Stupid refinishing mistake, need advice.

[Fly103]

I messed up guys, help me out here.

While building my SMR I accidently knocked it off the bench while the last coat of finish was drying resulting in all sorts of dirt inclusions and and finish damage on the LH side of the stock. This morning I got the bright idea that I would sand back the top coat of tue oil on the fore stock and refinish it. Probably not the greatest idea I've ever had but I don't really know what I'm doing so.....

I sanded back one side of the fore stock with 220 grit until I started seeing sawdust instead of dried true oil then I final sanded it a bit with 320 and finished with 3000. Followed by rubbing in another light coat of true oil. The result is terrible, it looks like my attempt at sanding back got into the iron nitrate and I've really lightened up the color in alot of places.

So how do I fix this idiotic mistake, sand the entire stock back to bare wood, redo the iron nitrate and re oil or can I chemically strip all the Tru oil somehow and touch up the iron nitrate and re oil? I know very little about wood finishing and even less about re finishing and finish repair.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

The main thing is don't panic. If you can come up with a piece of scrap wood finish it just like you did the rifle and experiment before you sand or strip the whole stock. Sanding can open up a whole nuther can of worms. I'd try using acetone to remove the Tru Oil on a part of it and then redo the iron nitrate. I'm sure some others here have some good ideas. In hindsight, sometimes the best thing to do is to leave the damage alone and make up some hair raising hunting story as to how it happened.

 

[64Springer]

Personally speaking, I would wipe the entire thing down with acetone. Acetone dries FAST. So work in small areas. Say 6" sections. Draw as much topcoat finish out of the wood as possible.

Use lots of clean rags or paper towels. You want to rub with a fresh clean surface. If you don't use a lot of paper towels, you'll be rubbing the removed finish right back into the wood. Get it down to bare wood again. You want a very dull finish. Then stand back and see how she looks.

I doubt acetone will have any effect on the iron nitrate. And I doubt that your light sanding removed the iron nitrate that penetrated the wood.

P.S. Pour a little bit of your topcoat into a bowl and add some acetone. If they mix well then acetone is the way to go. If they separate, try mixing your topcoat with mineral spirits. I'm certain your finish will mix with mineral spirits.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

I would use a chemical stripper on the entire gun and start over from scratch. Sand smooth. Get some dark stain.... maybe red stain... and stain the wood to a uniform color first. Then get the Tru-Oil or BLO or whatever out and start finishing again. Lots of guns have "character marks", yours won't be unusual.

 

[Crow#21957]

I just done something similar. Didn't drop it but something went wrong with the finish.Widh had acetone but all I had was denatured alcohol.After getting as much finish of with the alcohol I sanded. Only took about 1 1/2hr. Then restrained looks great ready for oil finish.
All info above is good advice. Good luck and like the one guy said don't panic.

 

[rchas]

Another alternative is to get some various colors of aniline dye (I would suggest red, brown, yellow and black). mix your own color to the strength you need testing it on a scrap of wood, or the inside of the barrel channel if you don't have a scrap. Touch up the light spots and apply your finish--no need to strip the entire stock.

 

[Fly103]

Being much more cautious, I have continued on with what I was doing, wet sanding back the top finish coats using 320 grit and alcohol. Keeping it wet allowed me to more easily monitor what was happening to the stain darkness as I went. This really did alot to help me highlight the bit of curl in my plain stock.

Tonight I rubbed in a very light first coat of Tru oil and below is the result. What do you guys think? I'm happy!

Chris

 

[deerstalkert]

the sun flare will probably remain in that one spot. remember that the truoil is to be rubbed in and not left wet*.
i discovered some rasp marks after i had reached the first coat of TO on one of my SMR's. i washed out the TO with acetone and then sanded out the rasp marks. reapplied the aqua fortis and blushed it. just the one patch. took 4 coats of TO to get it almost blending. i can still see it, but others don't unless shown.
the more Tru oil you apply the darker it will get.
* lousy reading comprehension! or i am getting old and senile. you said you rubbed it in!

 

[Brazos John]

If you can, post sequential photos of your TO applications, so we can learn from your efforts.
I'm mystified by the methods and ways of stock finishing, so any new knowledge is appreciated.
Best of luck on your work.

 

[Fly103]

If you can, post sequential photos of your TO applications, so we can learn from your efforts.
I'm mystified by the methods and ways of stock finishing, so any new knowledge is appreciated.
Best of luck on your work.

If you go over to the flintlock forum, I have a build thread there.

