stripping varnish off rifle stock

[ernurse]

Hey guys, thought I would ask, what is your favorite way to strip varnish off a rifle stock, the rifle in question is CMP M1 Garand that has had the stock varnished by the previous owner, it looks nice but I want to return it to the BLO look, any hints greatly appreciated, by the way the stock is a Boyds replacement so no worries on damaging a original issue stock. thanks.Scott

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[dobeman]

I've read about the easy off (original) oven cleaner approach. Haven't tried it.

 

[MountainBear]

My preferred method is to scrape it off with the back of a used up hacksaw blade that I put a burr on with a grinding wheel...

 

[turq]

Try Formby's wood re-conditioner. Highly volitile so get good ventilation. Like a 10MPH wind outside.Good luck

 

[jordanka16]

Use this stuff, available at Home Depot



If it is polyurethane it might take more than one application of the stripper. Use bronze wool to remove the last of the varnish. You can get bronze wool from Ace Hardware, boat supply shows, Woodcraft, or Rockler.

What he said.

That stuff works really well and will also remove old cosmoline and dirt from the stock with multiple applications.

 

[chemist]

Use this stuff, available at Home Depot



If it is polyurethane it might take more than one application of the stripper. Use bronze wool to remove the last of the varnish. You can get bronze wool from Ace Hardware, boat supply shows, Woodcraft, or Rockler.

Another vote for what he said. Formby's is the same stuff but higher priced.

It takes time, but if you want to preserve the original patina of the wood then you can't use any sandpaper or burred hacksaws on it.

I use 000 or 0000 steel wool in place of bronze wool, which works fine but loads up easily.

 

[Ding]

I use klean strip stripper,the gel type.If this suff can take off ak shellac/varnish it'll take off anything.

 

[Gunner3456]

The issue I have with chemicals is that they seem to dissolve the finish and then it soaks into the wood, discoloring and/or sealing it. They also raise the grain.

I'm with MountainBear on this one. You can also lay a file down flat and square up the back of the blade with that, and then rub the back of the blade on something of tool steel like a screwdriver shank to put burrs on both edges of the blade.

Stanley tools makes a scraper available at most hardware stores. It's just a rectangular piece of steel like a square of fairly hard sheet metal. You also sharpen that by putting it on edge on a file, and then burnishing it on hard tool steel. The problem with it is that it will do only the flattest surfaces, but the hacksaw blade can be bent.

Neither the back of the hacksaw blade nor the Stanley tool are too hard for a file.

I once had a large upright player piano refinished and the old guy scraped all of the finish from every exterior part in less than a day, leaving the wood looking brand new. I went to school on that one. Of course that was old brittle lacquer, but still...

​

 

[The B]

just cut a terry cloth towel up into a few pieces, douse 'em in lacquer thinner one at a time, and wipe the varnish right off. when a piece wont hold any more, chuck it and soak the next rag.

i do a lot of stripping, and this is the best method i've found for most stuff that can't be dumped straight into the stuff.

 

[Gunner3456]

That particular product Kleen Kutter Refinisher, is designed for use on fine antique furniture. I have used it on stocks without any of the problems you mentioned.

Before






After Kleen Kutter Refinisher




After refinishing

Sorry, but I see all of the problems I mentioned. All of the soft parts of the grain and all of
the various dings and scratches are dark colored. The stock is a very contrasty
two tone, showing that the dark dissolved stain seeped into and soaked into and stayed in
the soft spots and dings and scratches.

Just for me, it looks "refinished" rather than "once finished." If the finish had been scraped
off dry, the wood would be more one-colored more like new wood. Even though the original
wood was somewhat two tone, the dings and scratches are now very dark due to dissolved
stain. It actually makes the damaged parts more noticeable.

Also, a lot of dings can be removed simply by putting a drop of water in them, then putting
a damp rag on them and holding a hot iron on them. The steam will soften and raise the
grain in the dent. Then after it dries thoroughly you can scrape again and then sand. The
dings and scratches have had the finish knocked off obviously, and the water will soak
right in. After using a remover, the dissolved finish has sealed the scratches and dings and
it won't work.

$.02

 

[Gunner3456]

Those pictures were taken a couple of years ago immediately after I refinished it. I'll take some current pictures now that it has aged and it is less "contrasty two tone", although I have a suspicion you still won't like it no matter what :winkkiss:

I wasn't going for a brand-new look with this stock (or ever with my milsurp stocks) so I didn't steam out the dents, although I am familiar with steaming out dents. :winkkiss:

Any way you slice it, every single ding and scratch turned very, very dark from absorbing dissolved stain. Without the finish remover, that couldn't have happened. Now the imperfections are even more noticeable than before it was refinished. I'm having a problem seeing that as a good bargain.

It would have been just as fast to scrape the finish off and it would look far more natural and in much better condition. I can't see a purpose in refinishing any stock unless I'm trying to improve it cosmetically. I agree it doesn't need to be perfect, but I don't want to make the dings and scratches actually stand out more than they did before by getting them darker.

$.02

 

[Gunner3456]

Here is a refinished stock. (wink kiss.)

