Wood Stock Refinishing

[RedneckRampage]

Who, if anybody, refinishes wood rifle stocks? The clear coat/varnish is peeling on my 700 and I'd like it refinished. I'd do it myself, but it would end up in the burn pile.

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[Mark W.]

Remingtons are extra had to refinish the stuff they put on them is some kind of cross linked
polymer infused with kryptonite.

It took 4 trys with an industrial paint stripper to get the stock on my 870 down to wood. After the finish is removed then a raise the dents with an Iron and steam and a light sanding with 220 and then 400 before you refinish.

Most gun smiths will do stock work.

 

[Salps]

I have done many of my own. Pm me for tips and tricks.

 

[etrain16]

I'm not sure about the finish on the 700, but I refinished a Marlin Model 60 last year (1983 model). I have 2 of them, one is mine, the one I refinished was my brother's - he didn't want it any longer and it was a bit beat up (scratches and some minor gouges) after having been tossed from closet to closet over the years. I did some research on refinishing on YT and went to work. I used a product called Citristrip that you can get at Home Depot, Lowe's, Fred's, etc. It is non-toxic and can be used indoors. It worked really well stripping off that 30-year-old finish. Eventually I got it nice and clean. Then I just sanded the wood and applied a light colored stain - some folks really like tru oil, tung oil or linseed oil as a finish. I finished mine off with a low gloss polyurethane.

The project wasn't too difficult - if you can get that original finish off, that's probably the worst part. From there it's pretty easy. I'd recommend considering giving it a go yourself. If you don't like the final finish, you can always strip it again and start over. Here are my 2 Marlin 60's side by side - the one on top is the original finish (mine), the one on the bottom is my brothers - the refinished model. I think it turned out pretty nice.



I have a video of the process of refinishing if you're interested, PM me and I'll send you the link.

Good luck!

 

[Joe13]

I'm not sure about the finish on the 700, but I refinished a Marlin Model 60 last year (1983 model). I have 2 of them, one is mine, the one I refinished was my brother's - he didn't want it any longer and it was a bit beat up (scratches and some minor gouges) after having been tossed from closet to closet over the years. I did some research on refinishing on YT and went to work. I used a product called Citristrip that you can get at Home Depot, Lowe's, Fred's, etc. It is non-toxic and can be used indoors. It worked really well stripping off that 30-year-old finish. Eventually I got it nice and clean. Then I just sanded the wood and applied a light colored stain - some folks really like tru oil, tung oil or linseed oil as a finish. I finished mine off with a low gloss polyurethane.

The project wasn't too difficult - if you can get that original finish off, that's probably the worst part. From there it's pretty easy. I'd recommend considering giving it a go yourself. If you don't like the final finish, you can always strip it again and start over. Here are my 2 Marlin 60's side by side - the one on top is the original finish (mine), the one on the bottom is my brothers - the refinished model. I think it turned out pretty nice.

View attachment 98514

I have a video of the process of refinishing if you're interested, PM me and I'll send you the link.

Good luck!

Very nicely done mate!

I've been considering refinishing the stock on the '78 60 I just picked up. I'm torn between that and leaving it as a good shooting beater.

I already have a stainless with laminated grey wood stock that I bought in '96 and is my baby (even though it has a plastic trigger group).

Between my baby and the new one having a checkered stock , I will most likely not even think of touching it until deep into this winter.

 

[etrain16]

Thanks!

It's a good winter project - especially if you're using something like the Citristrip product - I did it right on my kitchen table - no nasty fumes to worry about. The staining I did do outside though. I was back and forth about refinishing this one, but I really wanted to give it a go. I figured if I messed it up, I could always try again. And better to try on a less expensive model the first time around.

 

[Bon Sauvage]

It sounds like removing the old finish might be your biggest headache on this particular project. Once that is done perhaps you might wish to follow these tips for refinishing the wood. They have worked well for me.

<broken link removed>

 

[Dallas Ken]

I have also done a few Marlin 60's, not too hard to remove the finish on them. I find the Birch stocks are pretty tough to get a nice even color on though.....don't take to stains real well.

