Does your 700 have the thick " clear coat" finish that Remington is so famous for? If it does then you need to get a scraper to get ot off the wood. Sand paper will just clogg and you' ll be there for ever. A local gun shop should be able to show what you need to scrape the coating off.

What kind of finish do you want to put on the stock? I personally really like a hand rubbed oil finish. If done properly and you take your time it is absolutly beautiful. Like night and day to the factory finishes. It takes a long time but it is worth it.

You can use a number of oils to finish the stock. Verithane and velvet oil are good oils.


#1) Scrape off the enamel that remington uses

#2) get a good stripper to get the enamel out of the checkering. This will probably take several coatings to get it all out. Use a tooth brush to get into the bottom of the checkering.

#3) Start with 120 grit paper and work your way up to 320 grit. Always sanding with the wood grain and using a small snading block. A big eraser works well for a sanding block. Wet (not soak) the stock in between each grit to " wisker " the wood. This simply raises the grain of the wood so you will end up with a nicer finish.

#4) Start a " mud rub" . This is simply using the oil that you are going to be using for the finish and sanding with it as a lubricant. As you sand you will see what looks like mud forming on the stock. This is the wood dust mixing with the oil. The purpose of this is to fill the pores of the wood. Work this into the wood with 400 grit sand paper. Let it dry for about 5 minutes then, with a clean cloth, wipe it off across the grain. This step is important to a really nicely finished stock.

#5) hang it with a wire coat hanger for a day where no one will touch it and nothing will get on it. Let it dry for 24 hours.

#6) Repeat the mud rub after it dries each day until all of the pores are filled.

After the pores are filled now you can move on to the hand rubbed oil.

#7) with the same oil dab a couple of drops onto the stock and begin rubbing in with your hand or fingers. Again with the grain of the wood. Very little oil goes a long way. Replenish the oil on the stock as you work your way up the stock. Make sure that the entire stock with the exception of the checkering gets hand rubbed in. You should feel your hand getting warm as you rub in the oil. When the entire stock has been rubbed in then hang it to dry for 24 hours.

#8) After it has dried for 24 hours rub the stock with 0000 steel wool in the direction of the grain and repeat #7.

#9) Keep doing this (#7 & #8) until it " looks good" . You will know when you are done. All of the wood will have a sheen to it and there will not be any dull spots on the wood.

#10) After the last hand rub then you can coat the checkering with oil. Let is soak in for a minute or two then take a clean cloth and dab up the excess. If any gets on the rest of the wood just rub it in with your fingers and let it dry.

Good luck! If you take your time and don' t rush it you will have a stock to be proud of.