# Anyone ever refinish their rifle stock?



## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

I've got a couple of rifle stocks that I want to refinish. They were guns that I inherited.

I've read online about do's and don'ts but thought I would see what experiences people here have had.

A couple of questions - did any of you iron the wood after stripping it to raise the grain? If so, how did that work for you?

Any problems with checkering on the stock?

What type of finish did you apply and how did it hold up?


----------



## kiefersdad (Apr 26, 2013)

*Refinish a stock*

The usual stopping point in a refinish is if the change will de value a gun. If it is a gun that holds no historic value and is a family hand me down and you want to upgrade the finish then I would say go for it. I have done a few and it always involved a lot of sanding and prep work and removing it from the firearm first. I saw one that was left on and thats what teenagers do for their first lesson on what not to do with grandads gun. Use a good sealer or hand rub the oil in and that will take time and plenty of rubbing. Did I mention "time" ? Plenty of time to do an oil rub. But one heck of a good finish.


----------



## TeaSea (Sep 28, 2013)

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back around 1970 Field and Stream ran an article on how to refinish your shotgun stock with Linseed oil. I did it. Stripped the factory finish and used pumice and heated Linseed oil and then a buffing cloth. Were several steps involved. I did it to a Remington 870 and it turned out beautiful. I was very bored at the time and had a lot of time on my hands. If you can find the article it gives step by step instructions and you will be amazed how good it looks. And it will be impervious to water.


----------



## Hired Hand (Nov 25, 2008)

Strip it down. Furniture stripper is a good choice as you do not sand off the checkering. Chewing tobacco for a stain and linseed oil for a finish. Rub it like you love it and the finish will come through.


----------



## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

These are guns where the previous owner tried to refinish them and something went wrong. The finish is in bad shape and I want to make them look good again.

One is a Rem 700 .308 and the other is a .30 Carbine.


----------



## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

I've refinished several, as well as several other wood projects.
The most durable finish will be either polyurethane or some sort of oil finish.
I've done both. The polyurethane is just a spray-on rattle can finish. Let each coat dry for a day ot so and lightly sand with 500 or higher grade sandpaper untill all signs of wood grain are gone. Then aply one more gloss coat and wet-sand with 1000 or higher. Be careful not to get unfinished areas of stock wet.

For oils, just apply and rub to your desired finish. As it dries out, just reapply oil. Several coats in the first several days, then another a week later, etc. One it all soaks in, it will be gorgeous. Use your choice of oils. I've used Linseed and others. I even have one that I rubbed down with gun-oil. It looks as nice as any other finish.

I recommend looking this over:
http://sparetimeactivities.net/StockOils.htm


----------



## sureicanfish (Sep 30, 2007)

I want to do this to a rifle at some point as well but I HATE sanding, hate it. I guess one stock wouldn't be too bad.


----------



## bit wright (Feb 27, 2013)

I have done a few. I sand just enough to get the hard finish off the wood, steam iron dings, lightly sand with 180 grit. Wet the wood and let the whiskers on the wood stand up as it dries out then sand again with 400. When nice and smooth, finish with a product called Linspeed Gunstock Finish. Look at their website:http://www.lin-speed.com Gives a good weather resistant finish that really shows off the grain in the wood.

*
*


----------



## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

Did as above, but used tung oil for a darker finish. Still looks good after nearly 30 years!


----------



## CLJ (Feb 12, 2013)

Ive done several. I mainly use boiled linseed oil but have used truoil a few times. Tru oil dries too fast and will get sticky so you have to thin it out with lighter fluid. I use citristrip to strip the old finish, even in the checkering. I use a soft toothbrush with the citristrip on the checkering and it gets all the finish off nicely without damage.
If the stock has a lot of scratches,dings start with 180 grit sandpaper. Don't go crazy with it and always sand with the grain as much as possible. Then 320 grit, then 400. If im satisfied with how it looks, Ill start the first coat.
A little goes a LONG way with boiled linseed oil. squirt a little in a plastic cup(or whatever u want to use) dip your finger in and rub it on a small section of the stock. Use 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and sand it in with the grain. Do the entire stock a small section at a time. Once complete, use your hand and rub against the grain all over the stock. This will fill the grains with the sludge you just made from wet sanding. Do the first 2 or 3 coats just like this. 3-5 days in between coats. It must completely dry between coats. Use a soft toothbrush to apply oil to checkering otherwise it will "pool up" in the checkering and take forever to dry. All coats after wet sanding just vigorously rub onto the stock with your hand. 5 coats will give you a flat matte finish. 10-20 coats will give a more glossy finish. The main thing is don't use too much at once. 2 drops will literally do half the stock in the later coats. Use a gunstock wax when complete if you want a little shine but isn't necessary. The good thing about boiled linseed oil finish is if you scratch it, you can just lightly sand the spot, rub in a drop of linseed oil and its good as new. It will blend right in.


----------



## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I'm not sure when I'll have time to do it, but I'll take pictures and post them.


----------



## 192 (Oct 1, 2007)

Tung Oil.


----------

