bindi Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) Hi all, I am wanting to devarnish a mint condition 686e stock to an oiled stock finish, but am a bit freaked out at the prospect. Does anyone have experience of doing this, Many thanks Mark Edited December 19, 2005 by mcooke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 First you've gotta strip the old varnish. Use a preparatory stripper (no not Gypsy Rose ) but try not to use one that's too harsh and certainly not anything caustic. Anything an antique furniture restorer might use should be OK. You'll need to use some sort of abrasive pad/brush to get it off but something light and not too abrasive as you don't want to mark the wood. A (very) fine wire wool should do it. Use an old toothbrush or somesuch to get into the chequering. Use either meth, water or white spirit (whichever is recomended by the stripper manufacturer) to neutralise the stripper. Leave the stock/fore end to dry thoroughly after it's been thoroughly stripped. Make sure it is thoroughly stripped or any residue will show like hell once you oil it. Get a good wood oil, I use a special gun stock walnut oil, and hand rub that into the wood. Use the ball of your palm in circular motions and caress the oil into the wood. A bit at a time not too much. The warmth of the rubbing helps the oil to work in. The oiling process will/should take a while, weeks not days. Leave between 'coats' and see how much oil is left on the surface, work any excess back in. Eventually after a long time you should have a nice naturally patinaed stock and fore end. Only remember, the process goes on and on. Whenever you clean your gun rub some more of that oil into the wood. One thing...if the wood on your gun is poor quality in terms of graining you might want to leave well alone as stripping it will possibly make it look even worse. Some poorly grained wood has a grained effect painted on with the varnish, strip it and all you've got is orange box wood No amount of hand finishing will make it look any better. Silk purse out of a sows ear springs to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindi Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) Thanks Highlander, this is just the info i need, although I was wondering about the wood graining issue and being left with a plain orange grainless effect. The stock apears to be nicely figured, but it is just a beretta 686e, so i figure what I'll do is take a couple of digital pics and put them on here for you to look at, and then you can pass comments on the grain etc. Cheers Mark Edited December 21, 2005 by mcooke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browning GTS Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 I have just done the woodwork on mine and used Napier London Gunstock Finish, comes up really nice with a bit of work. That is after stripping of old finish first of course. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Dunganick has done this recently and after seeing his gun I think he has done it very well. LB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon-Boy Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 (edited) as an ex cabinet maker, i done this on my varnished bettinsoli. It can simply be done by aplying generous amounts of paint stripper. DO NOT use any type of scraper, just fine wire wool soaked also in paint stripper. Using this method, you will avoid the need to sand once all the varnish is removed and you will not remove any stain that has been used! Once all the varnish is off, wash with warm water to remove any stripper residue. Allow time to dry and then start applying your choice of oil. My i recommend linseed oil, none of that tru oil ****! Oh yeah, i know this sounds stupid but remove the stock and foregrip from the gun before doing this... But you knew that already!! Edited January 3, 2006 by Jon-Boy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted January 3, 2006 Report Share Posted January 3, 2006 (edited) the way i did it (not to say the correct way) was to strip the stock with nitromorse, i then left it for 1 min using a plastic thing which comes with those shaving kits women use (no jokes please ) i took off the stuff that was left on the surface i then washed it down with water and repeated the process. i then used a very fine sand paper to produce a dust. once this dust was there, i just spalashed it with some water and gave it a rub with my hand, this brings up the grain, you can then use a very fine sand paper to take it back down. i then cleaned down with a damp cloth, the stock. i then used some red root stain to add colour to an otherwise very plain stock, i used some extremely fine sand paper to produce a kind of gell which i rubbed into the wood to help fill the grain. i then let this dry for a day or so (some leave it for up to 4 days at room temp out of the sun) i then added lots of linseed oil, tons of the stuff, leaving it to dry for a day between coats and then buffing with 0000 grade wool, although ive now discovered the best buffing material is postick notes! as the wool scratches a bit. the result is not spectacular, but its a darn side better than the original stock. Edited January 3, 2006 by dunganick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 5, 2006 Report Share Posted January 5, 2006 This had better bleedin' work :thumbs: I just stripped the fore end down on lads new gun, I can see why it looked a bit pale now, I guess they make them out of balsa wood! If all goes well, I will take pictures as I go along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindi Posted January 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 thanks, this is all really helpful, and I am slowly building up courage to have a go myself, although i think i'll wait a bit longer to see if there are any more useful postings, I am sure there will be, so keep them coming, regards Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 MC I can recommend a good stripper by the name of Shantell…..she works the night shift at the docks, so caustic she can de wax any wood in 3 mins and reduce it to a softy for about £40, if that helps. I have her number purely because her card fell into my pocket in a local phone box and not because I have personally used her services :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 MC I can recommend a good stripper by the name of Shantell…..she works the night shift at the docks, so caustic she can de wax any wood in 3 mins and reduce it to a softy for about £40, if that helps. I have her number