bigcountry

I am definatly not a wood guy. I am not that handy refinishing things. But I have a browning gold shotgun I have traded for, where the checkering in the stock has much wear and the finish is basically gone on the checkering. My questions.

1. If I refinish myself, how best to deal wit the checkering area? Do you put remover on it and scrub it with a tooth brush? And after you remove it, how best to apply a good finish to the checkering? I know you can't sand the checkering. Does it just get a few few good light coats and sand the rest between coats?

2. Can I just put finish on the checkering only? Cause the reast of the stock is in good shape. Maybe dab the checkering?

gorse

If you tried to only refinish the chequered areas, I don't think that you'd get a match with the rest of the stock - so it wouldn't look right. Also, if you use stripper (and a toothbrush) on the chequered areas - it would be difficult to keep the stripper from the other portions of the stock.
I think that you'd be better off in stripping the whole stock and refinishing it. Using the strippers available today, it's not that difficult. Just follow the directions EXACTLY. (A toothbrush IS good for getting the stripper to work in the chequered areas.) As to a new finish - you've got a world of things from which to choose..... an oiled finish.... stain & polyurethane.... paint.... stain & varnish, etc. If it were me, I'd choose stain, plus a satin polyurethane... which will give the best protection against future "wear".

wv singleshot

Use oven cleaner,it will take it down to the wood and remove every thing,oil and finish even in the checkering. Let it set about 15 min then rince with water. If you have dents,let it dry after removeing the finish and take a wet wash cloth put it on the dent and take a hot iron over the dent on the cloth and it will pull the dents out. Then let dry and finish the wood the way you want it.

James B

gorse is right on about the remaoval of the old finish. I have done quite a few with just several coats of linseed oil and a finishing coat of Casey's Tru Oil. I heat the linseed oil up as hot as I can stand to touch it. I put on about ten coats. Rub it in good with a soft rag.

Judson

Bigcountry, your Browning never had finish other then maby stain on the checkering. That is one of my pet pieves with Browning and also why their checkering always lookg fuzzy! Good checkering will never hide the grain of the wood, tone it down a bit yes but not hide it. Browning checkering is cut with something resembling a chain saw from what I can see and if you want it to look right you should re cut it to get rid of the fuzz.
When done right checkering is done prior to the last two coats of finish and then only a thinned finished is aplied to the checkering or if not thinned the checkering is blotted with a lint free cloth.
Your best bet would(With out seeing it) be to brush in a coat or two of finish and blot up the excess, unless you recut it the stain will stay and the checkering will be darker then the rest of the wood.

Briman

Yes except polyurethane can be scratched, and once its scratched, it cannot be repaired without refinishing the entire stock. IMHO Polyurethane is the worst thing you can put on a fine piece of wood.

Tru-Oil will give a finish similar looking to polyurethane, but you can touch it up very easily if it gets scratched.

The ultimate finish if its a nice piece of wood would be the French Polish method which involves wiping on a thinned shellac/oil mix in several coats- its absolutely brings out the beaty of wood, and is easily repaired/ touched up.

thndrchiken

I'm a bit more on the old fashioned side, I like a hand rubbed oil finish. It's really not all that difficult, just time consuming. Depending on what the rest of the stock looks like, it's your decision, try touching up the checkering. If you don't like it then go ahead and strip the stock.

Mr. .45-70

I'm with James B. Several years ago I refinished a Marlin35 Rem. with Linseed Oil. It came out awesome! If I remember correctly, I put about 15 coats on. The first few coats will soak right in and dry quickly. After that they take longer and longer to dry. Another thing I did during this process was to lightly hit it with a real fine steel wool after every few coats.

bigcountry

Even the checkering? How do you handle sanding the checkering?

BDHUNTR

0000 steel wool (or burlap) is an excellent material to card the stock after each coat of finish. If you use steel wool, make sure it is oil-free. Also, make sure that you use a lint-free cloth to remove ALL the tiny pieces of steel wool residue before applying another coat of finish.

Briman is correct-polyurethane is a terrible stock finish, and all scratches will show and cannot be repaired. I used to use tung oil, but lately I have gotten terrific results with Tru-Oil. If you buy the kit, do not follow the directions for the the stock filler, which says (if I remember) to use one coat. On a bare stock, two or even three coats seals the stock better and more completely. Then apply anywhere from 8 to 10 (or more) coats of Tru-Oil, allowing each coat to dry thoroughly between each coat, and carding with the steel wool or burlap. I have redone a hardwood stock on both a Winchester Model 70 Ranger .30-06 and a Savage Model 110E .30-06 and a Remington Model 700 BDL 7mm Rem Mag. The Remington was difficult, as it appeared to be finished in a polyurethane-type finish, and getting that out of the impressed checkering took some time. But as it was an early-Sixties rifle, the walnut was exceptional. I did not use filler on that stock. I merely sanded it lightly with 400 grit sandpaper and rubbed the wood dust into the stock as a filler. It turned out beautifully, and with the addition of a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad (also not too hard to install with the use of a vise-mounted belt sander) and glass-bedding, it turned into one heck of a shooter. The Savage was something else. I love Savage rifles. They are very accurate, especially for the price. But their wood stocks come from the factory in one solid shade of dark brown. I bought a used Savage from a friend for $200.00. After stock refinishing, glass-bedding and installing a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad, I inlaid the cut-off case head of a fired .30-06 cartridge in the bottom of the pistol grip, so that it fit flush with the wood for a little customized look. After refinishing with Tru-Oil, there was actually quite a bit of grain figure in the wood, even for a hardwood stock. The guy I bought it off of offered me $400.00 for it, especially after he found out it would shoot 0.75" groups @ 100 yards. Think I sold it back? Hah!

Brian