Stock re-finishing.

[AntiqueWeapons.org]

Just wanted to get some input on stock re-finishing.
On one of my Gew88s, the stock was pretty greasy, grimy & very dark as well as had alot of dings/dents/scrapes, some carvings of initials, etc..

Only 2 minute & small cracks & I am in the process of re-finishing it.
I am sanding it down & don't want to sand too much because I need to retain the curves/shape, etc but wanted to ask if anyone has used a chemical stripper on a rifle stock before. The stock is over 100 years old so I don't want to F it up. I'm looking to make it a nice shiny & smooth finish as I'm planning something custom as I'm not concerned with originality on this particular piece as it's non-matching & appears not so collectible or desireable considering how cheap these rifles can be found for. I just want a nice purty shooter.

Can standard wood stains/finishes/etc that are used on furniture be used on gun stocks? They're wood, so I assume yes.

What about wood fillers? I need to fill in these dings/dents, etc.. any issues I need to be aware of when using these?

Anyway, just wanted to get some info & ideas for stock re-finishing.

Sorry if these are dumb questions, but I don't remember much from wood shop class 25 years ago

 

[SKS Ray]

Send Cabinetman any questions. I've followed his advice on the Parallax forums and its worked for me.

 

[Neptune Cat]

I have stripped, sanded, stained and polyed a gun stock years ago and it came out beautiful. I was working in a shop that refinished furniture at the time, so it seemed fitting.

 

[Dan Hurley]

A couple of years ago I stripped and refinished a shotgun from 1918. I used recommended items from Midway. I used a chemical stripper and it worked well. They caution that you make absolutely certain that all old finish, and particular the stripping gel, is completely removed before applying new finish. They recommend against fillers because of the difficulty in getting the filler to match the base material. They have suggestions regarding "raising" dings with steam or oil, but I didn't try. I used the old standby Tru Oil for finish because I'm cheap.

Midway's Miles Gilbert refinishing kit seems to have consistently good reviews and it includes just about everything for 30 bucks.

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=115652

 

[LoginName]

I've used the instructions here... http://www.jouster.com/Bulletin/refinishing.htm
on a couple of projects and the results came out really nice.

Any commercial furniture stain and/or finish can be used on a rifle stock. The trick is not to overdo it (don't stain it too dark or go for a really high-gloss finish).

I have a project that I'm currently working on (FAL with wood furniture), and the walnut buttstock, pistol grip and handguards came out excellent looking after several applications of Formbys tung oil and a lite buffing with 0000 steel wool.

Try the steaming method for getting out some of the dings and gouges. I was surprised myself how well it worked.

 

[AntiqueWeapons.org]

Great info here.. thanks guys.

 

[vellnueve]

I've refinished only two stocks ever, a KP-3 paintball rifle (stock is the same as a Benjamin Sheridan Blue Streak pellet rifle) and my CMP Garand. In both cases, I went for a partial refinish instead of a full sand/strip everything. I sanded the surface of the original finish off and worked on some of the chips and dents, but didn't go any deeper than that, then restained them using Miniwax (I think) wood stains. Special Walnut for the Garand and a redwood for the KP-3. Both of them turned out much better than they started (you wouldn't believe what paintball oils did to the KP-3's stock finish).

I could have completely redone the Garand's stock, but consider that the gun itself has a lot of wear on the finish, why bother? It's not a museum piece and never will be, it's a shooter and that's what I want it to reflect. If I ever decide I want it restored to like new condition, I will buy a new manufacture stock and finish it.