Wood restoration question

[DCWilson]

I'm working on a, pardon the expression, Colt .357 Model that experienced a couple of strange events in its life. The most challenging is the layer of friction substance a previous owner applied to one side of the stocks.

The covering looks like it must have been painted on and allowed to cure in place. The stuff is really solid into the checkered pattern, and while I can get it off atom by atom with a dental pick, I am afraid that I will tear some points off in the checkered field. Over the smooth portions of the wood, the stuff lifted up and could be removed with a little care. Some of the larger chips were actually still flexible; it was like sanded black latex paint had been applied, though no latex paint would have kept flexibility after all these years. (I think the treatment must be at least 20 years old, and probably closer to 50.)

Does anyone know if there was a substance available in the '50s or '60s that was advertised for this kind of use? Has anyone ever seen this kind of thing before? Can anyone recommend a solvent that might loosen it up? It does not seem to respond to Breakfree or Kroil. I was wondering about an acetone bath.

I'm really perplexed by this treatment of a fine revolver. There was also some whitish gunk dried in the bottoms of the flutes that could be partly softened with Kroil and picked out with toothpicks. Looked like dried liquid floor wax. Very strange.

If anybody cares about alien species, this model, which has no ventilated rib or underlug, is the precursor to the Python. It was made in 1956 according to the Proofhouse tables. It's not a common gun, and I'd like to get it back to something like its original state.

 

[Bruce51]

Well the acetone bath usually works. I'm thinking that in this case you might have to try some Jasco finish stripper.
It won't hurt the stocks but be sure to wear gloves and eye protection.
I prefer to tape over the medallions before starting with the stripper.
Good luck. This appears to be a worthy project.

Bruce

 

[VM]

No need to pardon the colt expression David - many us of us here like them also.
I'll second the idea to Bruce's suggestion of acetone bath. You might have to remove the grip panel periodically and brush it with a small soft wire brush to help remove the gunk in the checkering.

 

[DCWilson]

Thanks, all. It's off to the hardware store in a bit for some acetone, and I'll get the soak started.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

David,
I have had very good luck removing stuff like that with a product made by Parks called Liquid Strip. It is made just the purpose of getting old paint, varnish, etc. out of detailed work on furniture etc, and I have used it to get some nasty stuff out of the checkering on some rifle stocks that I have refinished.

 

[DCWilson]

The acetone did very well in terms of softening the friction coating; as you can see I got most of it off. There are still some dark spots that I need to work on, but this was more successful than I hoped it would be. Of course the acetone also peeled the finish underneath the goop, so I need to restore that. I got some good tips from a forum member with extensive refinishing experience who called and talked to me about this project. I'll be using his tips as I proceed.

While I had the gun out, I tore it apart and cleaned up the lockwork, which may not have happened for decades. There was a lot of grime and varnish inside, but it came clean and everything went together nicely afterward. First time I have ever opened a Colt. It's a different world in there, compared to Smiths.

I have one other Colt that needs cleaning, a well used Official Police that dates to 1944. There's some bad ring pitting in the chambers directly in front of the case shoulder, but nowhere else in the chambers or in the barrel. Corrosive ammo combined with deficient cleaning? I don't know, but I don't expect it will much affect accuracy.