Stock stripping

[Cheesefiend]

I’ve decided to refurb my sxs woodwork, hopefully in time for Oct/Nov. I’ve got trade secrets alkanet/rapid oil kit on standby but I want to get everything as good as I can get it first.

I’ve raised some dents and have stripped off loads of the old cack it was caked in with 0000 wire wool and surgical spirit, but there are still some dark patches. 

Can anyone recommend a way to improve these if it’s not possible to get rid of them completely?

[Saltings]

take all timberwork off the metal use household bleach and let it soak in and it will take the timberwork back to bare wood wash and clean leave to dry when fully dry fine sand or wire wool then raise the grain by dampening and let dry then apply sand and sealer in shellac or cellouse  wire wool when dry apply walnut stain leave fifteen/twenty min wipe excess off let dry if not  happy with base colour apply stain again as before  until  you are happy fine wire wool in between all applications  and when happy apply oils to finish which can be applied with a fine wire wool button to create a slurry which you palm in to fill the grain you will end up with a really deep finish and then recut your checkering        practice on a piece of hardwood bleach etc and re finish hope this helps 

[Gunman]

As I spent a lot of my working life finishing ,  renovating and refinishing gun stocks , I have always used  standard paint thinners from a motor factors as it will fetch out old oil and will "bleach" the wood . Did try different ways and chemicals over the years , but found this was the best .

Wet and dry to raise the grain and sand down with wet or dry or an oxide  paper , not sand paper. The better the surface at this point the less time it will take later .If you want to use a grain filler do so before you stain or oil .

Wire wool is OK but personally did not like to use it at this stage as I found it tended to lift rather than fill ,   When you have stained and oiled I would use 400 wet  or dry with a drop of oil to rub down and help fill the grain .Buff off rather than rub off between coats .

Often helps to add a few drops of an oil hardener like Terabine to the oil  . .

Try to find a spirit stain as it penetrates the wood better  you may need to mix a couple up to get the colour you want .

I would also recommend that you re-cut the checkering boarders before you go any further , a single point tool will do the job even a decent 3 square swiss file , as they will disappear very quickly if not extremely careful .

Couple of pointers

   1 Take the wood off the metal when soaking ,

2  work up the stock head as much a possible before putting back on the action , this is so it is easier to do and lessens the chances of getting finish on the metal work ,

3 Working on the but end of the stock is a lot less trouble if you can hold the action in a vice .

Edited April 2, 2019 by Gunman

[Cheesefiend]

Thanks for all the replies - loads of very useful info. @chilly1981 it’s an AYA No.4

I’ll attempt to take the wood off the metal. Someone appears to have had a go using a screwdriver in the past but i’ll pick up some turnscrews to avoid damage. I’m ok to take the forend wood off as it looks fairly mechanically simple, but I am nervous about taking the action off the stock in case I mess something up. Is this fairly straightforward or is there anything I need to be wary of? 

Edited April 2, 2019 by Cheesefiend

[MrPhantom]

1 hour ago, Cheesefiend said:

Thanks for all the replies - loads of very useful info. @chilly1981 it’s an AYA No.4

I’ll attempt to take the wood off the metal. Someone appears to have had a go using a screwdriver in the past but i’ll pick up some turnscrews to avoid damage. I’m ok to take the forend wood off as it looks fairly mechanically simple, but I am nervous about taking the action off the stock in case I mess something up. Is this fairly straightforward or is there anything I need to be wary of? 

I found this thread useful when doing mine:

 

[Cheesefiend]

29 minutes ago, MrPhantom said:

I found this thread useful when doing mine:

 

That’s brilliant, thanks!

