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**Diz** · 10-26-2018, 02:28 AM

Old No7,

I have to agree with your gunsmith's thoughts after looking at the photos. This is often a problem when working on old pieces that have been through a number of owners and causes a great deal of heartburn when trying to clean them up. I often use various commercial paint removers to take off old layers of finish but they are usually water based and almost always remove all the grain filler and raise the grain in the process. Plus the wood needs to be rinsed of all the remover before refinishing and this will surely raise the grain after the finish is gone. Scraping will likely preserve some of the old handling marks but you will still be faced with a certain amount of sanding to get a good surface. I use the remover on the checking as well and scrub it with a toothbrush to get the junk out. If you are careful most time you can just finish over the checking without the need to re-cut and it retains it's look without all the darkness.

After that it is a fairly straight forward refinishing process of staining, filling the grain and finishing to match what was original to the period. I can only advise patience and care at this point. Going slowly will get what you need. Obviously you have the skills from what you have done already with the metal work so all I can say is good luck.

Diz

**Leatherman** · 10-26-2018, 03:12 AM

You definitely have something in the wood you didn't get out the first round. I refinish my stocks with a steamer jet, the ones you use to clean and sanitize bathrooms . There are several brands such as Shark. Just stay away from the checkering as it will swell the wood and you will have to rechecker it instead of just refreshing any wear or dents. The hot steam takes the finish and gunk out of the wood but don't expect to get years of gun oil out of the stock around the metal. I have asked a few experts and they have told me it is impossible . Consentrait on the dings to get them to swell as much as they will. Then scrape the stock with the grain. I have gun smithing scrapers of all shapes but you can do a lot with just a straight exacto blade pulling it along finding the correct angle around 45 degrees. You can usually get all dings and scratches out of the stock with the scraping using long strokes to level out the stock . You will notice as you scrape the wood will get lighter in color as you remove deeper layers of finish and oils. Once you are satisfied you have all the dings out and all the old finish is removed you may have to sand some areas useing 400 to 600 grit sandpaper on various sizes of round blocks of different diametersto get those concave areas around cheek pads and molding making sure to keep the sharp edges. Try to stay with the grain as you will see the sandpaper marks when you apply the finish. European walnut is typically lighter in color than American Black Walnut so it must be stained to replicate the original reddish brown color the Gunmakers used. I use an alcohol base stain called chestnut brown from Tiger Hunt gunstocks that is used to stain maple gun stocks on muzzle loaders. There are other stains of similar color such as Birtchwood Caseys colonial brown too. You can make the color as dark as you like with more coats. Then use the finish of your likening. I use Waterlox original Tung Oil. I have brought back some pretty banged up, gouged stocks to like new condition with out useing sandpaper. It really upsets me when I see a once beautiful rifle that has been poorly refinished with rounded moldings and filled in dings and scratches that stand out as bad as they were before . And then there are the modern polyurethane finishes with high luster finish instead of the hand rubbed oil as it was done originally. I see the notch in the edge of the the molding in the bottom picture. That can be reshaped to eliminate that with half round files and no one ( but all of us) will know. I don't see anything that can't be completely removed on your pictures with what I have discribed above.

**Leatherman** · 10-26-2018, 03:27 AM

I forgot to mention I use Acetone and a soft brass wire or tooth brush on the checkering to remove the grim and oils. I don't get too aggressive and leave it dark . I use a special riff file from Brownells to refresh worn or pressed checkering . Don't hold the stock with one hand and file with the other. Put the stock in a vise so it is solid and level and then file. Believe me this will save you from buggering up your checkering. Your stock needs to look as good as your metal work. Good luck.

**mike ford** · 10-26-2018, 03:55 PM

Old No 7,
Diz and Leatherman have both given you good advice, my suggestions are going to differ and you will have to come up with your own version by accepting/rejecting parts of everyone else's. The first thing you have to decide is what you want the end result to be. If you want it to look like a new stock, different procedures will be needed than if you want to improve the finish without it looking "new". Whether I'm reworking an old finish or an intermediate coat of a new finish, I like to use steel wool( about oo) to remove the finish over most of the surface. Exceptions are very near inletting, checkering, or any other edge. To prevent rounding these edges over, use 600 grit abrasive backed up by a small felt or rubber sanding block. Remove dirt/ grime, etc from checkering with a brush. If checkering has been filled up with additional finish and alcohol won't cut it, acetone may have to be used. If you don't want the end result to look new, care should be takes with acetone, it will take the old finish out of the pores and may melt the brush being used ( should be tested) if not natural materials. My use of steel wool is essentially the same as leatherman's use of scrapers, except he is sure he won't make a mistake, and I'm not. Also it can be pretty bothersome to clean steel wool residue off the surface. My idea is to remove the finish from the surface of the wood, but leave it( and original stain) in the wood and pores. Typically, with the finish in the wood, I like to rub a coat of boiled linseed oil onto the surface. Then if the finish gets spotted wit rain or lightly scratched, etc., the surface can be buffed with 0000 steel wool and boiled oil rubbed on. As far as I know, I'm the only one that does it this way, so It won't hurt my feelings if you reject it all.
Mike

**Old No7** · 10-26-2018, 05:37 PM

Wow, great replies -- thanks!

I will need some time, many efforts, much patience and even some "Viel Glueck" on this project, but I will report back someday...

Vielen danke.

Old No7

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Moeller Martini, Stock Refinish -- Help Needed...

Moeller Martini, Stock Refinish -- Help Needed...

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