purely because her card fell into my pocket in a local phone box and not because I have personally used her services :thumbs: you are as randy as LB :wacko: :wacko: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 thanks, this is all really helpful, and I am slowly building up courage to have a go myself, although i think i'll wait a bit longer to see if there are any more useful postings, I am sure there will be, so keep them coming,regards Mark soudns simple, but also make sure it is varnished, not oiled oiled finish needs to be sanded off, where as varnish can be stripped. i am still finishing my stock about 6 months down the line when i know the gun wont be needed for 4 or 5 days, i put a coat of true oil on it, let it dry completely, then buff it. used to use wire wool, but the postick notes seem to do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted January 6, 2006 Report Share Posted January 6, 2006 This had better bleedin' work :thumbs: I just stripped the fore end down on lads new gun, I can see why it looked a bit pale now, I guess they make them out of balsa wood! If all goes well, I will take pictures as I go along. very nice job on the gun. did i mention you can use a stiff bristled tooth brush for the cheaquering (spelling?.....its been a long day) the trouble i think you will face is matching the finish. you will probably end up stripping the rear as well, as it is very difficult to ge the same finish. on a piece of wood that dark, stain will almost certainly be required, and stain is in my experaince pretty unpredictable (some wood takes it, others dont) best of luck with it. my best advice, to stop a cloudy finish if you use true oil. let it dry. i rushed mine, and it gave a cloudy finish, now im paying the price as ive had to buff it out and re apply the last 3 or 4 coats of true oil. having said that, i dont think that stock was trueoiled. just oiled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 (edited) Well here it is all done, it was a bit of a nightmare getting the varnish off the stock, it took about 4-5 applications of Nitromors to get the lot off. I had to dye the fore end and stock to try to get them to match, and then work up from there. To get what grain ther is up I used 0000 wire wool to apply the dye and stock oil initially. It still needs plenty of oil over the coming weeks, but little and often seems to work better than loads at once as it gums up. I have been using an old CCI stock finishing kit thinned down with boiled linsead oil and that seems to working OK. My son prefers the feel of the stock now as it was a bit slippy before and presuamably would have been even more so when it was wet. So there was a bit of wood under there after all! Edited January 7, 2006 by stuartp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted January 7, 2006 Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 nice job i will try and get some pics of my rimfire that i did, now that its almost how i want it. just gota wait untill tomorrow, when theres some natural light for a good pic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 Before After Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldrick Posted January 8, 2006 Report Share Posted January 8, 2006 That's a huge improvement on your .22, Nick. I'm tempted to have a go at my 20b. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindi Posted January 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hey Stuartp, that looks bloody excellent, its hard to believe its the same wood. Did you use anything special to bring out the woodgrain. It makes you wonder why they varnish guns when they can look so good oiled. I wonder how much can be made doing this for a living? cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindi Posted January 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 wow, oiling that stock on the .22 even makes the scopes look different!!!! M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 wow,oiling that stock on the .22 even makes the scopes look different!!!! M They are Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunganick Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 Hey Stuartp, that looks bloody excellent, its hard to believe its the same wood.Did you use anything special to bring out the woodgrain. It makes you wonder why they varnish guns when they can look so good oiled. I wonder how much can be made doing this for a living? cheers Mark Well to be totally honest it looks better in the picture than in real life but it still looks heaps better than it did before, the priority for me was to get rid of the slippery feel and to get the 2 bits of wood roughly the same colour You need to assess what is under the varnish before you dive in, but unless you have a complete lemon you should be able improve on the production version. The best way to 'raise' the grain as they say, is to use 000 grade wire wool and oil. Have a read up on the web, there is bound to be more hints and tips out there. the one thing I have learnt is not to use water based dye again, I would go for the oil based stuff next time. Gemini is a bit of a demon on the subject I beleive... As for making a living out of it, although I did it quickly I was off work sick and working from home , so I was able to put a lot of effort in a short space of time, but still reckon it took me 15-20 hours and it isn't finished yet so you would have to get good and quick or find some wealthy clients! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highlander Posted January 10, 2006 Report Share Posted January 10, 2006 MC I can recommend a good stripper by the name of Shantell…..she works the night shift at the docks, so caustic she can de wax any wood in 3 mins and reduce it to a softy for about £40, if that helps. I have her number purely because her card fell into my pocket in a local phone box and not because I have personally used her services Yeh right. Wasn't she the blonde you had on your arm the other night...you know the one when we were s'posed to be ducking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunkield Posted January 11, 2006 Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 (edited) And for my next project! Edited January 11, 2006 by stuartp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bindi Posted January 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2006 hey stuartp, that already looks great, why do you wanna change that.?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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