doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com stock finish remover

I want to stain and refinish a stock that has what looks to be tru-oil or some other similar type finish. there does not appear to be any stain in the wood. what is the best type of finish remover for a re-stain and refinish job such as this.

thanks,

Formby's...Geo

Geo, would Formby's work with a poly finish?

I've got an 1960s Browning A5 that I'm about to undertake a refinish on.

I used citristrip to take my AyA 4/53 back to the bare wood. It worked great to take off a a relatively thick poly re-finish.

I always looked at Formby products mostly as products for Nimrods...

Formby should have called Tung Oil...Dung Oil

They say the non toxic Citrus Strip will cut the epoxy/poly finishes...I've got a gun I need to try it on just been too busy to worry about it.

Never heard of them....more along the lines of the Elmer Fudds.

I used citristrip for removing this poly finish:. [/u]

[u]

A formby product would work on Poly, but it is a more gentle treatment and would take longer...Geo

Nice...Is that an after and before pic ?

No. The first picture is the poly finish. Second one is with finish removed.

I did a traditional alkanet stain, slakum oil finish on it. Several missteps along the way, but it came out nice and I learned a lot


This is after:

Woodreaux,

can i ask where you obtained the alkanet stain and slackum?

It looks from the before and after that the alkanet enhanced the existing figure, which was nice, yes? how many coats of stain did you apply.

very nice refinish.

thanks for posting
John

For my project, I wanted to stay as traditional as possible, and I made my own oil mixes. As you may know, everyone has their own brew. I borrowed heavily, read widely, and tried several things. Some better than others.

The "Damascus" page on here has lots of information. Ernie, aka Damascus, does a great job of detailing his method, and he has a long background in the trade to back up his ideas. Not to mention some beautiful pictures of stocks he has finished.
[I just spent about 15 minutes trying to find the Damascus page, so I thought I would link to it here. Its hidden in the FAQ forum page. Not to be confused with the FAQ tab...
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=415289#Post415289]

I made my slakum with linseed, beeswax, carnuba wax, Venetian turps, and lavender oil. I can look up my exact recipe if you are interested. It's the whiskey bottle in the picture below.


For the alkanet oil, I infused linseed and pine turpentine with alkanet powder that I bought online, I think from Amazon. I found that the process of infusion could be sped up a little if I just oversaturated it and then decanted the oil after the root settled. In tried lots of different ratios, and had a 1:1 turp:linseed oil mix that I used in early coats.

My starting place was this e-book from Nik Kypridemos. I didn't follow everything exactly, but it is very detailed, and he will respond to questions by email.
Linseed Oil Finish: The simple, fast way to a hand rubbed oil finish https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GMSSNUC/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_vTzXDbVTN0E0J

I also tried the CCL mix, but I didn't really like it. Firstly because I wanted to know what was in it, and it doesn't say. Secondly, the red oil was pretty weak sauce. Thirdly, the hardener seemed to cause problems with the 'glair' (eggwhite derivative) that I used for a pore filler.




More recently I bought a bottle of "London Blend" from SB Williams. I have not tried it yet, but I plan to give it a go. I'm not sure what to make of the label that calls it a "foul weather varnish". I think he sells an alkanet oil as well.

Jim,

many thanks for the posting and advice. i saw the root powder on amazon or was it ebay. i,ll try your formula after i strip this stock. the key i think is experimentation, what works, and keeping good notes for remembering.

the finish on the wood now looks like truoil, hard and shiney. the wood has nice figure but needs something, like alkanet, to enhance the contrast.

many thanks,

John

McWilliams did make an alcanet oil, and it works well. His other products have work well so far also. Help, and nice fellow.