Stock refinishing help

[BenH2016]

I recently bought myself a second hand CZ zkk 600 in 30-06 and would like to refinish the stock.

The current, I assume factory, finish is a thick lacquer of some sort that I don't care for. The wood is very light with some random figure and what looks to be some nice silking. I'm hoping that hand rubbed oil finish will be more attractive and bring out the silking somewhat.

I have also bought a Pachmyr recoil pad to replace the existing plastic butt plate.

My question is to do with the recommended order of things , so far I have this planned:

Remove barreled action and all fittings (swivel studs and butt plate)

Strip the old finish

Sand lightly

Apply the new finish

What I don't know is when would be best to fit the grind to fit recoil pad. Before or after sanding and before or after applying the new finish.

The finish that I have, and where I am options are limited, is "Schaftol" a BLO based product. Will this finish damage or affect the recoil pad at all?

Look forward to some expert advise here.

Thanks
Ben

 

[Ryan]

I've stripped and refinished stocks a few times now, but never refit a pad. My suggestion is check out Midway USA's Youtube videos. Larry Potterfield has all kinds of good info out there and I think I recall one on recoil pads.

 

[BenH2016]

Ryan, thanks for the reply. I've watched a few of those videos and one on recoil pads. That Larry Poterfield is a very cheerful dude!

In fact his video on recoil pads left me with more questions than answers as he fits, removes, and refits the pad a few times, whereas the instructions on the Pachmyr pad I got say not to remove the pad after fitting as the screw holes may open up too much!

 

[Ryan]

To prevent the screw holes in the pad from expanding lube the tip of the screwdriver a little with bar soap so that it doesn't bind with the recoil pad. I've done that with my Ruger #1 recently and it worked fine.

 

[BenH2016]

Ok, thanks for the tip. Perhaps I misunderstood the instructions that came with the pad, I thought they meant the screw holes in the stock would get too big. Certainly the idea of being able to shape the pad while it still has the old finish on, remove the pad for the refinishing process and then refit it sounds good to me.

Must say I'm super nervous about sanding that top edge of the stock where it meets the barrel and the action, the wood is so thin there. What's been your experience when sanding that part?

 

[Ryan]

Fine sanding paper from the start (320 or 400 grit at the roughest) and a sanding block of some sort. You only want to take off a very little amount of wood to true things up again and a block gives even pressure. In curved areas I use a wooden dowel as a block.

 

[Rob404]

A Nice stain for your CZ is actually called GunStock,

 

[nztimb]

To keep from maring the surface of the pad you can grind the tip of the screwdriver to reduce the dia and I dip them in vaseline when installing thee screws , and for removal of course. Do the fitting after the existing finish is removed and before you start the new finish.
As has been said after stripping the present finish, the wood should be clean and should only need the finer 360-600grt W&D paper so first ensure all the previous finish is gone and then the 600grit to wet sand the new finish in to ensure all the pores are filled before starting the actual finish.

 

[CAustin]

Hope you will share some before and after pictures with us!

 

[BenH2016]

I certainly will post progress pictures in this thread.

Right now I'm collecting the products that I need to do the job. Here in Zambia it's not as easy as popping down to the shop!

My parents were in Windhoek recently and the brought the Shaftol back for me. I asked them to bring a varnish remover too but the guys in the gunshops there said "just use elbow grease". I thought this was rather unhelpful as I was after a product, not advise.

So I'm still on the hunt for a suitable stripper (ahem).

 

[PeteG]

Head down to one of the hardware stores and pick up some paint stripper.
Thats what i used on my cz and on my old brno .22h.

 

[Michael Dean]

I've built a few stocks and added recoil pads to them. There is no rule so to speak regarding when the best time to mount the recoil pad. I personally mount the pad before I sand the stock. The pads are shaped and finished by sanding them so sanding the rifle afterwards always made sense to me.

 

[Ryan]

Head down to one of the hardware stores and pick up some paint stripper.
Thats what i used on my cz and on my old brno .22h.

