mauser06

my buddy has a 9422 that is right about 40yo...

he sent it home with me to be cleaned....boy what a chore that was...he said he really never stripped and cleaned it EVER. and believes he has 1 million shells through it...says he went through bricks like they were nothing back when he was a kid...the gun is now used for coon hunting(VERY rough on coon guns) and he throws it in the tractor and truck when farming to crack groundhogs when he is at his other barns and such...

anyways, the finish is cracked/chipped/peeling/dried etc and bare wood in alot of spots...

he gave me the go ahead tonite to refinish the stock if i wanted...

i used poly urethane on my flintlock stock and it turned out nice....

can i do the same on the 9422?? will it be durable and not dry out/flake and peel off etc?? the gun is rough...but a refinish job will make it look alot better...and i wont cringe when i look at the peeling finish on it now....just checking to see if the poly will hold up well to the use he puts it through...

the poly just looked good on a test sample of my flintlock so i did it to the whole stock...light steel wool between coats and that was that...but i did it 2 years ago...still looks good...but wanted to check with you guys to see if it was a good choice...the gun stays in the barn with the coon hunting gear(locked and safe of course) it has a rough life...stock is rough and wont be much nicer when im done..just wont have the dry nasty finish and bare wood like it does now...

so will the poly be alright??? no sense in a 20 step oil finish or anything like that....just looking for something quick and easy that will last and look better than it does now...

Pawildman

Polyurethane will do a good job. I've been using Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane for quite a while now, and am pleased with the results. If there are some dings on the stock, and I assume there are, the lighter ones can often be raised by using a damp cloth over the area and pressing a hot iron on it for a few seconds. The steam will often raise the dent. Repeat the process as needed.
The stock will tell you when it's done most of the time. Good luck, and take your time......

mauser06

thanx wildman....seems everyone truoils stocks...personally i didnt like true oil...could been me not using it right...

i really liked the poly on the flintlock....just wanted to make sure it would last and wouldnt be a waste of time...no idea what is on it now...my flintlock had that same problem with an old clear coat of some sort that dried/cracked/chipped/flaked etc...

just want to make my buddies ole 9422 look a little better...he swears he honestly hasnt cleaned it...said once he poured coleman fuel down the bore into the action and swished it around...he couldnt believe i knew how to take the action out....took me a good 2 hours to get the action and bore cleaned....he takes care of his other guns...but that one is his "every day" gun and is always being used...i was shocked that the bore and action parts didnt seem phased...nothing looked worn majorly or anything...action is dang smooth now....

going to see if i cant get the stock and forend off and get stripper on it tonight so i can let it dry overnight and do a little sanding and finishing tomorrow...just worried about the wood being good since its bare open wood in alot of parts...i wont take it apart if it dont look like it will take it...he doesnt care if i refinish it or not...just said i could if i wanted...

mauser06

well, i figured out how to get the forearm off no problem...had to clean of 40 years of crud from the barrel band and sling band and from around the magazine tube...but got it off...figured out how the rear stock comes off but im not going to take it off...theres a bolt/screw that is holding it in but i dont wanna mess with it...

found out i dont have stripper laying around like i thought anyways....so in the morning i'll run and grab some and some other things and get to work...i'll mask the metal and keep it clean...i dont plan to goto town sanding so it wont be a big deal if i dont take the stock off...im just afraid if i do, it wont go back together or some of the inside wood could be rotted from 40 years of gunk sitting in there...inside wood does look good...thats why i cant get the screw/bolt out..its 4-5" recessed in a hole and dad has the tools in his truck and i cant get them....if its a big deal i can but dont think it will be....

tried working on the metal but not much you can do about browned metal...under the forarm and stuff looks alright...but the rest is like a brown sandblast finish...i tried oil and super fine steel wool...got the bigger surface rust off but cant do anything more than that...still looks and functions better already without 40 years of crud....

Vapodog

Get a can of custom oil from Brownells.....great stuff in a spray can.

stalkingbear

You'll HAVE to remove the buttstock to refinish properly. The Custom Oil from Brownells is great stuff, like the previous poster stated. Feel free to PM me or email me and I'll walk you through the whole process. Neil [email protected]

mauser06

well i looked at online diagrams and figured that the stock had to be safe to take off or it wouldnt be together...didnt realize there was a block of metal in the wrist....

got it off and stripped it...sanded it and was actually surprised there werent too many battle wounds...i have no idea how but there wasnt anything REAL bad...ive seen much worse on guns that werent 40yo and through heck....after some light sanding she looked pretty good...some discolored wood and a few scratches and dents that i couldnt do anything with....

got spar urathene on it now...found out my poly wasnt shut properly last time and it was ruined...good thing i checked before i went to get stripper...

i got pics of it before and will take some after and after its assmbled again...metal is still rough...scoped and rings is still kinda cruddy...i cant get to it without taking the scope off and i dont want to take it off in fear of the scope not shooting again...i know it will still need shot when im done with it but hopefully the scope is still on or my buddy can adjust it...im not touching it its probably as old as the gun....

all in all the project is going well....i really love doing stuff like this...i got a good "days" work into it and most wouldnt give you 5$ for the rifle even after im done....but, it looks better and functions great and my buddy will appreciate it....hes going to die when he sees the stock...it aint great...but the scratches, dents and dark spots kinda give it its character back....my buddy will be thrilled i think...hes going to have to wait till tomorrow though...it'll probably be assembled tonite...but i aint going to take it back to him for him to throw it in the barn to get dust stuck in the finish!

bronko22000

The last several stocks I've finished I've used satin finish spray polyurethane also. Never any problems. The last one, a Browning A bolt was a bear to remove the old finish. I put two coats of Tru Oil on first and made sure it was good and dry (about 4 days) then put 2 coats of poly on it. It came out nice.

mauser06

looks good bronko.....only your bolt is backwards



silly me didnt read directions...the poly i used last time was fast drying...within like 15 minutes or something it was dry enough to steel wool....

after an hour or so i took steel wool to the stock and what a mistake lol....shoulda knew it was too tacky...

doesnt have dry times on the spray can i used though just says if you cant respray within 1 1/2hrs wait atleast 72 before spraying again....have no idea why....now i gotta hope the steel wool comes off when it dries...i brought the pieces inside to dry...i think the garage may be too cold yet...if i cant steel wool the steel wool out, i'll have to lightly sand it and get them out...

i just remember steel wooling between coats of poly last time and the tacky spots were usually thick spots that needed the steel wool and came off nicely...live and learn...i'll get it fixed....

mauser06

steel wool came right off after it dried inside...

steel wooled both pieces and got a 2nd coat on now...

im not understanding the whole "if you dont recoat within an hour and a half wait atleast 72hrs"

ive always steel wooled between coats of wood finish and never had issues...just didnt realize it was as tacky as it was....

probably 1-2 more coats and it'll be done...probably put it back together saturday...