[rapid .25]

On 01/04/2019 at 23:55, Saltings said:

take all timberwork off the metal use household bleach and let it soak in and it will take the timberwork back to bare wood wash and clean leave to dry when fully dry fine sand or wire wool then raise the grain by dampening and let dry then apply sand and sealer in shellac or cellouse  wire wool when dry apply walnut stain leave fifteen/twenty min wipe excess off let dry if not  happy with base colour apply stain again as before  until  you are happy fine wire wool in between all applications  and when happy apply oils to finish which can be applied with a fine wire wool button to create a slurry which you palm in to fill the grain you will end up with a really deep finish and then recut your checkering        practice on a piece of hardwood bleach etc and re finish hope this helps 

That's brilliant advice, I'll try that myself 👍

[Cheesefiend]

On 02/04/2019 at 10:14, Gunman said:

As I spent a lot of my working life finishing ,  renovating and refinishing gun stocks , I have always used  standard paint thinners from a motor factors as it will fetch out old oil and will "bleach" the wood . Did try different ways and chemicals over the years , but found this was the best .

I’ve had the wood soaking in thinners for a few days now, how long would you recommend I keep them in for?

[ditchman]

11 minutes ago, Cheesefiend said:

I’ve had the wood soaking in thinners for a few days now, how long would you recommend I keep them in for?

pictures......................NOW

[Cheesefiend]

57 minutes ago, ditchman said:

pictures......................NOW

Yer ‘tis

It’s not allowed in the house, but I’ve just fished it out hence it’s still wet. I guess I need to leave it a bit longer?

[ditchman]

how are you going to dry it out..............

[Old farrier]

😢😢😢😭

or you could have just sent gunman a PM and asked if he would be kind enough to explain the process to you 

im sure he’d have helped 

although now if he’s not pulling out his hair and stamping on his hat 

he’s laughing fit to bust 

top tip 

Ask the question before you start the job 

[Cheesefiend]

Oops. Jumped in head first and conflated the first couple of posts about bleach soak/thinners. Have I stuffed it completely, or should it evaporate off eventually? I only use the sxs a couple of times a year so can leave it a fair old while to dry out if need be.

[Saltings]

3 hours ago, Cheesefiend said:

Oops. Jumped in head first and conflated the first couple of posts about bleach soak/thinners. Have I stuffed it completely, or should it evaporate off eventually? I only use the sxs a couple of times a year so can leave it a fair old while to dry out if need be.

if standard thinners it will evaporate fairly quickly  some times thinners / acetones  dissolves stains / varnishes and pushes them deeper  and are difficult to wash off without a compatible detergent  have used engine cleaner  gunk /jizer in the past to get rid of oil residue  other times thinners are not compatible as they do not react with the lacker  finish applied  then nitro Morse / caustic soda   paint remover  which will also bleach   apply and wash off a few times until you are happy leave to dry  completely  before refinishing  

[Gunman]

Soaking in thinners should only take a couple of hours . Whilst it is wet get a suede brush or a soft phosphor bronze barrel brush and clean out the checkering . Just let it air dry , then warm it up with a hair drier or hot air gun which will sweat out deep oil , then wash off with thinners . May take a couple of goes .

I dont like soaking the wood in any water solution as it can cause you later problems as it can soak into the wood and need a lot of washing off .

Doing this will take all the finish and any grain filler out so it is best to fill and prepare the surface as much as possible before attempting to stain and oil this can be done with Knotting or a shellac based lacquer . It will take time but in the long run you get a better finish . You also have to accept the fact that the wood is not of "best quality " and you may never get a perfect result . In such cases I always went for a dull sheen rather than a high finish . 

It takes time and it was my opinion that you could easily spend  2/3 hours in preparation then 10 minutes  a day until you got a satisfactory result 

As said I have done a lot more of these than I care to think of ,so can only advise on past experience 

[Cheesefiend]

Thanks for the replies. I thought I’d ballsed it up but it’s actually come out quite well now that it’s evaporated overnight. The  checkering has turned out a treat.

I will give it a going over with some heat to sweat out the remaining stubborn bits, and then a few more attempts with thinners as it’s still dark in places around where the metalwork joins the stock. I know it will be far away from exhibition wood but I like the idea of ending up with something I’ve finished myself, and I’m in no hurry so will take my time. 