You beat me to the punch. The local hardware stores are sure to have some kind of paint/varnish removers. I used a product called Citristrip last time and then wiped it down a couple times with plain acetone to make sure all the pores were completely cleaned out. Then I played it safe and gave it a day to air out and make sure all the acetone had completely left the wood before I began the new finish.
Good luck.

 

[wesheltonj]

I have zero experience with recoil pad, but lots with refinishing. But I would suggest that you loose fit the pad first, remove and then strip and refinish. Use a chemical stripper first, then 300 grit paper, wipe down and the move up to 5-600 grit paper. I would suggest linseed oil. Use the same paper between coats, for at least 6 coats. Then just the oil. Make sure you wipe down between each coat.

 

[BenH2016]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone. It's very reassuring to have such experienced people willing to advise.

I've now got the stripper. It says safe for wood on the tin and that's what I've been searching for.

Would you all recommend grinding the new pad in place on the stock?

@wesheltonj what did you mean by loose fitting?

So far what I'm leaning towards is screwing the new pad into place, masking the stock and grinding it down. Then remove the pad and strip the finish, then refit the pad and sand the stock and pad with 600 grit or so paper to ensure even surfaces and that the pad is exact fit. Then begin sealing pores by wet sanding. How does this sound to you all.

I wouldn't imagine the schaftol will damage the pad, it shouldn't.

@wesheltonj again, when you wet sand do you use the same BLO (in my case Shaftol) for wet sanding, and do you went sand in a circular motion?

I'll be starting this project this week.

Thanks again

 

[BenH2016]

Reading that again I suppose I could remove the finish and then screw the pad on, mask the cleaned stock and grind the pad. This seems along the lines with what @Von Gruff has suggested above.

 

[PeteG]

All sounds good. What I did with all the recoil pads was to fit the new pad before doing any stock work then trace the outline with a scribe. This gave me a pretty good shape to work on with a sanding machine to get the pad to almost the right fit. Then I finished the sanding while fitted. Then removed it and did all the stock work and sanding. I sanded all then once finished with a very fine grit rubbed the shaftol in with a cotton cloth. Kept doing this till I got the finish I needed.

 

[nztimb]

So far what I'm leaning towards is screwing the new pad into place, masking the stock and grinding it down. Then remove the pad and strip the finish, then refit the pad and sand the stock and pad with 600 grit or so paper to ensure even surfaces and that the pad is exact fit. Then begin sealing pores by wet sanding. How does this sound to you all.
@wesheltonj again, when you wet sand do you use the same BLO (in my case Shaftol) for wet sanding, and do you went sand in a circular motion?

Yes this is the process, EXCEPT that I never cross sand the wood which is what you would be doing by circular sanding. Always sand with the grain even with the finest of sandpaper grits even when wet sanding.

Fitting the pad and grinding/sanding in place ensures you follow the lines of the stock. You will find that after the first fitting, when you remove it to strip the finish that it will be necessary to go back to a coarser grit than 600 to bring the pad down to the stock lines as you will have the tape thickness to remove so I would start with 220 on the first few inches of the stock with the pad then go to 360 on the whole stock before going to the to 600 grit and after you have the whole stock finished to that grit you can use it to start to wet sand with for as many coats as it takes to make sure all the pores are filled. After that it is a simple case of a dab of oil on the finger tip and rub it in to one area and I have found that a single drop on the finger will do almost all of one side of the butt. Make sure it is rubbed in so that it is only showing a wet look without having any standing proud of the wood. Carry on doing the rest of the stock and set it asside till dry then repeat as many times as it takes for the finish to be as you would wish. It may take as many as 20 or more of these thin coats as you are wanting the finish in the wood and not on the wood for the most protective and grain enhancing finish.

 

[BenH2016]

@Von Gruff thanks for your detailed reply. I've sanded hardwoods down to 600g before and never considered cross sanding, but I saw it recommend for the wet sanding part of sanding a gunstock on a you tube video. Well now, I thought I saw it, I've watched so many videos on the subject I may have confused myself.

 

[nztimb]

You probably did see it and I have seen those who advocate it as well with one using an orbital sander to do the job but then there are always those who will be content with a bubbas finish while the rest of us prefer it done right.