First attempt at stock refinishing

[The Raven]

As per a post in another group I've decided to try my hand at stock refinishing.

To avoid the risk of ruining an otherwise good rifle I started with some old but stocks purchased from eBay.

What I started with, an old Stevens shotgun stock. Must be a youth model as it is incredibly short.

The stock is split, dinged, chipped, and otherwise unusable. Remember this is my first attempt, and I wasn't aiming to resolve all the problems!

After stripping the stock it looked like this.

After steaming out the dents (as best possible) and sanding I thought I was ready to go. Then I made the mistake of trying the stain, which was way too much (and worse after applying the finish). Here's where I went wrong.

[MISSED]

some citri strip will pull that stain out mate.

[The Raven]

continued.....

So the stain was too dark and my initial application of Tru-Oil only made things worse. So I re-stripped it and tried again, this time with better results.

Another coat of Tru-Oil, noting these are pics of it wet.

Some more coats of Tru-Oil drying. Are pics of Tru-Oil drying worse than watching it dry?

More to come...

[The Raven]

Here's where I found the 'magic' happened.

Each coat of Tru-Oil received some gentle sanding etc. If you want to be bored you can find plenty of videos on Youtube of people sanding Tru-Oil. I eventually opted for the #0000 steel wool approach and got this.

Please remember this was a project stock, the aim wasn't perfection. However, I managed to turn this turd into a polished turd. When I tackle my first real stock I won't have as many problem areas to deal with, so hopefully it will come out far better than this humble attempt.

Apologies in advance to any purists...

[The Raven]

some citri strip will pull that stain out mate.

I used my favourite paint stripper "Non-Caustic, Non-Fuming" oven cleaner. The cheapest stuff you can get that will remove most paints/oils etc without burning your nasal passages or eating the skin off your hands.

Probably not ideal to put on a really nice piece of timber, but it was fine for this.

[JasonF]

Uh oh. Standby for the commentary about steel wool...

[The Raven]

Uh oh. Standby for the commentary about steel wool...

I heard about all the problems it can cause, but it turned out to be the best way to sand/polish the finish. All you need to do is ensure the finish is spotlessly clean before applying the next coat.

I tried my normal range of sandpapers and found it to be a real pain (too long, didn't finish as nice).

Oh, I should mention I attempted to final polish with micro-mesh (out to 12000 grit). It helped smooth the finish and restore a little shine but probably wasn't worth the effort.

[Branxhunter]

Try wetting down the stock with armour all, then with just a dab (no more) of Tru-oil on the tips of a couple of fingers rub into into an area of the stock then polish it in with your palm/heel of your hand with a fair bit of gusto- the friction heat starts to harden the oil up after a minute or so and it quickly dries to a beautiful silky/oily finish. Edges blend together easily. I put around 5 coats of Tru-oil on my Brno mod 2 stock in a day.

Marcus

[The Raven]

Try wetting down the stock with armour all, then with just a dab (no more) of Tru-oil on the tips of a couple of fingers rub into into an area of the stock then polish it in with your palm/heel of your hand with a fair bit of gusto- the friction heat starts to harden the oil up after a minute or so and it quickly dries to a beautiful silky/oily finish. Edges blend together easily. I put around 5 coats of Tru-oil on my Brno mod 2 stock in a day.

Marcus

I tried Armour All, I think you can see it in the background...

Despite all I read on the internet about the wonders of Armour All it turned to crap! Maybe my technique wasn't right, despite copying the internet...

Also, don't trust the Armour All labelling. They say it's the 'Original' formula, but as someone who's used it for decades the newer stuff isn't anything like the 'Original'.

I used 12G patches to wipe on the Tru-Oil. It went on much better (than fingers) and avoided a lot of mess. I was able to get two coats on each night, and finish it in a few days.

Next time I'll get better results

[MISSED]

Nice job

Being an Asthmatic I try very hard to avoid solvent or Varnish based products

Hence why I use Citrstrip and Real oil finishes

[Camel]

Nice job

Being an Asthmatic I try very hard to avoid solvent or Varnish based products

Hence why I use Citrstrip and Real oil finishes

No wonder you are always complaining about getting home on time, you are always on the phone/forum posting when you are sposed to be driving.

[Branxhunter]

Marcus

I tried Armour All, I think you can see it in the background...

Despite all I read on the internet about the wonders of Armour All it turned to crap! Maybe my technique wasn't right, despite copying the internet... [/quote]

My first go turned to sh@t too. The key is to use very small amounts of AA and rub hard until the friction is generating heat. I ended up putting AA into a low, wide mouth jar so I could just dip the tips of two fingers into it. I would do both sides of the butt, each side of the forend, and the underside of the forend all as separate sections.

[The Raven]

Now that this test stock is finished I'm starting on the first real restoration.

I have a couple of questions for the experts....

1. Has anyone used the Birchwood Casey Sealer and Filler? What are your thoughts on it?
2. If replacing the recoil pad, as I will be doing, should I leave the final fitting/grinding until the stock is finished or should I size on the unfinished stock? I think it may be better to size first.
3. How do you apply stains? I'm wanting to highlight some grain and wondered if a highly thinned stain (Birchwood Casey again...) would help bring that out.
4. I have shallow pressed checkering, which is more decorative than functional. Can, or should, I just ignore it Tru-Oil over it? If not, what's the best way to mask and finish it so it looks right?

Any help or suggestions gladly accepted.

[MISSED]

Raven I wood not personally use a wood sealer/filler or just about any Birchwood casey product.The problem with them is that they are Varnish based and will sit "on" the wood not "in" the wood so will be easier to mark,Harder to repair any damage and will not actually weather proof your timber.

If you wet sand with oil you will create a slurry of wood and oil do not wipe this of your stock leave it on to Fill the grain. Set aside for a week to cure then wet sand again leaving the slurry to dry /cure for another week.jk

Do not try to rush the job as you will never be happy with the result. Depending on the piece of timber it may take up a dozen or more coats to reveal its beauty.

I Feast Watson make a Pigment which seems to work better than stain with a wood finish.

[adamjp]

To add to Andrew's advice, put the stain in a small amount (20ml) of oil and use that as the first coat. This method of application is the best way to get a good even coverage on the stock and lets you change the level of tint before you apply it.

A couple of drops of the Feast Watson tints go a very long way.