doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Checkering finish removal

Some time in the far distant past, an unsightly layer of finish was applied to the wrist checkering on my 1949 Ithaca Knick SBT.

I would like to remove this layer of finish but only as it covers the checkering pattern. I have received excellent advice here on many other projects and so this is where I start. How do I go about removing this finish? I do plan to recut the checkering after I get the finish cut back.

Just go ahead and recut the checkering right through what is there.
Trying to remove the finish that is just on the diamonds and not disturb anything outside the pattern is tedious. It usually results in some finish being removed
elsewhere outside the pattern.
Then you are in for touching up the stock finish itself.
That can be simple, or it can be one of those jobs that starts as a small couple of spots and ends up being an entire refinish.

It almost looks like a spray finish was applied over the stock and checkering together at some point.
Depending on what it is , it may lift at the edges of the checkering borders as you recut and chip/peel off of the surface of the adjacent wood surface as well.
..and it may be just the pic that makes it look as though it is..

You may not need to re-cut if you get the old finish out. Tape off the surrounding area with painters tape. Then working in small areas apply some Citri Stip and use a soft brass brush to remove the old grime and finish. Clean up per directions and apply a thin coat of oil finish to the panel. These instuctions are from Dennis Earle Smith.

I would follow Kutters approach. Checkering tools seem to work better for me when there’s finish in the checkering.

If you clean every other line of checkering for me it's less confusing so I stay in the correct cut.

Clean the checkering out first. You may not need to re-cut the checkering once it's clean. If you want to re-cut with finish then put some on first.

If it’s shellac you can remove it with alcohol.

I do think what I am about to say will not be good. I have performed this cleaning up chequering twice after the finish was applied liberally to the chequering, to remove it by cleaning each individual line is time consuming and tedious at best. Also there is the case of a slip with the checkering tool, not to mention the differing colour between the rest of the stock and the newly cleaned the chequering. To save all that angst and soul destroying repetitive effort strip the stock and chequering and re finish the stock, or get someone else to do it.
Either way it will be a painfull experience.

Good luck witch ever you decide to do.
Ernie