Saturday, January 24, 2009

Wooden Gun Stock Refinishing Tip

With a great many people buying used guns, especially the military surplus rifles, there is sometimes a need to refinish the wooden stocks due to abuse or neglect. There is a simple trick you can use to get that smooth satin finish that is found on new wooden gun stocks. You can turn it into a showpiece with very little effort if done right.

One of the things that I have done frequently is refinish wooden gun stocks for friends and other people. They have either accidentally or through neglect allowed their rifle stocks to become less than perfect and as a result need to refinish them.

To get a satin smooth finish when refinishing a wooden gun stock all you have to remember is that in the process of sanding down a wooden gun stock dust will get inside the grain of the wood. This dust can be hard to remove properly with a dust cloth. The best way to remove this dust is by using a cloth soaked with denatured alcohol. The denatured alcohol will clean the dust from sanding out of the grain of the wood but will dry quickly in the process. Then when staining and sealing the stock you will be able to get a really smooth finish because the fine particles from sanding have been removed with proper cleaning.

When using this technique you will need to make sure you've allowed the alcohol residue to evaporate fully before applying any stain, lacquer or varnish. This technique can also be used when refinishing a piece of wooden furniture.

Staying above the water line!

Riverwalker

10 comments:

scoutinlife said...

From time to time polish my old wood stocks with gun wax after I have reconditioned them....

Mayberry said...

I need to do my Mosin....

HermitJim said...

I just need to get a gun...!

riverwalker said...

To: scoutinlife

That's great youare keeping your's in good condition.Thanks.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: Mayberry

One more thing to add to your list.

RW

riverwalker said...

To: HermitJim

Just keep your eyes open and a good deal will come along.

RW

Stephanie in AR said...

My dad used to carve gunstocks (when I was a kid). I always wondered what that water was he was using, guess now I know.

riverwalker said...

To: Stephanie in AR

More than likely he was using this or something similar. Thanks.

RW

Anonymous said...

Just my 2 cent's worth.. why refinish it? If it's a collectable,sure,but if you need it for defense,paint it flat black or camo! I have a gorgeous 30 yr old remington,mint condition,but if SHTF,it'll be black! Finish is nice,but utility come's first.
AZ Dean

riverwalker said...

To: AZ Dean

You make an excellent point!

Camo colored stocks.

RW

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