Stripping and refinishing stocks

[BC38]

I have a couple of sets of stocks that are in need of a refinish. Most notably the N-frame targets that came on my recently purchased Highway Patrolman.

I've read references to cleaning them with acetone. Would it be safe to soak them in acetone - maybe even overnight - to remove the old finish?

I have a small bottle of tru-oil and I also have some boiled linseed oil. From what I've seen the tru-oil is a bit darker than the original finish, and the boiled linseed oil doesn't add much color at all. So I was thinking of mixing a teaspoon or two of each to get a lighter color than the straight tru-oil, but darker than the linseed. Anybody tried anything like that? Would it work?

[OKFC05]

I don't like to soak old stocks in any solvent because it can soak into the wood. I use fast-acting refinisher to remove old varnish and leave a lot of the color in it. I rechecker them and finish with satin polyurethane for shooters so I only have to do it once.
Restoration of rare old stock is a different matter.

[BC38]

Originally Posted by OKFC05

I don't like to soak old stocks in any solvent because it can soak into the wood. I use fast-acting refinisher to remove old varnish and leave a lot of the color in it. I rechecker them and finish with satin polyurethane for shooters so I only have to do it once.
Restoration of rare old stock is a different matter.

That is the kind of feedback I'm looking for from the folks who are good at working with wood. I figured that if they were soaked in it, the acetone (like pretty much any other liquid) would soak into the wood, but wasn't sure that would be a problem. Especially since it will evaporate out so fast once they are taken out of the liquid.

What would acetone soaking into the wood do to it anyway? Will it harm it in some way?

Obviously I'm not much of a wood-worker. Much more of a metal-work``er & fabricator...

[les.b]

I just went through the same thing... Check out my thread: New to me Highway Patrolman...Next to the Last, Almost Final Update, Sept. 10th, 2016

I don't really get around to stripping the stocks until about post 69 or so. Also, I used Homer Formby's "Tung Oil". Better than Linseed. But as you read through some of the posts, you will see that some posters came up with something that may be better yet. I bought some, but haven't tried it yet.

Ask me any questions that you have. BTW, I soaked mine in acetone, and they dry in seconds after removing them from the bath. The acetone does not hurt the wood.

[geddylee10002000]

You might want to look at the stickys at the beginning of this sub forum. There is a real nice one detailing the process that one of our forum members went through. It is in the noteable threads at the top. Hope this helps.

[BC38]

Originally Posted by les.b

I just went through the same thing... Check out my thread: New to me Highway Patrolman...Next to the Last, Almost Final Update, Sept. 10th, 2016

I don't really get around to stripping the stocks until about post 69 or so. Also, I used Homer Formby's "Tung Oil". Better than Linseed. But as you read through some of the posts, you will see that some posters came up with something that may be better yet. I bought some, but haven't tried it yet.

Ask me any questions that you have. BTW, I soaked mine in acetone, and they dry in seconds after removing them from the bath. The acetone does not hurt the wood.

Great info Les - thanks! Looks like mine may be taking the acetone bath after seeing what it did for yours.

I'm not a huge fan of tung oil - like the Tru-oil it is a little dark for m taste. Also for some reason the smell of tung oil almost gags me. I read the other suggestions in your thread, and some of those finishes sound great. Unfortunately I don't have any of them, just the Tru-oil & the boiled linseed oil.

Anybody have thoughts on the idea of mixing the Tru-oil with boiled linseed oil to get a color that is in-between the two?

[BC38]

Originally Posted by geddylee10002000

You might want to look at the stickys at the beginning of this sub forum. There is a real nice one detailing the process that one of our forum members went through. It is in the noteable threads at the top. Hope this helps.

geddylee10002000! The originator of the infamous thread drift thread!?!

I have to ask, I know who the original geddylee is, but what is the significance of the 10002000 number?

Anyway, I'll check out the stickies - thanks for the suggestion.

[2152hq]

Soaking in acetone won't hurt the wood as mentioned.
I use lacquer thinner instead of acetone to soak wood stocks in if I need to clear them of oil and it'll take most old finishes off too.
It's cheaper to buy and I reuse the stuff. It doesn't evaporate on me while I'm looking at it!

