cracked and busted in the wrist. It was quite a chore refinishing it, but the results were great.
Not shown was countless time refurbing the original buttplate that I saw as a loss.
You may want to use your skills to make money to be able to afford somebody that can do a great job. Ain't gonna ask you to add the cost of stripper, proper sand paper, sandpaper holder, sanding sealer, and finish.
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