doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stock Dent Rising Trick

Has anyone here have any experience with the age-old shotgun fixit for raising a dent in a stock by laying a damp cloth over the area and running a warm/hot iron over the area to slowly raise the dent?

If so, could you please elaborate on the process and efficacy, please?

Many Thanks - KK

If the fibers have been shattered by the dent, the technique won't be nearly as effective as when the dent only stretched the fibers of the grain. In the latter, it can work quite well.

I use the pointed end of the iron, and try to hold it exactly on the dent and not the surrounding wood. You don't want to raise the surrounding area, just the dent itself. It will raise little ones quite well, but I have had limited success with deep dents. They come up some, but not all the way.

I'd like to hear more suggestions about the process, too.

SRH

Understand there are a lot of variables. Some of the newer finishes as used on the Citori don't take heat well and discolor. Does not help much if wood fibers are broken, etc. Best left to a professional?

It works well on dents, as long as the grain isn't broken. Small irons like the type used for mounting pictures are available, that's what I use. Many use alcohol instead of water. It's pretty simple, fold a piece of cloth a couple times, saturate, and iron away. I've always done it on stocks after the finish has been stripped.

I've just bought this. This should also work for stock dents, as well as barrel touch up.

https://www.amazon.com/Comforday-Handhel...olstery+steamer

Regards
Ken

I use rubbing alcohol and a lighter with great results and no it will not char the wood. Bobby

Bobby,

You just saturate the dent and light it off?

SRH

A shallow dent where the wood fibers are not broken can often be completely raised as if it was never there. And even dents made by contact with sharp objects such as rocks, where the wood fibers are damaged, can be raised somewhat and much improved in appearance. Naturally, if a chip of wood is missing, steaming isn't going to do a damn thing.

Dent raising is best done during a refinishing process after the old finish has been stripped, because stock finish will prevent water from penetrating into the damaged area. Trying to raise a dent by steaming a polyurethane finished stock will not work as well because those finishes are much more water resistant than older oil and varnish finishes.

I used to use an old steam iron, but found that it worked better to make dedicated dent raising irons of different sizes out of flattened copper rod and copper tubing with wooden handles. You can heat these irons with a stove burner or propane torch. Water soaked pads work well, but I found that regular 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol works better. It helps a lot to allow the alcohol to soak into the damaged area for a while before applying the hot irons over a damp pad. By doing this, you are generating steam from within the wood rather than trying to drive steam down into the wood. It is the rapid expansion of liquid into steam that raises the dent. The wet pad is necessary to prevent scorching the wood surface. Note that alcohol will dissolve shellac finishes, so greater care must be taken if you are attempting a spot repair without a complete refinish.

As with any home gunsmithing project, I'd suggest practicing on an old broken stock before tackling Grandpa's Parker. You can create more dents in the practice stock to learn what works best.

edit: Forgot to mention that it may take several steamings to get the dent raised as much as possible. As long as progress is being made, keep going. I've hit some stubborn dents 5 or 6 times.

I think we covered it here. But I will say that patience and repetition will produce results in this respect. Good luck!

What, exactly, is an "iron". Does it have something to do with starched shirts??

Stan I use q-tip and saturate dent it takes several times to burn finish off in deeper dents.Just keed doing it and it will raise the wood back up. Bobby

I soak the dented area with a small patch of cloth saturated w/water for a time to get the fibers softened up.
Then use the same wet patch w/a soldering gun (much more heat and easier for me to use) pressed into it over the dent to generate the heat & steam.
Works well, can be tedious work sometimes no matter the method. But well worth the time to restore rather than rasping, sanding and filling.
I like the alcohol treatment..!

Some of the MilSurp rifle restortion folks put the nasty grease and cosmoline soaked wood parts into the dishwasher to clean them off (if they'll fit!) and raise dents from the stocks.
They say it works well, but one of the 'problems' they have is that the stamped arsenal markings (dents really) in the wood end up raised to the surface and usually above the surface.

They see it as a real problem,,it may be something usable for raising dents of a more natural usage occurrence. Never tried it in either case, but it's a thought. The extreme hot water and dry cycle would be the key I'd guess.

Yes. Exactly. But, irons come in many shapes and sizes, with other applications than with just clothes. As Keith noted, you can also make your own for specific applications.

Regards
Ken

bill, yes you got it right.

Perhaps I should have mentioned from the first that the dent in question is on the stock of my Alex Henry .450 31/4" double. The wood's finish is (perhaps)ancient linseed oil and maybe whatever the Indian upper caste member used on the rifles in his arsenal (its stamped "15" on the other side).