A Journey - refinishing my stock

[Pops_Hants]

So I'll cut the long story short, but I managed to pick up a bargain Browning 725 Black edition. The downside is that the woodwork is a little sunbleached, mainly on the forend but also where the action meets the stock.

I looked into getting the woodwork refinished, including having the chequering redone, this came in at £350 total (£250 just a refinish). Whilst I am not the most apt at arts and crafts and the like, i decided that for the sake of around £60 in materials, I'll give it a go myself and if all goes pete tong, it'll cost £350 to fully restore it.

 

So, my plan of attack is, 

Strip the old finish

Sand back the lumps and bumps

Scrub chequering and clean off sawdust residue

Then using Birchwood casey products I will, Dye, Grain Fill, Oil, Satin Finish, Wax

 

Feel free to follow this mess... I mean project and any and all advice is welcomed.

 

 

 

Part One

First up was to remove the woodwork, never done this before and it took me longer than it should have to realise the browning adjustable stocks use an allen key and not a flat blade (5mm allen for anyone wondering).

Anyhow, metal separated from wood and it was time to strip the old finish, I did a little research and found an efficient way of removing the old finish is to strip it with a razor blade. Whilst this worried me at first, as I started I found it was actually very easy in terms of technique, but after a while it was sore on my hands, so if undertaking this method, be prepared! Taking time around the chequering to leave that as is and working my way around the curves to avoid digging in and scoring the wood, a couple hours later and the wood was all stripped, leaving a lovely bare wood.

Next step is to sand back with multiple grits working from 240 for the worst areas up to 600, and finally some 0000 steel wool before moving onto the next steps. Again, any advice, hints and tips are welcomed, either for now or something I've missed and need to revisit.

[Diver One]

Read up on 'raising the grain' basically dampening the wood, dry with hairdryer, sand, repeat until grain stops going 'fluffy' when applying hairdryer

[ditchman]

well done you ....will watchthis one

[Bigbob]

Looking good so far and once finished you have the pleasure in knowing you did it yourself

[Pops_Hants]

7 hours ago, Bigbob said:

Looking good so far and once finished you have the pleasure in knowing you did it yourself

Thanks, 
This is my thoughts, I enjoy learning, and there's a great satisfaction about doing it yourself. What's great is the risk is low, as if it looks toffee I can shoot through the winter with it and then get it refinished just before the better weather is here.

[Pops_Hants]

Part 2

Not a huge update here, after stripping back the old oil finish it was time to sand it down.

Starting with 240 grit and working my way through 300, 400 and finally 600. The wood was in relatively good condition already so sanding was more just about flatting it back and giving a really good surface for the oil to get into.

I've finished with wiping it down with methylated spirits to remove and oils picked up from me handling it

 

With the methylated spirits wipe down you can see the sun bleach a little. It doesn't come out great in the photos but the colour doesn't match from the front to the back of the stock.

 

 

20 hours ago, Diver One said:

Read up on 'raising the grain' basically dampening the wood, dry with hairdryer, sand, repeat until grain stops going 'fluffy' when applying hairdryer

Thanks for this matey, I've spent some time reading on it and makes a lot of sense. Once the spirit has evaporated off I'll wet it down and then knock it back with 0000 steel wool to rid the 'raised grain'.

Anything left I should be able to resolve after the dye has gone on, with the dye being water based, once dry knocking it back with more steel wool will bury the fibres ahead of the grain filler going on.

[ninjaferret]

Getting interested....

[ditchman]

thats going to look very nice...did you say you will be finishing off as an oil finish ?

[Pops_Hants]

2 hours ago, ditchman said:

thats going to look very nice...did you say you will be finishing off as an oil finish ?

Yes pal, 

using tru oil to finish it, but I’ll add a coat of sheen conditioner, this should add a layer of protection. It will take a little bit of the shine off, but then the final coating will be a wax to bring it back whilst keeping layers of protection. 

[Pops_Hants]

Only a minor update today, and really it's more a Part 2.1

So I after the sanding and the methylated spirits had dried I was left with some nice looking wood, 

 

After this, it was time for @Diver One's suggestion to 'raise the grain', I was left wondering why the wood felt furry, but after reading on raising the grain it all became clear (for those unaware, fibres on the wood are left after sanding, you can't sand these off in the traditional way so you wet the wood and let it dry, this will keep the fibres upright and you can sand them back with dull or very very fine sandpaper).

So, I wet the wood, let it dry and knocked it back with some old 600 grit sandpaper, wet it again and wait to take it back with 0000 steel wool.