 

[jbett98]

When staining Birch or any semi soft wood, you need to use a pre-stain conditioner.
It seals the open pores and gives the stain a more even appearance.

 

[Dallas Ken]

I used that on the last one I did....it helped somewhat. Sure nice to get one of the older walnut stocks though.

 

[jbett98]

You can fill the porous soft wood grain with the putty like colored solids that settle to the bottom of an older can of stain that you're using.
Just scrape up some before mixing the stain and rub it into the wood stock.
Let it dry overnight and then rub with four ought steel wool before applying the stirred up stain.

 

[Dallas Ken]

Sounds like a plan, I will give it a try next time.
Thanks, Ken

 

[coop44]

wet sand with boiled linseed oil (or stain), don't wipe off the residue, Let it dry, then dry sand it, the dried dust from the wet sanding will fill the pores. Repeat as needed.

As far as stripping, I never use chemicals. Old school, I scrape it off using whatever clean edge I have handy, a bit of cleanly cut metal, the edge of a pair of cheap scissors, et cetera. It leaves the wood smoother than sanding actually, but of course a little sanding is needed for those difficult to reach spots. just draw the edge at a 90 degree angle lengthwise on the stock and with the grain to "shave" it off. I use this method regularly and with practice you can remove the old finish and have a stock ready for new finish in a very short time, about an hour or so.

 

[Dallas Ken]

No chemicals on the wood here also.....I will use some alcohol on a rag to wipe an old finish before wiping a bit of oil on it to refresh it though.

 

[gophishhhh]

Remingtons are extra had to refinish the stuff they put on them is some kind of cross linked
polymer infused with kryptonite.

It took 4 trys with an industrial paint stripper to get the stock on my 870 down to wood. After the finish is removed then a raise the dents with an Iron and steam and a light sanding with 220 and then 400 before you refinish.

Most gun smiths will do stock work.

A lot of the OEM finishes are very tough to strip.
Use a heat gun until the finish begins to blister, then scrape it off with a sharp piece of plastic. Much easier, faster and cleaner than using stripper over and over and over ect. Sand to desired finish and finish with quality oil (linseed, tung) to desired luster

 

[Mark W.]

wet sand with boiled linseed oil (or stain), don't wipe off the residue, Let it dry, then dry sand it, the dried dust from the wet sanding will fill the pores. Repeat as needed.

As far as stripping, I never use chemicals. Old school, I scrape it off using whatever clean edge I have handy, a bit of cleanly cut metal, the edge of a pair of cheap scissors, et cetera. It leaves the wood smoother than sanding actually, but of course a little sanding is needed for those difficult to reach spots. just draw the edge at a 90 degree angle lengthwise on the stock and with the grain to "shave" it off. I use this method regularly and with practice you can remove the old finish and have a stock ready for new finish in a very short time, about an hour or so.

Hows that work in the checkering? Remingtons have a very tough polymer finish and unless you want a new hobby sanding or scrapping is not going to get it all out of the wood. Especially if you don't want to change the fit of the wood. Chemical stripping has the distinct advantage of leaving the woods dimension the same so wood to metal fit does not change. Scraping and sanding changes the woods dimension.

 

[coop44]

usually the checkering needs some special attention. Mostly I refinish stocks without (military), usually by the time a checkered stock needs refinishing, the checkering needs some touchup with a checkering tool. With practice scraping takes away just as much as I want, far less than sand paper.

 

[BoatRanch]

Take it to a wooden boat refinisher

 

[Windsor]

What would you guys recommend for refinishing a stock after it is stripped? I just stripped down my Mosin and want to atleast seal it. Not trying to make it look great, just a finish that is going to seal the wood and relatively cheap. It will get replaced with an Archangel when my disability starts paying, but I still don't want to leave the wood unsealed.
I never knew about the idea of using an iron to steam dents up, I might try that just to see how it does.

 

[jbett98]

Tru-Oil is very easy to apply and inexpensive.