Rod
12-20-2006, 07:19 PM
I have seen several posts from people asking questions about refinishing a firearm so I thought I would offer up some info based on over 20 years of firearm repair/refinishing and custom building. I hope this is helpful.
The first thing to do is remove the action, trigger guard, studs, recoil pad etc.
If a new recoil pad is going on you should get it started right away. I have tried many different brands and keep going back to Pachmayr pads, they have a variety of styles from super soft to thin rubber plates and they cut and clean up well and the mating surface is flat (something that can’t be said for many brands). Pick a pad that is a close fit to your wood. A tabletop style belt sander with a 40 grit belt can be used to reduce the pad down to a close fit but go slow and don’t hit the wood! Several wraps of masking tape will give you a TINY bit or room for error but it won’t help if you are going to fast.
With the pad almost down to wood switch to a fine grit belt (80 to 100) and again go SLOW and get it down so you are cutting at the finish and pad at the same time, if you do it right the old finish with just show some scratches. The pad can be cleaned up with 150 paper on a rubber backed block.
Now for finish removal.
For surface finishes most of the popular strippers will do the job. Follow the directions on the can and don’t be surprised if it takes several applications. Any dents in the wood should be checked to ensure the finish has been removed so they can be steamed out later.
Use an old toothbrush or even better a small stiff nylon bristle brush to work the stripper into the checkering, let it work a few minutes then use the same brush to clean out the stripper and softened finish.
I usually wash the stock in hot running water and give it a final scrub with a 3m pad, this pulls out a lot of dirt and finish that the stripper loosened. Don’t over do it as you don’t want to saturate the wood with water and cause it to swell and possible crack after drying.
Now you can steam out any dents by placing a folded wet towel over the spot and applying a hot iron. Again this may need to be done repeatedly with the towel being re-wetted. Not all dents will come out with this method but it’s your best bet. Any areas that have been hit hard enough to crush the wood fibres will need a different procedure.
Small areas that contain a dent with some crushing can be steamed to raise what you can and then you have the choice of sanding the remainder out or filling it. Sanding is done with 150 paper on a hard block (I made mine from hardwood with ¼” neoprene glued on the face), don’t make the mistake of sanding just the dent as it will stand out like a sore thumb later, blend the area and take as little material as possible to get acceptable results. Deeper marks can be filled with a lacquer stick available in various shades from Lee Valley Tools <www.leevalley.com (http://www.leevalley.com/)> then sanded.
With the damaged areas taken care of reinstall your recoil pad so it gets sanded with the stock for that “grown together look”, make sure to use a block and go in the direction of the grain at all times. Start with 180 grit followed by 220 and stop frequently to clean the dust from the paper as it can ball up and leave a dent. Take care not to sand the checkering as you will flatten the diamonds and the finished job will look like it was done by an amateur. Do not sand the barrel channel just make sure all the old finish is removed.
With sanding complete you can go the extra mile and raise the grain. Wet the stock by dipping your hand in a bucket of water and wiping the wood just enough to dampen the surface. With the wood wet you use a heat gun or CAREFULL use of a small propane torch or even a stove burner to quickly dry the wood, keep it moving at all times to avoid scorching. What this does is cause the loose ends of the wood fibres to swell and stand up. You nicely sanded stock will now look dull and drab but not for long. Using 4/0 steel wool gently sand the stock again. This can be repeated 2-3 times and when you are done the stock should have a shine as if it already had a coat of finish on it. You are now ready to start the finishing process.
There are as many opinions on what is the best finish for a hunting rifle as there are calibers, I will offer my opinions but remember they are just that opinions and just like a%&holes everyone has one.
If you want to even out the color or darken light wood I suggest water based aniline dyes (Lee Valley again), they are easy to apply and can be used with any finish. If you go this route you will want to raise the grain and cut it down with steel wool again.
For final finishes I often use a homebrew wiping varnish made by mixing tung oil with poly varnish at about a 60/40 solution. The grain is filled by applying the finish to a small area and sanding it while still wet, this mixes the sawdust with the finish and works it into the pours of the wood, don’t wipe the mess that remains on the surface as you will just pull all the filler out, just let it dry overnight and LIGHTLY sand with 320 paper. Just enough to take off the slurry that formed on the surface without pulling it out of the grain.
I apply multiple coats (3-4) of the same 60/40 oil/varnish to the entire stock, this is also worked into the checkering then blotted out with a paper towel.
Allow to dry overnight between coats. Increase the solution to 50/50 and do a couple of more coats before moving up to 60/40 or 70/30 varnish/oil. From here you just add as many coats as you want, from 2 to 10 depending on your patience. NOTE: the barrel channel should only get the first application of thinned finish just to seal the grain.
Let it dry for about a week and buff it out before adding a coat of high quality automotive wax for added protection from the elements.
Another finish for those of you with the equipment to apply it is automotive liqueur. It brings out fancy grain really well and doesn’t discolour the wood at all and is my favourite when I have a really fancy stick of wood to work with. You end up with a high gloss finish but it’s probably the toughest thing going short of epoxy and the shine can be dulled out with rubbing compound.
NOTE: If your checkering is damaged or simply worn out it is a simple job to re-cut the diamonds, a single line checkering tool is available from Brownells www.brownells.com (http://www.brownells.com/) and you just deepen it enough to bring the diamonds back up to a point. You should do this after the first coat of thinned finish has been applied and allowed to dry. Do your checkering work then continue as above adding finish to the newly cut area to seal it.
My writing abilities might leave something to be desired but I hope this will serve as a primer for anyone contemplating a refinishing job. It’s not difficult just go slow and pay attention to details like keeping with grain direction and not rounding out corners and you will have a finished job that you can be proud of.
