Stock refinishing help

[BenH2016]

@Von Gruff I've seen your thread full of knife making pictures and I can see you know exactly what "done right" involves. Some fantastic work right there.

I finally started in my 30-06 stock this evening.

First I dismantled the thing. I drilled out and plugged the old screw holes, before I fitted the new pad.

The new pad was a very close fit with only a few mm to come off in most places, a bit more at the heel. I decided to take it down by hand. I spent an hour on it with 60 grit paper on small block. It's a slow process, but it's getting close to a good fit. I'll sand some more tomorrow.

Here are some pics.

 

[nztimb]

One more thing to be aware of when you get to the finish sanding after the present finish has been stripped of is to only sand in one direction when you are in the but pad end of the stock. Stroke from the wood outward over the pad as otherwise you will end up possibly embeding the sanded pad backing into the pores of the wood. The same goes for when you have ebony tip or grip cap and when fitting steel accents it is even more important. An air hose can blow most if it out but it is best not to get it in there in the first place.

 

[BenH2016]

I've done some more work on the stock today.

I sanded the pad down some more until it was very close to the stock

Then I stripped off the old finish. This took two applications of the stripper. I started by using an old credit card to scrape the sludge of stripper and softened varnish off the stock, but the stripper made the card go soft, so I finished up with a paint scraper. Unfortunately the scraper has left marks on the stock so I'm working on these with 400 grit paper. The 400 grit is also getting the few small patches of original varnish that didn't come off with the stripper.

I'm going to put the pad back on now and sand the pad and stock some more.

 

[bilmcc]

I've done some more work on the stock today.

I sanded the pad down some more until it was very close to the stock

View attachment 185344
Then I stripped off the old finish. This took two applications of the stripper. I started by using an old credit card to scrape the sludge of stripper and softened varnish off the stock, but the stripper made the card go soft, so I finished up with a paint scraper. Unfortunately the scraper has left marks on the stock so I'm working on these with 400 grit paper. The 400 grit is also getting the few small patches of original varnish that didn't come off with the stripper.

View attachment 185345

View attachment 185346
I'm going to put the pad back on now and sand the pad and stock some more.

I am in the process of refinishing an old Ruger M77. This was my first experience with Citristrip and I tried scraping it off small areas at periods up to 12 hours. At 12 hours, I lost my patience and used a hose to wash off the stripper. Lo, and behold, after drying, all the finish was gone. (Even a blind pig ...). I sanded with 150, 220, and 400 grit. A small nylon cleaning brush was useful in clearing dried stripper from checkering, bolt handle slot, and other crannies. The Citristrip is supposed to be inactive after it dries. I have done two coats, sanding with 220, two coats sanding with 400, and I think after 1 or 2 more coats. I will go to 0000 steel wool. Humidity is 80 to 90 percent now, but it will just get worse for the rest of the summer, so I am pressing on. This stock was really scratched and beat up when I started, so it is looking better, though it is not a great piece of wood.

 

[BenH2016]

@bilmcc it's a very rewarding process so far. This is the first stock I've done and really enjoying it. I also got the hell in scraping stripper off and rinsed it all off under a tap.

When you speak of 2 coats with different paper grades do you mean wet sanding with the finishing oil? What finish are you using?

 

[bilmcc]

@bilmcc it's a very rewarding process so far. This is the first stock I've done and really enjoying it. I also got the hell in scraping stripper off and rinsed it all off under a tap.

When you speak of 2 coats with different paper grades do you mean wet sanding with the finishing oil? What finish are you using?

I have been sanding dry or semi-dry, then immediately rubbing in another finish coat, with the wood dust. I am using TruOil. I did not use any stain this time. My only other experience was with a Marlin 336 some years ago. I used 6 thin coats of stain and 8 coats of finish. That's all I can remember about that process. It turned out well. Satin gloss, so I must have sanded it at some points.

 

[BenH2016]

Here after its first wet sanding using 400g paper and shaftol. I heated the shaftol slightly and used my finger to put it on relatively thick. After sanding it in until a slurry formed I wiped of the excess with a paper towel.

I'm already very happy with how it looks. Few days of curing now and I'll wet sand again with 400g.

 

[Shootist43]

I know you are not done yet, but this project is looking good so far.