Chris

 

[DuncNZ]

One problem with sanding wood which has a coat of anything on it is the coating of , oil, paint , whatever will quickly clog the sand paper , you are better off to scrape it with a proper scraper . You can buy scraper sets with curved scrapers , if you shop around you can get decently priced sets .

 

[Fly103]

One problem with sanding wood which has a coat of anything on it is the coating of , oil, paint , whatever will quickly clog the sand paper , you are better off to scrape it with a proper scraper . You can buy scraper sets with curved scrapers , if you shop around you can get decently priced sets .

Fortunately wet sanding helped control that. I will say I've learned alot about what to do and what not to do on this project buy I guess that's par for the course for a first build.

Next time around I'm going boiled linseed oil instead of modern miracles....

Chris

 

[oldwood]

None of the folks replying to this query , mention working with steel wool. From the 1950's forward , most containers of stripper , recommend steel wool to remove the desolved finish , to the bare wood. I don't work with chemical stains , only alcohol stains , so don't have much to say about compounds like iron oxide , and the other chemical stains. Any damaged wood , breakage that is easily fixed using alcohol stain , can be a nightmare trying to fix wood chemically stained. .......Think about it , before you stain. If you don't know the simple process using alcohol stains to enhance figured maple ,I will reprint it.............oldwood

 

[64Springer]

Fortunately wet sanding helped control that. I will say I've learned alot about what to do and what not to do on this project buy I guess that's par for the course for a first build.

Next time around I'm going boiled linseed oil instead of modern miracles....

Chris

Very wise, Grasshopper.

 

[Century to late]

Looks good nice save. I've saved all my junk stock for testing and such. Not all stocks came from the same tree unfortunately.

 

[Redlemur60]

None of the folks replying to this query , mention working with steel wool. From the 1950's forward , most containers of stripper , recommend steel wool to remove the desolved finish , to the bare wood. I don't work with chemical stains , only alcohol stains , so don't have much to say about compounds like iron oxide , and the other chemical stains. Any damaged wood , breakage that is easily fixed using alcohol stain , can be a nightmare trying to fix wood chemically stained. .......Think about it , before you stain. If you don't know the simple process using alcohol stains to enhance figured maple ,I will reprint it.............oldwood

Brillo ppads in maroon and grey as well also bronze wool

 

[Clint Meier]

OK, I'll add my 2 cents! Working with acetone is risky, it is a lipid solvent, which means it can transport some stuff dissolved in it right through your skin and directly into your blood stream, given enough exposure. Wearing heavy solvent resistant gloves is MANDATORY if you value your health. A safer alternative to remove oil finishes is to use lacquer thinner and I use coarse dark gray Scotch-Brite 7446 sanding pads, although gloves are also recommended. They do minimal wood removal as they abrade the finish off the wood surface. Scotch-Brite pads are coarse woven nylon and do not self-shred and leave little shards of steel in/on the wood's surface like steel wool does, which can later rust and cause small rust stains in damp climates. Both solvents should always be used only where you have adequate ventilation.

 

[Century to late]

OK, I'll add my 2 cents! Working with acetone is risky, it is a lipid solvent, which means it can transport some stuff dissolved in it right through your skin and directly into your blood stream, given enough exposure. Wearing heavy solvent resistant gloves is MANDATORY if you value your health. A safer alternative to remove oil finishes is to use lacquer thinner and I use coarse dark gray Scotch-Brite 7446 sanding pads, although gloves are also recommended. They do minimal wood removal as they abrade the finish off the wood surface. Scotch-Brite pads are coarse woven nylon and do not self-shred and leave little shards of steel in/on the wood's surface like steel wool does, which can later rust and cause small rust stains in damp climates. Both solvents should always be used only where you have adequate ventilation.

Totally correct

 

[senseisugarbear]

My USUAL procedure is have all the sanding done, An Old timer taught me when I was a kid starting out.( about 21) work the whole stock over with xxxx fine steel wool. clean rag it down, pour BC tru oil in your hand, then use fingers of the other hand to massage an even coat on the entire stock,Keep rubbing entire stock is smooth,WARM ,& tacky. Let rest 24hrs. stock will feel rough as the grain is being lifted. xxxx steel wool til smooth. clean rag ,more TO with fingers til warm & tacky. I repeat the procedure 5 times. I've seen some AMAZING features pulled out of the Grain & TOUGH finishes.....Be Safe >>>>>>>>>>>Wally

 

[Redlemur60]

If you value your health at all.
All the above warnings should be adhered.(laquer thinner is not ok for skin goes right tthrough your skin as it is a cold solvent) and id throw in wear respirater purple filters ! manure lungs sux! Copd sux body damage sux,especialy if you are young but hey your choice.