First post need info please.I have a Cabela's (investarms) sporterized hawken in .54 perc. I want to remove the cheekpiece from the stock but do not want to refinish the entire stock. My question- what kind of finish is on this stock? What can I use to match the original finish? Thanks for your help. Bruce H
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investarms stock finish
- Thread starter bhuch5
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I don't know what the original finish is, but I think if I did (just my opinion) it would be a tough one to match so as not to be noticable. I would do the whole stock.
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Same here. I've got the Lyman versions and tried just refinishing part of one. Bad experiment. It's not a big deal to strip and refinish the rest of the stock with a stripper, and you'll like the results a lot better.
Both gave good advice. One more and it is already been said,use a good stripper! Do not sand the old finish off. Most people will have the contours of the gun all messed up and it will get ugly in a hurry. I have used several finishes over the years and the last few years my favorite has been Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil. Many will say it is too glossy. If you apply it thin and rub it in, you will find the gloss can be controlled to what you are looking for. Apply it wet, it will be glossy and sticky for while. Apply it "dry" and it will be what you are looking for. I think your gun has checkering. If so, when stripping, just carefully remove the finish in the checkering with a tooth brush. When putting on the new finish, remember that checkering will "hold" your finish and become quickly thick looking. So very few thinned coats in the checkering is all you need and do the best to almost try to wipe it all out. The rest of the gun may take more than a dozen coats, as you build up a finish and carefully sand between coats, to get the pores in the wood filled. But, to your question, the chances of getting a finish match, by just doing one area, is probably impossible to do.
Just wanted to jump in here and say that stripping off the old finish on a rifle stock is actually fairly easy. In a past life I've stripped the finish off of many military rifle stocks using only Klean Kutter Refinisher and 0000 steel wool. I've received stocks in the mail, stripped off the finish and applied the first sealer coat to the stock in under two hours. It's worth the little extra effort and you'll be pleased with the results.
Jim
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I believe that most of the gunstock companies have gone to using an Accrylic Lacquer to finish their stocks. Its sprays well, through hoses, and because of the alcohol base, does not clog the orifice when the sprayer is not in use.
I recommend using Acetone to strip the entire stock. Then refinish. Just do this is a well ventilated location- as in OUTDOORS!-- and stay upwind of the stock, as you use a cheap- very cheap- plastic paint brush to wipe the stuff down the stock.
Start at the top, and let the drips help remove the finish below. It takes only a few minutes. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the stuff. The finish and stain( and any grime) will wash off the wood almost as fast as you can put the Acetone on the stock. I use an aluminum pan from a pie, or other frozen food dish, to sit the stock in, and catch the acetone and crud. The Acetone will evaporate if left outside for an hour or so. The rest can be thrown away.
Let the stock rest and dry for a day- preferably in the sun, before washing it to lift up the whiskers, then scrape the whiskers off before applying wood fillers.Once the fillers dry, and you sand the stock to desired finish, stain it using an alcohol based stain, if desired, and then apply your favorite wood finish.
If the wood had scratches or dents in the stock finish, most of them will be gone just from the stripping operation. Scraping the whiskers off usually removes the rest.
Deep dents that are left can be lifted out by applying steam. Use a wet cloth against the wood and apply heat with an iron. That keeps the surface of the iron clean, so you don't have to clean it before it can be used to iron clothes, again. Doing this also keeps everyone in the house who uses that iron on clothes happy, too.
Keep wetting the rag when it dries out, and keep applying the heat to the dent. The Deeper the dent, the longer it takes to lift. It will lift up to the surface in time, and you can then sand it to make it even with the rest of the wood around the former dent. :thumbsup:
I recommend using Acetone to strip the entire stock. Then refinish. Just do this is a well ventilated location- as in OUTDOORS!-- and stay upwind of the stock, as you use a cheap- very cheap- plastic paint brush to wipe the stuff down the stock.
Start at the top, and let the drips help remove the finish below. It takes only a few minutes. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the stuff. The finish and stain( and any grime) will wash off the wood almost as fast as you can put the Acetone on the stock. I use an aluminum pan from a pie, or other frozen food dish, to sit the stock in, and catch the acetone and crud. The Acetone will evaporate if left outside for an hour or so. The rest can be thrown away.
Let the stock rest and dry for a day- preferably in the sun, before washing it to lift up the whiskers, then scrape the whiskers off before applying wood fillers.Once the fillers dry, and you sand the stock to desired finish, stain it using an alcohol based stain, if desired, and then apply your favorite wood finish.
If the wood had scratches or dents in the stock finish, most of them will be gone just from the stripping operation. Scraping the whiskers off usually removes the rest.
Deep dents that are left can be lifted out by applying steam. Use a wet cloth against the wood and apply heat with an iron. That keeps the surface of the iron clean, so you don't have to clean it before it can be used to iron clothes, again. Doing this also keeps everyone in the house who uses that iron on clothes happy, too.
Keep wetting the rag when it dries out, and keep applying the heat to the dent. The Deeper the dent, the longer it takes to lift. It will lift up to the surface in time, and you can then sand it to make it even with the rest of the wood around the former dent. :thumbsup:
It's just my opinion but, it is almost impossible for the average person to get a perfect match between a freshly worked area and the adjacent untouched area on a piece of wood.
As a bare minimum I think you should remove all of the finish on the side of the stock you intend to reshape, at least up to the wrist, the center of the comb and the bottom .
Better yet, do as the others have suggested and remove all of the finish from the stock, sand very lightly and refinish the entire thing at one time.
As a bare minimum I think you should remove all of the finish on the side of the stock you intend to reshape, at least up to the wrist, the center of the comb and the bottom .
Better yet, do as the others have suggested and remove all of the finish from the stock, sand very lightly and refinish the entire thing at one time.
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