Stock restoration.

Mellor

Has anybody ever had a makeover done on the stock? What exactly would be involved, can it be a DIY job.

Basically, the gun is question is an O/U thats a few years old. The colour looks to be a little off. Slightly faded, finish gone.

Is it just a case of sanding and oiling or lacquering depending on type of finish? What products are available for this.

openseason

definately recommend doin it yourself as long as you re patient and careful ,reckon it d cost a fair bit to get done professionally .Ive finished a few stocks ,if its a varnish finish you have to scrape the remaining finish off or use nitro-mors (nasty stuff) varnish remover to lift it off. if its oil finished you have to remove some of the old oil , dirt etc using solvents , next step is allowing to air dry after using spirits or other chemicals (a day or two), then you sand the stock v carefully using very fine sandpaper , the type that carshops sell for paintwork. a lot of careful sanding being sure not to round off any square edges, checkering etc . then if you want to add a stain to darken the wood , then bout ten applications of stock oil(linseed oil or preferably a special stock mix you can buy) using very little each time working it into the wood giving bout 24 hours between applications. a couple of drops is all thats needed . this sounds like a lot but can be achived in abit of spare time in the evenings

Mellor

How could you tell exactly if the finish is oil or varnish?
I ask because I wouldn't be familar with oil finishes really, but I've seen a wide variety of varnish finishes (outside of gun stocks) and they is no consistant look. They come in matt and gloss, with surface coating and without where the varnish penetrates the wood.

I heard linseed oil was often used, but also heard tang oil mentioned. The difference between the two (I believe) is that linseed oil will darken overtime but tang oil won't (it is almost clear but can have a slight yellow tint).
This is only what I picked up today, I'd be hoping to get a few more opinions from people who have done it themselves.

Thanks for the help openseason, did you ever rechecker the stock, or simply avois it during sanding

CJhaughey

My Anschutz had a varnished stock and I stripped off the old varnish and applied an oil finish.
I much prefer the oiled look, the matt finish is better to my eye.
the old varnish actually came off quite easily once you had an edge to work from.
I used tung oil after the varnish had been stripped back, the most time consuming part was cleaning the varnish out of the checkering, I used a stanley blade to do this with duct tape and cardboard around one end.

Mellor

Thanks for that CJ,
I've decided (after some great help) to go for a danish oil or similar finish. As its a field gun this is best best trade off between looks and durability imo.

milkerman

A really worthwhile project. A varnished finish is easy to spot as the varnish sits on the surface of the timber.
Stripping the stock using the WHITE SPIRIT soluble Nitro Mors is dirty but easy, do not use water to remove the residue as this will raise the grain.
TBH some of the timber used on cheaper guns is really crappy, you may find after stripping that the surface feels slightly hairy. If a LIGHT sanding with 600 grade paper doesn't get rid of this you should get some shellac based sanding sealer and apply 3 coats, sanding lightly between coats and finish with a good quality polyurethane varnish (satin is easiest to maintain).

If your timber is good you could use the traditional BOILED linseed oil finish but this will take a lot of time to get right. Ordinary linseed will take forever to dry off.
Danish oil is good. 'Deks olje' is a good brand.
Light dents in the timber can be lifted using a dampened handekerchief and an iron. Deeper ones you will have to live with.
There are loads of books on wood finishes available, our gun stocks are really just another type of furniture really.

openseason

the way to tell between a varnish and oil finish is simple just make a scape along the stock with a knife(youll be sandin it anyway) ,if its varnish it will flake off , if its oil it 'll just remain the same or appear a bit brighter , for your field gun oil is definately more durable and easily reapplied plus it waterproofs the wood

Mellor

Not all varnish will flake off. AC won't for example, i'm just going to use a remover suitable for both, saves the hastle.
I thought oil would of been less durable than dome of the hard wearing varnishes

Double Barrel

Mellor,
Have you determined what the original finish is? To test, put a bit of lacquer thinner or paint remover on a hidden piece of the surface and watch what happens. If it’s varnish it will become crinkled and cracked. But when you try and brush or wipe it off, it will not come off. Your choices are sanding or using a specialty solvent and refinishing the stock and fore piece.
To test for shellac, use denatured alcohol or wood alcohol.
You can test for a lacquer finish by applying lacquer thinner, if the surface begins to smooth out the finish is lacquer.

After the solvent,stripper / remover has done it's job and you have removed all the old finish, (use a toothbrush on the checkering), I use acetone to cleanse the wood of any trace of both and add whitening to 'blot' up any oil that may be in the head of the stock. Light sanding, repair imperfections etc.
I seal the inletting and the butt with one coat of thinned spar varnish, polyurethane, varnish etc. and one straight out of the can.
Now you are ready to start applying finish.
A home brew of linseed oil, wax and turpentine is my choice. Very durable and easy to effect repairs in the future.