Some stocks I've let soak for days they are so oil saturated (old SxS stocks). Pistol grips I just put in a jar of the stuff. Shotgun and rifle stocks I double plastic bag heavey duty freezer bags, put the stock(s) inside and pout in some lac thinner. Then roll up the bag and you can cover the wood inside with a lot less thinner than if you try and fill a large container that the stock(s) will fit into.
I still place the whole thing inside a bucket just in case I puncture the bag and the stuff runs out.
(I usually still cover with whiting powder after that to draw the last vestige of oil from these beauties. But pistol grips and shotgun forends can usually be cleared with just the soaking)


The lacquer thinner will dry from the wood inside and out completely in about 30min once pulled from the stuff. I usually let them hang for a day anyway,
If acetone,,it'll dry in a a couple minutes.

You can mix a little boiled linseed oil w/TruOil,,it'll just slow down the drying time. TruOil is a linseed oil based varnish is all,,nothing spaceage secret there.
I don't care for it personally but many have great results with it.

I do like the Tung Oil Varnish like Formbys. I've used it on everything from small projects to full restorations and custom projects.
Like TruOil with it's linseed oil base,,,Formbys is a Varnish made with Tung oil as the oil base. There is really very little %Tung oil in it,, some will say it has none! but that comes from a WoodWorking Magazine article a few years back and just gets regurgitated on the net forever. Formbys is diluted w/ mineral spirits to a so called wiping varnish consistancy for DIY furniture refin use. It might be the mineral spirits smell that bothers you in the stuff.
It does dry much faster than TruOil.

What really makes any 'varnish finish' harder, more water or wear resistant, ect is the resin used in the varnish.
Can be anything from a natural compound to a man made chemical compound. Some are better than others at doing certain things.
Some color wood, some change color over time, some crack and craze, some wear easier than others.
The oil in the varnish is the vehicle to be able to apply the varnish to the wood. It drys and then givens what ever added protection it can beyond what the dryed resin does. Linseed is at the bottom of the scale,,Tung oil is more towards the top.
Other ingredients in the varnishes are driers and solvents.

Adding more of the base oil to the varnish like more linseed to the TruOil, creats a 'long oil' varnish. Varnishes are catagorized by short, med, and long oil types. The short oil is less oil in the mix. Dries the quickest, but can leave the resin coating brittle, less able to move with the wood & humidity changes. Long oil varnishes have the most oil in the mix,,they dry the slowest.
You hear about the extra slow drying furniture finishes of old sometimes,,just heavy on the oil. But they do allow for the resins (certain ones) to remain elastic and remain smoother over time.
They dry to a higher gloss generally due to the slow dry time.
Not all resins are compatible with short. med and long oil mixtures,,especially the man made resins often used now.

It's quite a science to come up with something that protects, goes on easy, drys quick and finishes out with little or no work afterwards.
That's what the average homeowner/refinisher wants.
The DIY industry drives most of what you see on the shelves in the stores.

FWIW,,shellac is a varnish too. 'Spirit Varnish',
Alcohol based instead of oil based. The resin is the crushed up and desolved laq bugs in the alcohol 'vehicle'.
It was a very common wood finish in the gun industry and many US and foreign sporting arms stocks were finished with nothing but shellac (usually orange shellac).

You can build a finish on a piece of wood with any liquid that will dry. No secret science in that. If you are doing restoration or matching old work, you pick and choose and sometimes combine finishes to get the exact look you want for the piece.

Just some thoughts

[glowe]

Acetone is and was never intended as a varnish remover. Use what is designed and sold to do the job. Paint removers are formulated to lift finishes quickly and easily, so why not use them. They are gel and will hold the remover against the wood and not dry out.

The only real advantage to using Acetone is when you have oil soaked wood. By repeated immersion, acetone will pull oils out to a certain extent, but will also soak totally into the wood, saturating it and diluting the oil by spreading it throughout the wood.