Good Luck
Rod
The first thing to do is remove the action, trigger guard, studs, recoil pad etc.
If a new recoil pad is going on you should get it started right away. I have tried many different brands and keep going back to Pachmayr pads, they have a variety of styles from super soft to thin rubber plates and they cut and clean up well and the mating surface is flat (something that can’t be said for many brands). Pick a pad that is a close fit to your wood. A tabletop style belt sander with a 40 grit belt can be used to reduce the pad down to a close fit but go slow and don’t hit the wood! Several wraps of masking tape will give you a TINY bit or room for error but it won’t help if you are going to fast.
With the pad almost down to wood switch to a fine grit belt (80 to 100) and again go SLOW and get it down so you are cutting at the finish and pad at the same time, if you do it right the old finish with just show some scratches. The pad can be cleaned up with 150 paper on a rubber backed block.
Now for finish removal.
For surface finishes most of the popular strippers will do the job. Follow the directions on the can and don’t be surprised if it takes several applications. Any dents in the wood should be checked to ensure the finish has been removed so they can be steamed out later.
Use an old toothbrush or even better a small stiff nylon bristle brush to work the stripper into the checkering, let it work a few minutes then use the same brush to clean out the stripper and softened finish.
I usually wash the stock in hot running water and give it a final scrub with a 3m pad, this pulls out a lot of dirt and finish that the stripper loosened. Don’t over do it as you don’t want to saturate the wood with water and cause it to swell and possible crack after drying.
Now you can steam out any dents by placing a folded wet towel over the spot and applying a hot iron. Again this may need to be done repeatedly with the towel being re-wetted. Not all dents will come out with this method but it’s your best bet. Any areas that have been hit hard enough to crush the wood fibres will need a different procedure.
Small areas that contain a dent with some crushing can be steamed to raise what you can and then you have the choice of sanding the remainder out or filling it. Sanding is done with 150 paper on a hard block (I made mine from hardwood with ¼” neoprene glued on the face), don’t make the mistake of sanding just the dent as it will stand out like a sore thumb later, blend the area and take as little material as possible to get acceptable results. Deeper marks can be filled with a lacquer stick available in various shades from Lee Valley Tools <www.leevalley.com (http://www.leevalley.com/)> then sanded.
With the damaged areas taken care of reinstall your recoil pad so it gets sanded with the stock for that “grown together look”, make sure to use a block and go in the direction of the grain at all times. Start with 180 grit followed by 220 and stop frequently to clean the dust from the paper as it can ball up and leave a dent. Take care not to sand the checkering as you will flatten the diamonds and the finished job will look like it was done by an amateur. Do not sand the barrel channel just make sure all the old finish is removed.
With sanding complete you can go the extra mile and raise the grain. Wet the stock by dipping your hand in a bucket of water and wiping the wood just enough to dampen the surface. With the wood wet you use a heat gun or CAREFULL use of a small propane torch or even a stove burner to quickly dry the wood, keep it moving at all times to avoid scorching. What this does is cause the loose ends of the wood fibres to swell and stand up. You nicely sanded stock will now look dull and drab but not for long. Using 4/0 steel wool gently sand the stock again. This can be repeated 2-3 times and when you are done the stock should have a shine as if it already had a coat of finish on it. You are now ready to start the finishing process.
There are as many opinions on what is the best finish for a hunting rifle as there are calibers, I will offer my opinions but remember they are just that opinions and just like a%&holes everyone has one.
If you want to even out the color or darken light wood I suggest water based aniline dyes (Lee Valley again), they are easy to apply and can be used with any finish. If you go this route you will want to raise the grain and cut it down with steel wool again.
For final finishes I often use a homebrew wiping varnish made by mixing tung oil with poly varnish at about a 60/40 solution. The grain is filled by applying the finish to a small area and sanding it while still wet, this mixes the sawdust with the finish and works it into the pours of the wood, don’t wipe the mess that remains on the surface as you will just pull all the filler out, just let it dry overnight and LIGHTLY sand with 320 paper. Just enough to take off the slurry that formed on the surface without pulling it out of the grain.
I apply multiple coats (3-4) of the same 60/40 oil/varnish to the entire stock, this is also worked into the checkering then blotted out with a paper towel.
Allow to dry overnight between coats. Increase the solution to 50/50 and do a couple of more coats before moving up to 60/40 or 70/30 varnish/oil. From here you just add as many coats as you want, from 2 to 10 depending on your patience. NOTE: the barrel channel should only get the first application of thinned finish just to seal the grain.
Let it dry for about a week and buff it out before adding a coat of high quality automotive wax for added protection from the elements.
Another finish for those of you with the equipment to apply it is automotive liqueur. It brings out fancy grain really well and doesn’t discolour the wood at all and is my favourite when I have a really fancy stick of wood to work with. You end up with a high gloss finish but it’s probably the toughest thing going short of epoxy and the shine can be dulled out with rubbing compound.
NOTE: If your checkering is damaged or simply worn out it is a simple job to re-cut the diamonds, a single line checkering tool is available from Brownells www.brownells.com (http://www.brownells.com/) and you just deepen it enough to bring the diamonds back up to a point. You should do this after the first coat of thinned finish has been applied and allowed to dry. Do your checkering work then continue as above adding finish to the newly cut area to seal it.
My writing abilities might leave something to be desired but I hope this will serve as a primer for anyone contemplating a refinishing job. It’s not difficult just go slow and pay attention to details like keeping with grain direction and not rounding out corners and you will have a finished job that you can be proud of.
Good Luck
Rod