 

 

 

Once the wood was totally smooth, it was time to mask up the chequering, I started with small strips of masking tape trying to follow the outlines where possible, and then cutting it back

 

 

It was actually pretty annoying with multiple layers, as it was hard to see the outline, and cutting through multiple layers was trickier than it needed to be, when on the other side this would have been harder still due to the palm swell, so instead, I just used small strips of masking tape but in parallel rather than trying to follow outlines. This worked much better, so much so that I went back and redid the other side 😆

 

Now with everything masked up, it'll be time to dye the wood, using Birchwood Casey's Walnut Dye, I intend to use a diluted solution for the areas without sunbleach, and double the concentrate for the areas which are unbleached, hopefully bringing them together

 

 

[archiebald]

I'm following this with great interest it is looking great!

[Pops_Hants]

So it’s been a few days since the last update, and that’s because the next step has been somewhat tedious and the drying time is a while.

Part 3 - The Dyeing! 
 

So I’ve prepped the wood throughly and now it was time for some interesting steps. As I mentioned before, it’s had some sunbleach before so this step is basically why I am doing it. Time to dye the wood, I’m planning on using a diluted dye for most of the wood, with a concentrate for the areas that are lighter.

First up is a final wipe down with a tac cloth to avoid any unwanted fibers hanging around

 

First coat going on and still wet, followed by what it’s like dry. The ‘wet’ look is more representative of how it’ll look when oiled.

Also, as it’s an adjustable comb I keep checking that all the wood matches throughout.

 

 

It is now that I start to run into problems, whilst the dye goes on well the light bits remain light and the dark dark. It’s annoying as with limited daylight I’m using artificial light which causes unnatural reflections. So when I think something looks right or wrong I always have to wait for daylight to see if it’s actually that, or just the artificial light making it appear worse.

 

After a little more playing around I find that I need to use different applicators for the dye. Even when using full concentrate if I used the same applicator that had been diluted previously it still didn’t sit well. Lesson learned there for me! 
Anyway, once I’d figured that out the woodwork started to look a little more uniform

 

 

 

 

So now that the colour is more uniform and I’m quite happy about it I decide it’s time to move on, and this is where it sort of goes horribly wrong! 
from everything I have read it’s best to leave the checking alone until the final coat of tru oil, hence masking it up.

All well and good so far, until I’ve finished colouring the wood and take the masking tape off to realise that it is now a lot darker all over APART from on the checkering 

doh 🤦🏼‍♂️ 

unfortunately I forgot to get photos at this point but I quickly strip the oil finish on the checkering (I’ll deal with the finish on that later when I don’t have a now problem), I used isopropyl alcohol for that, it worked perfectly in removing the oil finish meaning I could redye the wood now including the checkering and it would absorb the dye.

Luckily it’s worked well and I have a uniform colour throughout (twice I’ve had to do that now!).

 

 

 

So far so good, I’m pleased with how it’s going, and as the title of the post says, it’s a journey! 
I’m learning along the way and hopefully if someone feels like giving it a go themselves they won’t repeat my mistakes 🤣

 

Next up is grain fill, this will include using a solution to fill the grain on the wood, knocking it back with steel wool, and repeating until as the name suggests, the grain is full. Then it’ll be into the finishing stages although that will take days accounting for the drying time. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Pops_Hants

[Pops_Hants]

Part 4 - Grain Fill

So it’s been a few days and I’ve more or less finished the grain filling now. It was a relatively simple process but time consuming to get it to a point where I am happy with it.

before I started, this is what the woodwork was looking like after finishing with the dye, a darker and far more consistent colour throughout, I was happy with this.

It’s not the most exciting process, slathering on the grain fill, leaving it to dry and then knocking it back with steel wool, to then re-apply. I did this about 4 times or so, I really wanted to make sure the filler was in all the way into the grain. 
One thing I noticed is that wearing gloves you feel nothing, so it is pointless trying to feel for imperfections even with thin gloves.

Throughout this process though the wood was getting smoother and smoother, to an almost glass finish. It look a little longer too as I had to do the adjustable piece of the stock half at a time so ensure I was laying it down wet

 

After the filling and sealing was done, the wood was showing a lot more colour and this is what I was left with. Now I can really see it taking shape, and once I let this dry for 24 hours I’ll then start to mask up and get the oil on.

 

[HantsRob]

I am so excited to hold this in a week or so’s time. 
 

you have done such an amazing job and the original pics don’t even start to show how ugly the wood staining looked and how amazing it looks already!

 

bravo. I look forward to seeing the end product 🥰

[WalkedUp]

Great thread and work 👍

[Pops_Hants]

On 23/11/2022 at 17:59, HantsRob said:

I am so excited to hold this in a week or so’s time. 
 

you have done such an amazing job and the original pics don’t even start to show how ugly the wood staining looked and how amazing it looks already!

 

bravo. I look forward to seeing the end product 🥰

Haha, I think you’re more excited than I am! But yeah, the pictures don’t do it justice, it’s come out so well already, really pleased with the current results.

