Need some advise on my finished stock

[labrat]

99% completed woodsrunner and I put a dent in the stock (!#&@). Just finished drying a 6 coat finish of Tried & True. The dent is a smooth shallow circle about a 3rd the size of a dime. My question is with the newly applied finish will it cause damage to try and steam it out right now? Or should I wait and let it cure until hardened? Thanks for any advise........Labrat

 

[rafterob]

To steam it out the finish must be removed. I would do it now. Use some alcohol and remove a minimum area to be steamed. Unless you have something smaller than an iron, the area will need to be that large. I was smart enough to knock over and step on a rifle I just finished (on my rough asphalt driveway). Many curse words erupted from my mouth. I had to re-do pretty much the whole forestock on the right side. took a few days but came out fine.

 

[waksupi]

Try steaming it as-is. I've done it on a lot of finished stocks. Nothing to lose.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Pretty much can guarantee you will really regret trying to “steam out” the dent at this point. You do have a lot to lose, actually.

 

[reddogge]

Sometimes the cure is worse than the problem. I'd leave it as it will become dented with use pretty quickly. Maybe take a picture to let us see it.

 

[Johnny Too-Tall]

Shoot it. If it isn't dinged up its not used enough.

 

[ChuckJonesWagon]

My BIL is a cabnet maker. He told me that for dents that do not tear the wood, to just dab on some water and let it alone for a bit. This is on non-finished wood.

The water absorbs into the wood and the wood will raise back up. It has worked every time I needed it to.

 

[IanH]

Shoot it. If it isn't dinged up its not used enough.

Best answer yet. I seem to put more dings in stocks and scratches on metal in the last few stages of finishing a rifle than I do in a year of field use. Consider it "distressing", and maybe give the dent a few "friends" and darken it a little so it doesn't look lonely or fresh.

 

[labrat]

Thank you all again for your thoughts and opinions on my situation. I think i'll bite the bullet and let the dent stay. The tried & true has many coats already protecting it from water preparation. So it would require me to remove it, which is the last thing I want to do, and I believe I would cause even more issues. Wood working is a nightmare for me. Any way I found out today that I may have to sell the rifle as my grand daughter didn't get all the college grants she thought so I told her I would cover it. Thanks..........Labrat

 

[wiscoaster]

I agree with doing nothing. The last thing you want to do is spot-remove finish. Chances are after some use it won't be all that noticeable to anyone but you. Hope you have some fun shooting it first if you decide to sell.