varnish removing

[leons]

Can anyone suggest the best/easiest/most efficient way to remove the varnish finish from a a400 stock, particularly from the Fleur-de-Lys.

Sanding/paint-stripper..or other ideas.....

And then much later...the best oil to finish the stock

[Sam Vimes]

Can anyone suggest the best/easiest/most efficient way to remove the varnish finish from a a400 stock, particularly from the Fleur-de-Lys.

Sanding/paint-stripper..or other ideas.....

And then much later...the best oil to finish the stock

Nitromors to strip the varnish. Make sure you have a small brush handy to get into the chequering.
Be aware that you'll end up with a very light coloured stock unless you do something to darken it prior to an oil finish (presuming it's beech as it's varnished).
The best oil will depend on on whether you want a shiny or matt finish.
I'm in the throws of finishing a new walnut stock and I'm using the Trade Secrets stuff. The oil of Alkanet darkens and highlights grain quite nicely. The Rapid oil/TS95 gives a very shiny finish. Plain old walnut oil that I've used previously gave a nice matt finish.

[leons]

Sam...many thanks...where is "trade secrets" available , please

Dean...many thanks....is Danish oil readily available...please

Yes,,it is a Beech stock

[Sam Vimes]

The trade secrets stuff is available from Target Sports here.

Danish oil is available in the vast majority of B&Q type DIY stores.

Walnut oil is available through most gun shops at about a fiver for 50ml, for that much you can get about a litre of the stuff at a deli counter in your local supermarket.

[leons]

Thanks, Dean

And Sam

[ikarma70]

after you have removed the varnish,use a soft brass sparkplug cleaning brush to clean the chequering out.

use a p1000 grit wet/dry paper with plenty of water and rub that stock till its smooth as glass and let the water soak into the wood if you want to use a waterbased stain(wipe excess water off before applying stain).the stain will penetrate as deep as the water has soaked in,using a 1'' paint brush apply the stain liberally and rinse any unabsorbed stain off under the cold tap.

allow a good 24hrs to dry,when its dry... wipe down with white spirit then apply a quality oil like a good teak oil,danish oil....keep buffing to get a nice sheen

[leons]

ikarma..I will be doing some mods between stripping/re-oiling...
If I decide to stain, do I need to re-soak first.....

[ikarma70]

wet wood absorbs waterbased stains better so if your stock has dried out then wet it again.

[ikarma70]

From bare wood, Do you have to stain or can you go straight for the oil??

depends on if you want a darker coloured stock or just a nice natural oil finish

[robinghewitt]

If you have any kind of chequering or fancy carving, then Nitromoors, wait a few minutes and remove it with a pressure washer. Works like magic with no brushing or scraping that can hurt wet wood. It even cleans old varnish out of worm holes

[Gwylan]

If its beech, its a difficult wood to stain evenly, it can go patchy, depending on the direction of the grain. I expect that's why AA use a coloured laquer in the first place.

Gus

[leons]

Thanks Gwylan... and all the others for the advice.....
I will just oil, I prefer the look of natural wood....