 

27 minutes ago, WalkedUp said:

Great thread and work 👍

Thanks, it’s a labour of love for sure, it’s been very tempting to try and skip ahead wherever possible, but by taking time it just makes the next step easier every time 

 

Part 5 - Oiling

We’re into the oiling stage now,

I managed to get 2 coats a day on by doing them about 12 hours apart, and in a heated living room it helped dry quickly.

However as I understand it the oil actually polymerises as opposed to just dries, so whilst I’ve had about 5 coats on already, I’ll be doing a 6th and 7th coat with double the dry time. 
on coat 7 / 8 I’ll do the checkering also as I removed the finish when I was dyeing the wood. Not finish yet so a full update to follow probably at or after the weekend.

 

sneak peak…

Edited November 24, 2022 by Pops_Hants

[Diver One]

It's a bit late to tell you now, but I might as well. When you first open the tru oil only make a small hole in the 'foil' seal. Don't remove it

pour a bit of oil into a dish and use it. DO NOT return it to the bottle. When finished for the day, put cap on bottle and store it inverted

 

im about to do another SxS but with oil NOT tru oil

 

pics to follow if anyone cares??

[NoBodyImportant]

It’s a good looking stock

 

[Pops_Hants]

7 hours ago, Diver One said:

It's a bit late to tell you now, but I might as well. When you first open the tru oil only make a small hole in the 'foil' seal. Don't remove it

pour a bit of oil into a dish and use it. DO NOT return it to the bottle. When finished for the day, put cap on bottle and store it inverted

 

im about to do another SxS but with oil NOT tru oil

 

pics to follow if anyone cares??

really good tip, luckily it’s also given on the tru oil guide so yeah, only a small hole in the foil which is lucky! 
 

id be interested to see the SxS mate.

[HantsRob]

10 hours ago, Pops_Hants said:

Haha, I think you’re more excited than I am! But yeah, the pictures don’t do it justice, it’s come out so well already, really pleased with the current results.

I'm more interested to see the guys face who sold you it, to see what a tin of elbow grease could have done to an unloved gun
pew pew

[Rob85]

Its amazing what a little bit of elbow grease can do to a gun, just that little bit extra can be all it takes to make something ordinary into the extraordinary.

Looking good so far, can't wait to see the end result

[Pops_Hants]

12 hours ago, Diver One said:

It's a bit late to tell you now, but I might as well. When you first open the tru oil only make a small hole in the 'foil' seal. Don't remove it

pour a bit of oil into a dish and use it. DO NOT return it to the bottle. When finished for the day, put cap on bottle and store it inverted

 

im about to do another SxS but with oil NOT tru oil

 

pics to follow if anyone cares??

What's the difference between oil and tru oil, will the finish be more sheen and matte, better lasting or not so better?


I'm also interested if anyone has used slippery ***** and got good results, seems to get some rave reviews online. His actual work looks brilliant (Stocks Refinished on social media)

[Westley]

4 hours ago, Pops_Hants said:

What's the difference between oil and tru oil, will the finish be more sheen and matte, better lasting or not so better?


I'm also interested if anyone has used slippery ***** and got good results, seems to get some rave reviews online. His actual work looks brilliant (Stocks Refinished on social media)

In my experience,  traditional oil (linseed oil based) gives a more 'satin' finish, whereas Tru-oil, being American, gives more of a high gloss finish. I have used my own mix of oils on all of my gun stocks that have an oiled finish. 

I am shooting tomorrow and heavy rain is forecast,  I have just given my stocks a coat of beeswax to help retain the finish.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Westley

[Pops_Hants]

12 minutes ago, Westley said:

In my experience,  traditional oil (linseed oil based) gives a more 'satin' finish, whereas Tru-oil, being American, gives more of a high gloss finish. I have used my own mix of oils on all of my gun stocks that have an oiled finish. 

I am shooting tomorrow and heavy rain is forecast,  I have just given my stocks a coat of beeswax to help retain the finish.

Right, 

Gotcha! Makes sense, but yeah the tru oil is seriously glossy, like a glass finish. I'm building up the layers, and then once it's fully dry / cured I'll use the sheen conditioner to take that back to a bit more satin, and protect it with wax. I've probably gone over kill here but being my first stock refinish it is a learning curve.

[Westley]

I have forgotten how many stocks I have done over the years (60 +) but its a 'few'  !  I don't wish to detract from your excellent post or all of your hard work, but rather than a wood dye, I have always used alkanet root or 'red' oil, applied twice a day until the desired colour is achieved. Alkanet root oil really does enhance the colour and the grain of the wood. Keep up your hard work, it is looking really good. It takes me around 6 months to achieve a final finish on a stripped back stock, but I have never had to deal with a sun bleached stock.