BSA MKI Airsporter stock refinish

[sabre]

Does anyone have any recommendations on products to refinish MK1 Airspoter stock to original factory finish as only 40% original varnish remains although stock colour is fine.

[pennineway.fswo]

Hi Sabre
If the stock is free of dents and noticable scratches then wire wool is ideal for stripping off the remaining varnish. Just go through the grades from coarse down to very fine remembering to rub along the grain particularly with the coarse and medium grades.

This is very important or you will end up with scratches that are time consuming to remove.

If the stock has dents, steam them out and then use sand paper again going through the grades. Avoid the course grades of paper such as the 80 grade.

Again do not rub across the grain.

Finish off with the finer grades of wire wool.

You can of course leave some of the knocks etc. to give the old stock some character when finished

When stripped of finish, examine the stock carefully for cracks and carefully repair them.

Walnut takes up stain very well(unlike woods such as beech - which is a pain to stain evenly). So you may wish to re-stain the stock

Unfortunately the Mk1 stocks are made of 3 pieces of wood so expect a re-stained/refinished stock to show this quite clearly

Most Mk1's I have seen and owned have a hard lacquer finish, so a polyurethane spray should replicate this or you can seal the stock(you can buy a sealer from a gunshop or make your own from cellulose and thinners) when you are happy with the finish and then oil or wax to give a durable and attractive finish

There may well be a thread or threads on here dedicated to stock refinishing,or a link to one, try a search.
ATB
John

[sabre]

Ok thanks for the ifo John.

Mike

[sabre]

I forgot what is the best glue to repair splits in stocks Araldite or Kaskamite or something else ?.