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Refinishing an old Remington stock?

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Farmer17

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I've kinda been wanting a Remington pump rifle and stopped in a pawn shop and found an old 760 pump in .270 caliber with a cheap Tasco scope in see-through mounts. The rifle was a bit more worn than I would normally consider buying but the price was $329 and the salesman later said he would take $275 plus tax. I would say the gun was in 80-85% shape and the metal had a few worn areas but no deep scratches, and the front bead sight was ground off but a new one could be slipped in the dovetail. The stock had some minor scratches but the epoxy finish had some small chips in it. I think I could Blue Wonder the rifle and have the metal in acceptable shape but don't know about refinishing a poly-coated stock. I like an occasional science project but definitely don't want to put much money in it.
 
It will be a lot of work and patience/time to try and duplicate the old Remington Poly stock finish. That finish is very very thick!

You can completely remove it. Finish Sand it and refinish with 3 to 4 coats of spray poly. (or rub on) Or you can just use a Tru Oil finish. Trying to fix the damaged parts will never match or look right. Kinda all or nothing.;) Any sanding be careful not to change the angles of the stock.

It is all a matter of how much time and effort you want to put into a $300 rifle.??

Some kits and how to: Yhe MB kit comes with LONG detailed instructions like a good winter project.

Miles Gilbert Advanced Stock Refinishing Kit

Stock Refinishing - Part I | World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools - BROWNELLS
 
I've done several Remington stocks using a variant of the Rule3 recommended method. Strip it, sand it, stain it (to your taste) and then endless coats of linseed or tung oil. The result is always far better than the Remington original.

Ed
 
I'd remove the stock and then soak it in something to get that poly off. I think I recall reading that the oven cleaner "Easy Off" will work, although it might well take more than one application. Then hand sand it. I'd give it an oil finish.

I know you said you didn't want to put too much effort into it, but how about a little effort over a long time? Not too painful done that way, and the results will please.:)
 
5-Shot said:
I've done several Remington stocks using a variant of the Rule3 recommended method. Strip it, sand it, stain it (to your taste) and then endless coats of linseed or tung oil. The result is always far better than the Remington original.

Ed
Click to expand...

This, if you like a non shiny finish and Tru-Oil for the shiny finish that approximates a lot of factory finishes.

I think I like the tung oil finish a bit better. :)
 
The old Remington finish is not "poly" {short for polyurethane???} it is epoxy and you will need to use aircraft grade stripper to remove it. I have done it and it takes some time and repeated coats of the stripper. Why not just find {I hate it when some moron says "all ya gotta do"} a decent used stock and replace it. The same stock was used on several Remington guns including the 20 ga. 1100. Gunbroker or ebay should have one just keep checking. Suggest you check the barrel mount nut on that rifle...they were known to come loose and you wont hit anything when that happens. Love that rifle, I have one I rebarreled to a 260. Nothing else has lines even close.
 
I use Jasco Premium in a spray from Lowes. It will dissolve anything. Do not use OVEN CLEANER. Use a product intended for the job. Let it work, scrape it off, apply again until the finsih is gone. Follow directions wear eye protection and gloves outside.

As mentioned, a second hand or after market stock may be a better option if you do not feel up to the "work" I enjoy it so no big deal to me.

Shop Jasco 1-Gallon Premium Paint and Epoxy Remover at Lowes.com
 
Nothing better to shoot than one you have brought back to life , found some good shooters over the years and had some fun doing it!
 
I usually scrape the old finishes off now including any space-age type epoxy types.
It's actually quite a fast process. Very clean as compared to using stipper soln's, which I've also done a lot of in the past.

A very sharp knife blade held at right angle to the wood is all that's needed. I use a common pocket knife quite often,,nothing fancy.

Use both hands on the blade,,your extra hand holds the tip of the blade and gives you control.
You can scrape on the forward or the backward cut. Use the thumb of the hand holding the knife to back up the blade and control the contact with the surface.
Nice clean curls of old finish are removed with each sweep accross the wood. Cross grain,,with the grain,,it doesn't matter. Choke up on the knife & blade to get into tight spots and concave areas. Light strokes are the best.
Old brittle finishes like shellac will sometimes break up upon removal but most just curl like planed wood. But you don't remove any wood unless you want to.

Leave the butt stock attched to the rec'vr. Leave the bbl attached to the frame and lock the bbl securely in a vise. That'll leave both hands free to control the knife.
After you get comfortable with the process,,you can sit down with just the stock in your lap to scape it down.
A 'cabinet scaper' wood working tool does the same thing. It's just that most people don't have one lying around & they can be a mystery to sharpen for some.

I go right to 220 or 280 grit garnet paper after scraping the wood. Then 320. That's good for most any factory style refinish on a production gun.
It shouldn't take all that long to prepare a butt stock & forend if there are no repairs or oil soaking to take care of.
Yes it's fun to bring one back to life. I still enjoy it and find myself spending time on some that are not really worth it in the long run. But I just can't seem to let them go.
 
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If your going to use sandpaper watch the sharp edges on angles. Nothing turns me off more than a nice stock with rounded edges, it just makes it so obvious.

Oven cleaner is for ovens, not wood. It will dry the wood out so much it might split.

Tru oil is a wonderful product.
 
vonn said:
Nothing better to shoot than one you have brought back to life , found some good shooters over the years and had some fun doing it!
Click to expand...

Yep, me too. Neat to take an oldie but goodie out and kill a nice deer or bear with it too, especially when you brought it back from the dead. Kinda like reliving the old days. We don't think much of the 30-30 as a high powered rifle these days but at one time it was the most powerful rifle in the world. I just restored a Marlin 1893 Deluxe and will hunt with it in the upcoming season.
You really have to watch those 760 barrels...many had a very poorly made bore from the factory. If you get one and it don't shoot good groups after checking the mount nut and a good cleaning try borescoping it. Mine had less than a box fired from it and had bad rifling, that's the reason I re-barreled it.
 
I am by now means an expert when it comes to refinishing things but I have done a few stocks and pairs of pistol grips over the last few years. I simply take some Safest Stripper wood remover, follow the instructions and get all of the old finish off and then smooth it out some, then I use Tru-Oil, how much depends on the gun. I have a few that I went just the basic on, three coats which gives it a nice sheen, and then there are some I went and did four and five coats on. How much is up to you.

Remington Model 33 single shot, original stock, four coats of Tru-oil





Winchester Model 70 pre-64 Featherweight

before.........





After with three coats of Tru-oil







Ithaca 37 with four coats of Tru oil





Model 649 with three coats of Tru-oil

 
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