 

[nztimb]

I know you are not done yet, but this project is looking good so far.

yes it is

 

[Dr Ray]

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

Suggest the finish should be dull rather than shiny.
I've seen shiny stock reflect surprisingly bright and animals simply vanish whenever they see a reflection.
I would suggest you remove the recoil pad prior to working on the stock. This prevents the recoil pad from being accidentally sanded and getting any lacquer on it.
You may find after finishing that a better recoil pad is warranted in any case.
I did that with my Marlin lever action 45/70.

 

[ack]

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:
** When you are done sanding, before each coat wipe off with a"Tack Cloth" from any paint or stain store..Just a sticky cloth that collects every bit of dust..**
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

 

[ack]

I put a suggestion but it went in your letter so here again...Wipe stock after each sanding with a "Tack Cloth" from paint or stain store..Collects all the dust..

 

[BenH2016]

Thanks again for the further suggestions. Today did the second wet sanding with 400 gritt paper. Not much change from the first coat that was done one Thursday evening. Everything just seems a bit darker and a slight bit more sheen from the grain. Still looks very nice to me.

I'm planning to still do one more wet sanding with 400 grit, then 2 or 3 applications with 600, then 800 grit, as this is the finest paper that I have. From there I'll go in with the thin rubbed in coats for quite a few applications. If I leave 2 days between each application I'm going to be at it for a while. I'm in no rush so I'll keep at it.

I'll just have to shoot the 416 and the 22 hornet a lot more!

 

[BenH2016]

I gave it another wet sanding with 400 grit paper this morning. I can see a dull sheen starting to form and when held at an angle to the light I see less of what I assume are open pores. I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking for in terms of open pores but the surface of the wood seems smother after the wet sanding.

With winter setting in its pretty cool in the mornings here so I put the stock, covered by a towel, in the sun to warm up for a while. I covered it with a towel as I don't want to darken the wood too much and was concerned direct sunlight would darken it. I have also been warming up the Schaftol before each of these applications.

Following the instructions kindly emailed to me by @wesheltonj I've been massaging the oil and wood flour paste that forms into the grains, letting it stand for 30 mins and wiping it down with a paper towel.

Here are some pictures

 

[nztimb]

You have got ome really nice grain coming through and will have a rifle to be proud of when it is finished. Just dont rush this last part.

 

[Ryan]

Looking great. Full agreement with @Von Gruff, once you start putting on a couole coats give it extra time to dry. I've botched things going fast so by the time I had on a couple coats I gave my Ruger two days to dry each coat just to make sure even though Tru-Oil and Pilkingtons both said a day works fine. Results were great. Slow and steady wins the race here.

 

[nztimb]

The old english formula I saw once, explained why the delivery time for a bespoke english gun or rifle was a coat a day for a week, a coat a week for a month, then a coat a month for a year and a coat a year for life.

 

[BenH2016]

I've read that little saying in all sorts of places while I've been researching hand rubbed oil finishes. Seems an easy rule of thumb to follow.

Like @Ryan I'm erring on the side of caution and leaving 2 days between coats, despite the (very brief) schaftol instructions saying 1 day is enough.

So far I've done 3 coats wet sanded with 400 grit paper. I can still see quite a few open pores so I will do one more coat with 400 then move on to 600 grit wet sanding.

No rush here as we won't get hunting permits until October and if something comes up, like a game farm hunt or such, before then well I'll use it as an excuse to blood my new .416

I love finishing woodwork and am really enjoying this process on the stock. I'm enjoying it so much I've found myself looking for battered rifles to buy just so I can refinish the stocks!

 

[spike.t]

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.

and surprisingly it looks alright.......

 

[Nosler guy]

I've done some more work on the stock today.

I sanded the pad down some more until it was very close to the stock

View attachment 185344
Then I stripped off the old finish. This took two applications of the stripper. I started by using an old credit card to scrape the sludge of stripper and softened varnish off the stock, but the stripper made the card go soft, so I finished up with a paint scraper. Unfortunately the scraper has left marks on the stock so I'm working on these with 400 grit paper. The 400 grit is also getting the few small patches of original varnish that didn't come off with the stripper.

View attachment 185345

View attachment 185346
I'm going to put the pad back on now and sand the pad and stock some more.

Just to back up a bit - not sure what kind of "stripper" you used - but if you ever do this again I would try a different or better brand. With better quality products, there should be no need for any scraping at all (may need a stiff brush to finish cleaning the checkering), the old finish should just wipe off. I always find that a few more $ for a better product usually saves time and money in the end...