Lipstick on a pig? What to do with a banged up ol Marlin 25.

[orygun]

That's like grandparenting. Corrupt the grand kids, send them home.
Buwhawhawha -- gonna teach my spawn's spawn to shoot.

Super long story made short, never had kids of my "own". This grandson is as close as it gets. Best part, except for cutting his hair or getting him a jailhouse tattoo, he's mine to mold as I please. Huge, fantastic responsibility. We shoot. We ride dirt bikes. We go camping/4 wheeling. He plays x-box, I play on NWFA!

It's the thought that counts!

That's no schi.... Kidding! Especially for someone who appreciates the effort.
I also figure that maybe I shouldn't get it "too" right. I'll not be insulted if he has a different idea of what the finished project looks like and wants to make a change or 4.

 

[BigDog67]

Track of the Wolf has stains in many colors. I have used these many times, with excellent results.

Stain, American Walnut, 4 ounce bottle, by Laurel Mountain Forge - Track of the Wolf

 

[orygun]

After a couple of coats of this Danish Oil, things are starting to come around more to my liking. Ahead of the pistol grip the stock appears much lighter in color. I'm putting a couple (?) extra coats on there to see if I can even the color out. There's a weird line that cuts thru the butt right behind the grip, but I'm cool with that. It's a neat characteristic. To me it looks kind of like a lightning bolt. I'm also making a brand to burn into the butt of the grip.

So, right now he's upstairs, X-box on the brain. I'm gonna go out in the shop and work on this some more.

 

[orygun]

Those maple (?) stocks are kinda weird to refinish. See "walnut-finished" in the factory ads for guns carrying this wood. The factory stain is pervasive and the finish IS very hard. But striking results are often achieved.

Some of the attempts I've made resulted in a final appearance of a Chameleon: If you changed the angle of light, the stock would look darker, then lighter in certain regions, sometimes tiger-striped or varIegated.

I believe this stock is going to be like that, a bit of a chameleon. I see some of that when the oil is wet. I like it, too.

 

[HA556]

I saw, "Lipstick on a Pig" and got excited!


Silly Wabbit!

 

[P7M13]

I saw, "Lipstick on a Pig" and got excited!


Silly Wabbit!

At least it wasn't "sheep in galoshes" !!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

At least it wasn't "sheep in galoshes" !!

Well like that AC / DC song says :
Dirty deeds done with sheep....Err Something like that anyways....
Andy

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I'd continue with the sanding.... I'd then hit the stock first with nitric acid , and finally give it a oil finish.
As for the "small patches of rust"...clean those away and do a cold re-blue.

I like working on .22 rifles and shotguns that need a little TLC...got to learn a lot about different firearms and their actions...plus some good experience in what to do and what not to , when re-finishing a firearm was learned....
Andy

I do that too, over the winter months when things slow down, specifically with older Stevens Favorites & The Ideal 44 rifles:
BEFORE




AFTER


BEFORE


AFTER




Keeps me in my shop rather than the local saloon.

 

[orygun]

Blasted the receiver and have been polishing the barrel like crazy. The metal is getting close to being ready to blue. The stock isn't quite what I wanted, but I'm running out of time. Birthday is Wednesday.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I've hand rubbed the pasty solids found on the bottom of an old can of wood stain into the open pores of a stripped stock, just to give it an even all over dark look.
Then you mix up the can of stain and rub that on to get the color you desire.
I prefer using Tru Oil by Birchwood Casey, as it's easy to apply and dries fast compared to tung oil.
I once used this method with red mahogany stain solids to give the stock a French Red look and then finished it with a walnut stain and it came out nice.

This is Tru-Oil...

 

[ZigZagZeke]

Blasted the receiver and have been polishing the barrel like crazy. The metal is getting close to being ready to blue. The stock isn't quite what I wanted, but I'm running out of time. Birthday is Wednesday.
View attachment 809011

I've found that cold blue works better if you warm up the metal before applying it.

 

[orygun]

I'm really not happy with how the stock is turning out. It's become more and more obvious that there are places where the original finish that wasn't sanded completely away. He needed new cowboy boots so I decided to buy myself some time and bought him boots for his birthday.
I guess I'll go back after it and spend more time sanding the damn thing all over again...

 

[ORhutner]

@orygun I believe you are working with a birchwood stock. While no first hand experience I have come across posts on refinishing birchwood stocks on other forums and a quick google search turned up this castboolits post on the topic: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?308912-Tips-for-refinishing-Birch-stocks

The other thing you might consider is painting the stock. You could do it in a single color, sporting team colors/theme, camo, etc....

 

[orygun]

@ORhutner , thanks for the link.

I'm not much of a fan of painted stocks and hope I am able to "save" this without resorting to that. But he does like the camo job on my AR pistol, so it is an option.

 

[ORhutner]

Well best of luck and I hope you are able to obtain a nice uniform stain/finish. Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[BigDog67]

An alcohol stain will give much better penetration than an oil based one.

 

[jbett98]

I've had good luck with a citrus based paint remover product. Goop it all over and place the stock in a plastic bag over night.
Wipe, scrape the old finish and then use paint thinner to finish.

 

[citizen a]

If you pull the trigger and it goes bang, mission accomplished. Looks like a fun project.

 

[JedB]

@ORhutner , thanks for the link.

I'm not much of a fan of painted stocks and hope I am able to "save" this without resorting to that. But he does like the camo job on my AR pistol, so it is an option.

Maybe one thing that would be interesting it to present it to him, as you have it completed to this point.
Ask him if he likes it, and then involve him in what to do if he wants to change it.

it would be a good bonding thing, you could teach him about the tools, process, and patience involved with turning out something that he'll always remember, and he'll have accumulated some skill. All these things, while getting to spend time with you.

The memories I have of caddying / golfing with my grandpa, or learning how to paint the house with my dad are worth more than what was actually accomplished.

You've done a great job on the restoration.

 

[orygun]

If you pull the trigger and it goes bang, mission accomplished. Looks like a fun project.

If I wasn't trying to hand down more than a working tool I would have given it as I received it. And you're right, @citizen a . He'd a loved it.
Trying to make it personal, and make it nice, is what differentiates me from normal.
I'm a hands on guy for sure. The kid's following in those footsteps and I want to encourage that. He'll understand what I've done and will appreciate it.

As @Spitpatch likes to remind me, "This hunnerd dollar gun."