Well it's been over a month since my last update, BUT I have a good excuse... I've been super busy getting the other forum setup, and doing some much needed updating, etc. to this one!
Other than a couple touch-ups, the rifle stock is finished! This has been, without a doubt, the most time consuming part of this project.
Disassembly & HardwareI started by removing all the hardware from the gunstock. This image shows how much dirt and grime had gotten worked into the forend (front) of the stock, wear spots towards the shoulder end, and some water spot damage near the grip. If you look closely you can also see some chipping in the butt plate that needed repairing. The hardware was in decent shape, no major rust, but the bluing was a little worn, so I'll address that as well.
All of the steel parts were stripped, cleaned up, and re-blued using the same process I used for the barrel and receiver parts.
Here's the butt plate cleaned up and chips repaired using JB Weld Epoxy Putty, sanded and finished with a coat of black spray paint.
Stripping the StockI started by stripping the lacquer off with a thick coat of Citristrip paint stripper and wrapped in plastic wrap overnight. It was scraped & wiped off the next morning leaving just the wood stain behind.
Next, water-soaked shop towels and an iron were used to steam out any dents. This also lifted out much of the old wood stain and raised the wood grain. After drying, an initial sanding was done with 180 grit drywall sanding screen. To finish lifting the old wood stain, I wrapped the stock in acetone-soaked shop towels & plastic wrap for several hours. To remove the remaining dirt & grime stains in the forend, I wiped the stock with bleach, let it dry, then followed up with damp towels to remove bleach residue. Finally, the stock was sanded with 220 and 400 grit sandpaper, followed by 0000 steal wool. Wow, what a difference, and very smooth to the touch!
Refinishing the StockWhich type & color stain to chose? Stripping and steaming removes essential oils and can leave wood dry and susceptible to cracking. I also wanted that classic dark reddish brown color, so... two coats of Minwax "Gunstock", oil-based stain was the perfect choice! I am starting to love how this looks!
After debating which type of finish to go with, I settled on Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil, for one simple reason; while it's more work up front, later if it gets scratched, it can be more easily repaired without having to re-strip the stock.
The finishing process involved a total of around 21 thin coats of the Tru-Oil applied and hand-rubbed in, then hung to dry & cure for 12 - 24 hours. After each coat, it was burnished with 0000 steel wool, then vacuumed and wiped down with tack cloth to remove all steel wool particles and dust.
After every 5 coats, I did a very light, wet, level-sanding with 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper. The final few extremely thin coats were applied with a small piece of blue shop towel.
I'm very happy with the results: usable, but still beautiful and much better than the original factory finish! After all, I refinished and restored this gun to be used!
After it cures for a good 72 hours, all that's left is a few touch-ups and this project can be reassembled and wrapped up! I plan to put a video together showing a few more details of the whole process from start to finish, so stay tuned!