Tru-Oil will normally give wood a glossy finish, while you can get satin Poly and Tung Oil if desired. Original finishes to S&W stocks seem to include the use of either some type of grain filler or repeated applications of finish to fill the pores. I suspect that the company did not put on 5 or 6 coats necessary to fill all the grain, so would suspect wood filler.

PM DWFAN, one of our premier stock restorers, and I am sure he would be happy to give you some solid advise for your N frame stocks.

[gwpercle]

Don't soak the stocks in any solvent . If the wood fibers absorb the stuff it might affect the new finish. Apply solvent with a rag and wipe off excess. No extended soaking.
Tung oil is a very good finish. After refinishing an old oak table and chairs with Min-Wax Tung Oil Finish , it came out so well I started using it on gun stocks, over the years I've tried all the commercial and a few home made finishes.....Min-Wax Tung Oil has them all beat , even my old favorite True-Oil. True-Oil isn't bad and I used it for decades , but I like how Tung Oil goes on and looks when done just a tiny bit better.
Gary

[kbm6893]

I got an old Model 60 a few months ago and the stocks were really funky. There's a member on here that is very knowledgeable. I soaked those stocks in acetone for like 2 days. Taking them out, they dried immediately. I applied a few coats of boiled linseed oil that I used on my M1 Garand stocks. They came out great.

[BC38]

2152hq, thanks for the very detailed answer. I learn new stuff every time I'm on here.

As for why to use acetone, Tru-oil and boiled linseed oil, there is one primary reason. I already have them. I don't have Minwax Tung Oil - or any other tung oil, nor do I have any gel finish stripper. As stated before, I'm not a woodworker, and to add to that, I also have no desire to become one. I just have a couple of old sets of stocks that look pretty beat up, or look ratty because they have little (or none) of their original finish left, and/or what finish is left is damaged.

Just to clarify, I am not doing a restoration - not even close to trying to. I just want to protect the wood and make it look presentable. These are not collector guns. I don't have any collector pieces - I like shooters. I just want them to look decent and to prevent further deterioration of the wood. I also don't want to put a lot of time or money into shooter grade guns. I'm happy to do what I reasonably and inexpensively can to clean and spiff them up, but they'll never be collectors so trying to actually restore the stocks is trying to make the proverbial silk purse from a sow's ear - not gonna happen.

The post by les.b with the link to the thread about refinishing his HP stocks lines up nicely with what I am attempting to do - in fact, one of the guns I'm working on is even an HP! His experience with successfully soaking stocks in acetone to remove the finish without damaging the wood answered that question. The fact that it was seconded by others adds more evidence to the efficacy and safety of that technique.

The info that 2152hq posted about Tru-oil, linseed oil, tung oil, and oil finishes in general completely answered my questions about mixing the two ingredients I already have to try to get a slightly lighter color finish. I think I'm good to go with the info in hand guys. Thanks to all for contributing!

You guys are the best - and a real wealth of knowledge!

[cowboy4evr]

I have refinished a few sets of wood grips in the past . I always used "Citrus Strip " . It's a water based solvent , smells like oranges (non toxic) . It does not evaporate quickly like petroleum based . Leave it on overnight , the old finish just wipes right off . Most all Ace Hdwe stores carry it . Mini Wax Tung Oil is what I have used for years . It is , in my opinion the best . Good Luck

[tlay]

Do yourself a favor if you use Tru-oil. Dilute the tru-oil 50-50 with mineral spirits to do the checkering. If you don't you will fill it in and it will look bad. I do the flat areas first and save the checkering for last.

[BC38]

Originally Posted by tlay

Do yourself a favor if you use Tru-oil. Dilute the tru-oil 50-50 with mineral spirits to do the checkering. If you don't you will fill it in and it will look bad. I do the flat areas first and save the checkering for last.

Thanks for the tip!

[geddylee10002000]

You will have to post pics. I for one would be interested in yor results.

[Cardboard_killer]

I asked the family for a set of ahrands combat n-frames unfinished so I could finish them myself. I have been very fond of waterlox brand tung oil-varnish.