I’ve read about rotten stone burnish and/or rubbing in sanded wood dust & stock oil as a slower way of grain filling - what are people’s opinions of this method?

[ditchman]

4 hours ago, Gunman said:

Soaking in thinners should only take a couple of hours . Whilst it is wet get a suede brush or a soft phosphor bronze barrel brush and clean out the checkering . Just let it air dry , then warm it up with a hair drier or hot air gun which will sweat out deep oil , then wash off with thinners . May take a couple of goes .

I dont like soaking the wood in any water solution as it can cause you later problems as it can soak into the wood and need a lot of washing off .

Doing this will take all the finish and any grain filler out so it is best to fill and prepare the surface as much as possible before attempting to stain and oil this can be done with Knotting or a shellac based lacquer . It will take time but in the long run you get a better finish . You also have to accept the fact that the wood is not of "best quality " and you may never get a perfect result . In such cases I always went for a dull sheen rather than a high finish . 

It takes time and it was my opinion that you could easily spend  2/3 hours in preparation then 10 minutes  a day until you got a satisfactory result 

As said I have done a lot more of these than I care to think of ,so can only advise on past experience 

as gunman says.......................but what i will say it is walnut....and walnut takes stain VERY WELL....i use a mix of 3 stains (oil based)...and sweep it onto the wood with a hot air gun warming as you go....walnut tends to look better with more red in the stain...if it becomes too red then it is easy to darken it off with a darker stain as "Dark oak" but it is difficult to do it the other way round...

once you have stained it start using the oils.....i use boiled linseed oil at first mixed with a bit of stain...then i go onto the pure stuff ...just a few drops at a time over 2-3 weeks..........

[Gunman]

Oil and rotten stone are OK for finishing and bringing up a surface but not so good for filling open grain . We used to use it at Webley and Scott  but used a button garnet polish [ basically a shellac  based  polish] to fill up first . Coat it on and take it off with wet or dry and a drop of oil . Which ever way you do it have patience .

[Cheesefiend]

I think I’m a couple of weeks away from grain filling and wet and dry at the mo. Gave it a go tonight with a hot air gun on low setting / thinners rag to wipe and I couldn’t believe the amount of oil that was endlessly sweating out of it around the grip and action area, and forend. The colour is getting a bit more uniform but I can see it needs another couple of goes to pull out more of what’s left.

[strimmer_13]

21 hours ago, Cheesefiend said:

I think I’m a couple of weeks away from grain filling and wet and dry at the mo. Gave it a go tonight with a hot air gun on low setting / thinners rag to wipe and I couldn’t believe the amount of oil that was endlessly sweating out of it around the grip and action area, and forend. The colour is getting a bit more uniform but I can see it needs another couple of goes to pull out more of what’s left.

It is amazing the tar that comes out! First time I done some it never ceased to amaze me. Like popping a black head, I'm sat there thinking - where the hell was all that hiding 😂

[Cheesefiend]

1 hour ago, strimmer_13 said:

It is amazing the tar that comes out! First time I done some it never ceased to amaze me. Like popping a black head, I'm sat there thinking - where the hell was all that hiding 😂

I think at the rate it’s coming out i’ll get the gun weight down below 6.5lbs!!

[Smokersmith]

If you leave it in a sunny spot on some kitchen roll .. it'll come out without you investing any time in it!!

[Saltings]

how is the project going is the woodwork cleaning up ok 

[Cheesefiend]

Left it out in the sun yesterday and gave it a wipe with thinners every now and again. The forend has got darker, so I guess there’s still more crud to draw out yet.

Edited April 14, 2019 by Cheesefiend

[Cheesefiend]

Almost two months of oiling and rubbing and oiling and rubbing and oiling and rubbing. Still not quite there yet but it’s looking so much better.

 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Cheesefiend