Refinish stock questions

The Rossi Model R92, a lightweight carbine for Cowboy Action, hunting, or plinking! Includes Rossi manufactured Interarms, Navy Arms, and Puma trade names.
dlidster
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by dlidster »

Fran49829 wrote:Did you use a sealer over the stain and if so what?
I don't mean to be evasive or sound secretive, but I've been finishing hardwood (gunstocks and furniture) for more than 60 years. I approach each project by intuition. So here's the thumbnail description of what I did to the rubberwood stock.

I stripped the original finish with the dangerous, old-fashioned stuff (methylene chloride) and washed the wood in soap and water. When thoroughly dry I reshaped it (with a plane) so the wood surfaces would be flush with the receiver. I sanded it with 150-220-320-400-grit sandpaper. I then applied the Fiebing's stain.

After the stain dried, I liberally applied boiled linseed oil, rubbed it in with the heel of my hand, and repeated the process several times over the period of a week. I let it cure (polymerize) for about another week. Then I rubbed it down to almost a polish with 000 steel wool.

I use General Finishes Armor-Seal (a tung oil/urethane rubbing varnish) to both seal the wood and fill the pores. As I've implied, I do this by feel. I apply very thin coat with my finger tip and rub it in with the heel of my hand till it feels tacky. I stop, wait 12 hours or so and repeat. Then, using a grey abrasive pad (Scotch Brite or equivalent) I rub it down to bare wood. I repeat the two coats, rub down till I feel it's done. I give it a final rub down with 0000 steel wool.

Yes, this is tedious. But, hey, I'm 77. I've been trying to master this technique since I was a teenager. I think I'm almost there.

Edit: The object is to have the finish in the wood, not on the wood.
Last edited by dlidster on 31 Mar 2020 08:14, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by golfish »

Archer wrote:
GasGuzzler wrote:
Archer wrote: I went looking for some rubbing alcohol a couple three weeks ago and found it sold out.
Might be back in stock but since I live in SoCal Loco I wouldn't bet the clowns around here might still be buying it faster than it comes into stock.
People are making hand sanitizer out if it because that sold out first..
70% alcohol too 30% Aloe Vera gel. ....ymmv
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by GasGuzzler »

Fran49829 wrote:If I stain it, would I be able to remove the satin if I don't like it?
Not readily. Stain is supposed to soak into the wood. Most new guns aren't stained, they're painted. The R92s are lightly coated with water soluble clear. If you successfully stain it, it's very tough to remove other than sanding down to bare wood which could take a lot off ... unless it's a typical R92 that's made of wood that rejects stain. The dye mentioned above and several leather dyes work much better on gunstocks than "wood stain".
Fran49829 wrote:Did you use a sealer over the stain and if so what?
That's a preference. Most hard core wood guys (I'm not, I'm just a redneck hobbyist) would scoff at such but I have sprayed more than one refinished stock with semi-gloss clear urethane IN VERY LIMITED AMOUNT to "seal" one up. I think it looks good. Others may not. Here's my 10/22 birch stock from about 2011 that I stripped and sanded and sanded and sanded then stained ebony (many times to make it stay) then cleared with urethane.

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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by Archer »

Nice job GG.
I'm with you on the semi gloss most of the time. I've seen satin done but sometimes I don't like the results.

Fran49829
One more thing to consider, depending on your choice of finishes and sealers you may find the 'clear coat' isn't.
Some of them may have a slight tint. That may not be a bad thing.

I have a liking for a medium or golden oak on furniture. Several years ago I had a project where I was using a stain I had previously used and gotten good results but I was getting almost a dull baby poo brown color on the wood instead of what I expected. I was sorely disappointed but decided to go ahead and varnish one of the parts to see what it wound up like. I was VERY surprised that it lightened up and became very much what I was after. I had used the products quite a bit before that and had not run into that effect before. I don't have an explanation other than this time I did notice the dried varnish had a slight tint to it. I've also noticed some of the epoxy polymers I've used have been tinted as well.

It isn't a bad idea to experiment a little on some scrap wood BUT because the stuff on the Rossi is often South American mystery wood the effect you get on a random chunk of something else may not translate.

Don't worry though, the process is pretty easy. I've found sanding helps. I tend to use a hand rubbed stain and multiple coats. Then I use very thin coats of varnish or poly clear as a sealant. I've found the 'low volatile' formulations have a tendency to run if they are not applied thin.
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by HarryAlonzo »

Stain can sometimes be reversed by bleaching (wood bleach, Oxalic Acid).

I never use varnishes of any kind on a gunstock. I always want to be able to touch up scuffs, scratches & dings, and that’s possible with an oil finish. I‘d hate to hesitate to use my rifle as a club for fear of marring the stock.
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by Archer »

I hesitate to use my lever action rifle as a club because I know how weak the wrist of a lever action stock is. It is not uncommon to see cracked wrists, even missing chunks and vintage repairs with glue or wrapped in rawhide or sinew are not rare. I know how warped the mag tube can become if you hit someone with it so that the follower or cartridges may jam in it. Poking someone with the muzzle or a straight strike with the buttplate minimizes the likely damage but coming up with the butt in a circular strike with the toe of the stock is asking to break it at the wrist. Those same strikes make damage to the finish of the wood a little less likely. Continuing on that theme I'm not entirely convinced that the buffer tube/receiver extension/receiver ring on an AR is tough enough to use that end of the gun as a club without damage. I'm pretty comfortable with the stocks on the Garand or M1A, HK91, FN/FAL and maybe the M1 Carbine. The stocks on the 1917 Enfield and the 1903 Springfield and many traditional bolt guns are usually pretty sturdy although I have seen 1903 stocks that were cracked and repaired pretty often.

IF it comes down to bashing someone (or something) with the gun who's coming at you because the gun is empty or because it's better to beat them to death than to shoot them then I've got more to worry about than the finish or even cracking the stock.

I figure I can always refinish the stock again if it becomes scratched or gouged. Or I can just leave it as a lead in to a good story.
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by Fran49829 »

Thanks for all your help. I tried iso alcohol on the buttstock and it did not remove it which is a good thing because I have decided not to refinish it at this time. I put Fiebing's medium brown leather dye on the fore end and had to wipe it down after application with iso alcohol because it was to dark. I realize I was not able to recreate the same color as the buttstock. I am considering using Watco teak finish as a finish.
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by GasGuzzler »

Once reassembled it will match well enough. Looks good.
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by Fran49829 »

Thanks
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Re: Refinish stock questions

Post by Archer »

Multi piece stocks are quite often made from different chunks of wood that may be from different trees and they may take color differently even if it is the same species of wood. When the manufacturer is trying to economize sometimes they don't even try to match color. If they are spraying color on it then it might not be as noticeable in the store.

I have to agree the difference in shades is close and when you put it back together it should look quite nice.
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