 

[Iceberg]

I have always used oven cleaner to strip my beat up GI stocks. Once you strip the finish, clean with hot soapy water, and then dry. Once the stock dries I usually iron out the dents w/ a damp wash cloth. Note: Do not use your wife’s favorite iron or wash cloth; yup I learned that the hard way….lol.
After the stock is dry, sand w/ 000 or 0000 steel wool to smooth down the raised wood pores and then finish with multiple layers of boiled linseed oil. I have found that if you wet sand (w/ linseed oil) using 800 grit or finer sand paper you will end up with a great looking stock. The wet sanding will fill the wood pores. When you are wet sanding stay off the cartouches and they will end up looking fine. I learned this method from a buddy who was a custom gunsmith and stockmaker.

 

[Gunner3456]

Wanna know how to fix a really bad damaged area? AFTER the finish is all scraped off and the stock is smoothed up, fill the large damaged area with automotive bondo. Yep, bondo. Block sand it to match the shape.

Now, use very rough sandpaper and pointed objects to approximate the texture of the surrounding grain, going in the same direction as the existing grain.

Now put a couple of coats of your planned finish on to bring out the color in the wood, covering the bondo too. Let that dry and sand the bondo and surrounding area with fine sandpaper to give it tooth.

Now, match the color by mixing with tubes of artists' oil paint, painting the bondo and blending out onto the undamaged wood. Yep. Start by matching the lightest (often yellowish) color first, painting the whole area. Then build on top of that with the increasingly darker colors, carefully mimicking the grain and blending it into the edges, feathering it out onto the good wood. Let that dry well.

Now give it at least three more coats of your final finish and you're golden. I like semi-gloss polyurethane followed by rubbing with 0000 steel wool, but that's personal preference.

$.02

 

[Father of four]

Here is a refinished stock. (wink kiss.)

Very nice! I luv the wood! They can keep the synthetic.

 

[Gunner3456]

I have always used oven cleaner to strip my beat up GI stocks. Once you strip the finish, clean with hot soapy water, and then dry. Once the stock dries I usually iron out the dents w/ a damp wash cloth. Note: Do not use your wife's favorite iron or wash cloth; yup I learned that the hard way....lol.
After the stock is dry, sand w/ 000 or 0000 steel wool to smooth down the raised wood pores and then finish with multiple layers of boiled linseed oil. I have found that if you wet sand (w/ linseed oil) using 800 grit or finer sand paper you will end up with a great looking stock. The wet sanding will fill the wood pores. When you are wet sanding stay off the cartouches and they will end up looking fine. I learned this method from a buddy who was a custom gunsmith and stockmaker.

I'm betting that you can scrape a stock clean as fast, or at least almost as fast as you can set up to use oven cleaner, use it, clean it off, scrub it clean, clean up your mess and then rub it down with steel wool after it dries. Scraping doesn't raise grain. By contrast, it smooths it. It levels it.

I sure agree about using the iron to take out dents. It just isn't that hard and it makes a world of difference.

 

[MountainBear]

Yes, that looks nice, and is appropriate for a newer gun. I could sand all of my stocks smooth and make them look brand new too, that's easy, but that's not what I want for my milsurp guns. I want them to look better (sometimes, most of the time I do as little as possible) but still "look their age", including some of the scrapes, scratches, and dings they acquired along the way. Just a matter of personal preference. :winkkiss:

But if you want the stock on your 60+ year old milsurp rifle to look like it was made yesterday, by all means scrape and sand away and I'm sure you'll get the results you desire. :winkkiss:

I'm confused? You want your mil-surp guns to look old, but you want the stock to look newer but old? Why not just leave them old? Refinished with chemical stripper doesn't look old. It looks like a beat up stock with a new finish. Your choice, just my opinion.

The only time I use a chemical stripper is when I have checkering on a stock that I cannot scrape, or I have stains (not stain, but stains) that I need to remove from the grain. But hey, they're your stocks, do what you like. I know what my customers like, and its not always the same. I do know if they want a stock to be refinished but still look old, I generally send them to gunbroker or ebay to find a correct stock in the look they want. I can do what they want, but from my own standpoint, I just don't think it's appropriate.

 

[chemist]

The issue I have with chemicals is that they seem to dissolve the finish and then it soaks into the wood, discoloring and/or sealing it. They also raise the grain.

No. The chemicals (e.g. dichloromethane) do not soak into the wood, and therefore cannot raise the grain. That's why they're used for refinishing.

Any abrasive process will sacrifice the patina, which is the only thing that differentiates the appearance of a new piece of wood from an old one.

If the surface is so badly scarred that you don't want to keep it, then fine, start over and take off the old surface. But IMO that aged surface is irreplaceable.

 

[candyman]

cover the stock with easy off then seal it in a plastic bag
after 30 min wipe it down with rag and your done

 

[Gunner3456]

No. The chemicals (e.g. dichloromethane) do not soak into the wood, and therefore cannot raise the
grain. That's why they're used for refinishing.

Any abrasive process will sacrifice the patina, which is the only thing that differentiates
the appearance of a new piece of wood from an old one.

If the surface is so badly scarred that you don't want to keep it, then fine, start over
and take off the old surface. But IMO that aged surface is irreplaceable.

If you're satisfied with this for "patina" and believe you saved it, go for it. You can see from
the before and after pics in the complete post how much darker the scratches and dings
got, and how much more they are noticeable after using the stripper.

The scratches are deep and dirty. When you liquify the old finish, it's going to get into
those wood fibers and seal in the dirt.

If I want a refinished stock I'm going to refinish it. If I want the original patina I'm going
to leave it alone.

I can see absolutely no benefit in this "refinish" job. None. In fact, I think the stock is ruined.