Andy135 Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 (edited) My first gun, a 1986 Browning Citori, looked a little ragged around the edges when nestled in the cabinet next to my newly refinished AYA. Until I'd done the AYA I hadn't noticed all the knocks, scratches and general long-in-the-toothiness that the Browning was showing these days. So it seemed only fair to the old girl that I gave her the same treatment. I followed exactly the same process as with the AYA - stripping the stock with Nitromors, steaming up the dents, sanding down the scratches and flattening the grain before applying seven coats of Tru-Oil (rubbing the first four coats down with 0000 wire wool but building up the finish of the last three coats). Here are some before & after photos to give you an idea of the improvement. Stock showing its years before refinishing Forend before refinishing Forend fully stripped down & showing its scratches. Forend stripped of factory finish. Wood is lighter in colour and showing nice grain. Close-up of forend showing nice grain. Forend after seven coats of Tru-Oil. The wood has darkened and the grain has highlighted well. Stock and forend after refinishing. The wood has darkened really nicely in colour and the grain has contrasted well. The grain of the stock has come out well. Close-up of a nice burr on the stock. Close-up of the hand of the stock, showing the nice contrasting shapes & colours of a knot. Wood work & metalwork reassembled. Overall I'm pleased with the way the old Browning turned out. Edited October 7, 2012 by Andy135 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted October 7, 2012 Report Share Posted October 7, 2012 Nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibs Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Satisfying isn't it? I did a Miroku MK38 recently with the dark walnut stain and tru oil and came out looking superb with a semi Matt finish from using the cutting polish on the final coat. So much nicer than the poly coating which was on it before. Your Browning looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Satisfying isn't it? I did a Miroku MK38 recently with the dark walnut stain and tru oil and came out looking superb with a semi Matt finish from using the cutting polish on the final coat. So much nicer than the poly coating which was on it before. Your Browning looks good. Thanks - and yes, it's very satisfying. Come on then, let's see some pics of your Miroku. Sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerous Brian Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Looks like a very nice job Andy. Was the Citori an oil finish to start with? Reason I ask is I have managed to ruin the stock on my B325 (circa 1990) by forgetting to take a slip on butt pad off when putting it away. Result was a nice dark stain on the stock where it had been and a lot of foul langauge from me. A few of the refinish threads on here have mentioned stripping the varnish but never specifically an old oil finish. I would like to know before I make the problem even worse. All the best Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Looks like a very nice job Andy. Was the Citori an oil finish to start with? Reason I ask is I have managed to ruin the stock on my B325 (circa 1990) by forgetting to take a slip on butt pad off when putting it away. Result was a nice dark stain on the stock where it had been and a lot of foul langauge from me. A few of the refinish threads on here have mentioned stripping the varnish but never specifically an old oil finish. I would like to know before I make the problem even worse. All the best Brian Hi Brian. Mine was a factory polyurethane finish. I've not stripped an existing oil finish, however in Lewis Potter's book on gunsmithing he states that both oil and varnish finishes can be removed with a Nitromors-type paint stripper. I would imagine that the effort involved will directly depend on how deeply the oil has penetrated the wood, but apparently it is possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangerous Brian Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Many thanks Andy. Sounds like it's worth a go then. Cheers Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rgwilym Posted August 10, 2013 Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 I have exactly the same gun made in the same year and am wanting to do the same to the stock did u put any stain on before the tru oil to build a base.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy135 Posted August 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2013 I have exactly the same gun made in the same year and am wanting to do the same to the stock did u put any stain on before the tru oil to build a base.? No stain, just Tru Oil. My stock was quite light in colour after stripping, but darkened up with the oil. Depends on how dark you want yours though. Mine's now a warm orangey brown. If you want a dark brown you may want to stain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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