Rossi Finish Removal II

[Ranch Dog]

RD, The finish on my 92 is reddish. Is this the same type of finish on the RG? I was assuming I had to strip it with a chemical. I would rather do it this way if possible. I hate the red tone to the wood.

I stripped all three of my RGs this way.

[pricedo]

Within seconds of hitting the water the dye was leaching out of the wood.

RD, The finish on my 92 is reddish.

Reddish?..........WOW !
I don't have a Braztech rifle for comparison purposes but judging by the preceding posts I don't think my Amadeo Rossi 92s have the same finish as the water soluble stuff Braztech is using now.
The finish on all 3 of my 92s is a respectable dark walnut colored brown........they were made about the same time after the CNC retrofit of the Brazil factory (2000ish) & before the Taurus takeover which appears to be the zenith era for the Rossi 92s.
Why would a manufacturer put a water soluble finish on a hunting gun to be sold in America where last time I checked it rains from time to time? That's wild !
The run of "reddish" rifles must have been intended for the camel born saddle scabbards of a tribe of nomads in the Sahara Desert.
Regardless, I reinforced the resident finish on my rifles with well rubbed in coats of linseed oil or Tru-Oil.
They closely resemble my pre-64 Winchester 94s which I used as a pigment template.
The proof is in the pudding as they say.........they look fine & withstand the elements just fine.

[Chris]

It is definitely a redwood color. I could not be picky as the one my dealer found in 2011 was this one and it was the ONLY one to be had. So I settled on it. I don't really care. I am going to refinish it and had planned on it anyway. It shoots straight, I can't complain. I would rather have a somewhat ugly rifle and be able to change it than one that is not capable of any kind of accuracy like the Browning 92's with their extremely shallow rifling. They sure look nice...but that is it.

[pricedo]

If the gun is mechanically OK with good w/m fitting and shoots good the finish fixer-upper is a 20 minute job.
I figure 2 or 3 coats of Tru-Oil over that reddish Rossi melange should darken it up and add water resistance and wood preservation to the mix.
Let the initial application cure 24 hours to properly "fix" the finish.
The TO can be reapplied as patches when normal wear & tear makes it necessary.
I like keeping simple things simple .........refinishing a gun stock does not have to be a multi-phase week long affair.

[Ranch Dog]

Why would a manufacturer put a water soluble finish on a hunting gun to be sold in America where last time I checked it rains from time to time? That's wild !

You got me. I'm almost glad that they do though as it makes it super easy to end up with the finish you want. I've always disliked that about the Mar-Shield finish on the Marlin's. Very time consuming to get rid of yet looks awful after 30 years or so.

Check this out. This is my Rio Grande chambered in 38-55 Win. We, the rifle and I, were caught out in a afternoon thunderstorm while hog a couple of months ago. I always try my best to protect my rifle when it pours but this is what the butt stock looked like months after the deluge. It has been refinished with Tru-Oil.

rain_stains.jpg

We give a lot of advice to new fellows here and I think we should always include the need to get a good coat of wax on the wood as soon as possible to prevent spots like I had on my rifle. It is weird that they do not seal the stain.

[pricedo]

I always try my best to protect my rifle when it pours

I carry a big plastic garbage bag (big enough for the whole gun) and a tie-up in my hunting vest and when it rains and I'm caught in the open I put the gun inside the garbage bag and tie it off to protect it from the rain.
Once I'm in the covered tree stand or ground blind it doesn't matter if it rains or not cause I'm dry and snug as a bug in a rug under the roof. After I get in a dry area I immediately remove the garbage bag........DO NOT store a gun in a case or a plastic bag !

I own a few old Winchester originals (pre-64 model 94s & model 100).........and I hunt them a lot.......these old timers are great guns and in some cases as old as I am and I don't like to get them wet and I don't like to mess with the original Winchester finishes so I don't use Tru-Oil on them.

** Why don't they seal the stain .......for the same reason there's no quality control or hand fitting.......cutting production costs. Yet they squander major production overhead treating their customers like 4 year old preschoolers by adding 2 absolutely redundant safety devices to each & every gun to address an imaginary safety crisis that never existed in reality.

[calan]

So... you just drop the stock and forearm in a tub of hot water?

As cheap/soft as this wood is, it seems that they wood swell up to the size of melons and never dry out.

[Ranch Dog]

So... you just drop the stock and forearm in a tub of hot water?

As cheap/soft as this wood is, it seems that they wood swell up to the size of melons and never dry out.

Yeap, the jungle wood might be cheap but it is tougher than you think. It floats high in the water and dries out very quickly. I do let it dry 24 hours in a conditioned room before I start working with it.

[calan]

As cheap/soft as this wood is, it seems that they wood swell up to the size of melons and never dry out.

Haha. He ^ said "wood" instead of "would".

Doh!

Yeap, the jungle wood might be cheap but it is tougher than you think. It floats high in the water and dries out very quickly. I do let it dry 24 hours in a conditioned room before I start working with it.

Well alrighty then. Guess I'll yank them now and start a soaking.

[calan]

This is ridiculous. You really can see the yellow dye just pouring out of the wood into the water.

Who was the mental giant that decided this was a good finish for a balsa wood stock and forearm?

EDIT:

After soaking a bit and washing them with a fine scotchbrite pad, it is now obvious that my forearm and stock are not matched at all. The forearm is much lighter and has a totally different grain pattern; very coarse and almost looks like oak. The stock is a deeper reddish/brown, and has a fine grain like mahogany.