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Old 10-04-2012, 09:59 PM
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Arrh! need to refinish classic shotgun-suggestions please Arrh! need to refinish classic shotgun-suggestions please Arrh! need to refinish classic shotgun-suggestions please Arrh! need to refinish classic shotgun-suggestions please Arrh! need to refinish classic shotgun-suggestions please  
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Default Arrh! need to refinish classic shotgun-suggestions please

This 1934 Remington Model 31 factory riot needs to have the wood refinished because the finish at the comb has flaked off.

What would the Forum suggest?
Tru-Oil will bring out the excellent quartersawn grain.
But this is a working gun and a dull dark varnish is how it left the factory



Middle of these three:

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Old 10-04-2012, 10:04 PM
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I think I's steel wool the area to take the finish down smooth, then try to match the aged wood by hand rubbing with oil.
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:06 PM
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I think I's steel wool the area to take the finish down smooth, then try to match the aged wood by hand rubbing with oil.
Its flaking off like a bad sunburn
Let's assume all of it needs to go
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:11 PM
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use stripper until it's all gone, then tru oil LOTS of coats, and burnish with 0000 steel or synthetic wool to take the shine off.
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:14 PM
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use stripper until it's all gone, then tru oil LOTS of coats, and burnish with 0000 steel or synthetic wool to take the shine off.
Sounds good
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:16 PM
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Sand with increasingly finer grit till you hit virgin wood, sponge dust off between sanding, let dry for 48 hours after last sponge, then refinish with stain of your choice.
Last step is to oil or use polyurathane if you want a hi gloss.

ETA:
here's an old Ivers I refinished (metal and wood) for a fellow.
Before:


After:
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:22 PM
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Quote:
then refinish with stain of your choice.
I do not like stain.
Plain Tru-Oil has given me very good results
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:31 PM
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I do not like stain.
Plain Tru-Oil has given me very good results
Then follow all sanding steps and then hand rub True oil rather than stain.
Biggest thing is to remove all the old finish, otherwise you'll get splotching.
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:50 PM
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It may be nothing more than shellac finish. Test a spot with a q-tip or small patch dampened with alcohol and see if it disolves it.
Orange shellac was a popular finish in the 30's. Applied by french polishing it on, the original finish can be matched in if done carefully.

Looks like there's a lot of original finish left, if you can work with it, I'd repair the area. You can always strip and finish.

It may be a varnish. Those are tough to match up being so old, the newer area tends to show no matter how carefully you try and blend it in.

In that case I'd strip it, but not with a chemical,,but by scraping it. You can clear the surface in a matter of 20minutes with nothing more than a very sharp straight blade knife. It leaves the surface very smooth and ready for a quick sanding at 220, then 320.
Scrape & sand w/ butt plate on the wood. Carefull around the inletted front edges you don't round them over.

I wouldn't go much finer than that for a factory look on a 31.
Match the color to the forend if needed by staining with oil stain.

Then I'd coat with either tung oil varnish or orange shellac. The varnish full strength,,the shellac thinned 50/50. Each applied with a small cloth patch quickly to cover the surface.
The varnish will take 12 to 24hr to dry. The shellac dry to the touch in a few minutes but I don't re-coat w/o waiting 4 or 5 hrs.

The shellac needs no roughing up between coats. The varnish benefits from it. Fine scotchbrite for that avoids steel wool fibers stuck in the wood pores.
You don't want the wood pores completely filled on a factory pump gun stock, so no filler, sanding in the finish,,any of that here.

After 4 or 5 coats of either,,let it cure for a couple extra days. You'll have some lines in the finish from the hand application. Swipe them away with some 800 to 1000 grit paper.
I use it dry in small squares. When they load up, toss them and use another. When the surface is smooth enough,,very gently polish it down a bit and blend everything in with 0000 steel wool.
The surface is hard now and you won't have any problems with the steel wool flecks sticking in the finish.

Look it over and if it needs any more finish,,now is the time. If not, dot the surface with a tiny bit of Linseed oil,,the drying type (artist linseed from the crafts shop has worked well for me).
Rub that around and then dust a very light touch of lamp black powder,,powdered black chalk,,charcoal dust,,anything black and dust onto the linseed and rub that out with the oil.

Let it dry for a 12hrs,,rub it out again (it'll still be tacky),,again for a day or so,,now it'll start to take a shine with the black being down in the pores of the wood.
That's why we didn't fill the pores up to begin with. It'll give the wood the look of a field grade shotgun with a bit of handling and use.

Add another extremely light rubbed out coat of linseed after a week the same way as the first. No lamp black if you don't want to,,or add it if you want to darken the stock a touch more.
Let everything dry and cure for a few more days, rubbing down the stock occasionally with just your hands or even a paper towel.

Hope this helps.
This is how I've done field grade shotguns and rifle stocks from that era.
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Old 10-04-2012, 10:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 35Rem View Post
use stripper until it's all gone, then tru oil LOTS of coats, and burnish with 0000 steel or synthetic wool to take the shine off.
I agree with this. You don't want a high gloss finish on this gun, it wont look period correct. The tru-oil will seal the wood and protect it, then burnishing with fine steel wool will take the high gloss off down to a satin, hand rubbed appearance. The grain will still show thru well. Go slow with the wool though paying attention to keep it even and not cut thru the tru-oil. Also be careful where the stock meets the receiver and but plate not to round over the edge or the fit will be effected and the refinish will be obvious. I have used this same process with good success. Good thing is you have no checkering to deal with. Checkering can be a pita to strip and to finish without damaging it.

Last edited by skeeterbait; 10-04-2012 at 10:55 PM.
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Old 10-04-2012, 11:11 PM
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Quote:
Checkering can be a pita to strip and to finish without damaging it.
I know about checkering being PITA:
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Old 10-04-2012, 11:54 PM
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Very nice work, Bush.
Easy off?
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Old 10-05-2012, 06:19 AM
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Very nice work, Bush.
Easy off?
Homer Formsby and steel wool followed by Tru Oil
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Old 10-05-2012, 08:12 AM
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Nice project to have before you. I would agree that a partial refinish is in order to preserve what remains. As the years pass, I tend to prefer to preserve/conserve what is still intact. In the future, you can always strip, scrape and redo. But it is is all clearly your choice.

As for me, I would carefully sand with #400 or so to smooth the edges of bare area and then bring back with some light coats of well thinned tru oil or Formby low gloss tung finish. Then bring that refinished area down in gloss with 0000 steel wool. Perhaps finally a very thinned coat of tru oil or the Formby over the entire surface, since you say it is a working gun.

Best of luck,

Dyson
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Old 10-05-2012, 09:03 PM
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A beautiful gun just the way it is. Of course I greatly admire guns that had to work for a living and has the wear to prove it. But if it were my gun and stock finish was mandatory I have had great sucsess using a spray on varnish available from the local hardware stores. This is as close to an original finish as I have ever been able to find. Tru-oil is great but unlike the original finish. Just my 2 cents worth.
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