HW 77 Stock refinishing tips

[Lundy]

Hi Guys

I recently bought an early HW77k from Zooma and it came with both 77 and 97 stock. The 97 is in good order but the 77 is very tatty ( I knew this as he threw it in as a freebie). I intend keeping both and want to refinish the 77 stock. Hsing-ee has been very kind in donating a spare butt pad which was missing, so I’m ready to get cracking. I’m not opinionated at this stage whether to go full on polish/varnish or to go for simple Matt oiled look. But the only thing ive ever varnished is floorboards in the lounge and the only thing I’ve oiled is the garden furniture!

What’s the best way to strip original varnish, especially around pistol grip chequering?

What are the best oils etc people have experience of producing a good finish?

Motivational photos ( of finished stocks!) appreciated😆

Cheers !

[Phil Russell]

I have refinished a couple of 77 and other stocks and been happy with the results. They were the basic varnish type finish beech (?) stock, not walnut. I have tried paint stripper to remove the varnish and it works well albeit a bit messy. I have also used a skarson scraper to remove most of the varnish (working with the grain). On another I went straight to a palm sander with fine grit paper ... again a bit messy with dust but very effective. But take care and go carefully and slowly. Whatever method you use to remove the old varnish you will need to complete the job by sanding down to a smooth finish. Purists look away but I have cleaned varnish off stippling / chequering using paint stripper followed by a fine wire brush.
Once the stock is clean I stain it using a spirit based stain .. the choice is yours, Peruvian mahogany is nice and dark reddish but various walnut stains are available. Be sure to let the stain dry completely. It is possible to darken the stain by another application. For a final finish I use Danish Oil, applying several light coats with a bit of cloth over several days. The first coat will no doubt soak in very quickly, but let it dry completely for a few hours before applying another coat. The stock will start matt and slowly get a gloss, working through satin to gloss. Maybe ten coats and 5 days later you will have a good gloss hard wearing finish.
My advice is to test your stain first on some wood as close to the stock as you can get then apply the oil. When wet the oil gives a good indication of what colour your final stock will be.
Good luck
Cheers, Phil

[Otley]

A tip I got from watching The Repair Shop to improve the effectiveness of paint remover is to liberally coat the item with paint remover then wrap it with baking foil and leave overnight. On removing the foil, the paint/varnish is all wrinkled like it was in the old days and can be scrubbed off.

[AC all day]

I have done a few as above....varnish stripper then Danish oil, or Truoil works well too.

[PhatMan]

Lundy,

Dichloromethane based paint stripper works the best - use toothbrush on chequering.

As the other chappies have said, paint liberally with the stripper, and wrap.

When using dichloromethane based products, always wear gloves, eye protection, and do work in a well ventilated space.

Have fun

Best regards

Russ

[cyclopse]

I have just finished a stock myself. I just got a couple of Birchwood Casey products, walnut stain and Tru oil.
I tried not to use Nitromors stripper but in the end it was the only way to get rid of the old varnish. used a tooth brush on the stipple. worked ok. after sanding, working my way up to a 600 grn two coats of stain, sanding inbetween then started with the tru oil.I used about 6 coats, sanding lightly inbetween and the last two coats useda fine 00 grade wire wool.
Chuffed with the results. Enjoy.

[I. J.]

This started off as a tatty HW35 standard beech stock. Using stripper (in a bin bag overnight) several sanding downs then a slight stain and finished off with Danish oil. Isn't there a risk of cloths which have used Danish oil combusting?





What is even more surprising is that you got summat for nowt off Zooma!

[Lundy]

Thanks for the tips so far guys starting to feel like it might work out ok!

IJ- perhaps I should have said Bob included it in the price! Still very please with how she shoots though!

[Phil Russell]

[QUOTE=I. J.;7705846] Isn't there a risk of cloths which have used Danish oil combusting?


There is a warning on the can that this can happen so I guess it can. It has never happened to me, not even slightly warm. I use bits of cloth about 3" square, folded a couple of times into a wad. Vinyl gloves finish the application kit .. stock suspended by a wire hook through a front stock hole in the garage. The application wads go hard ....
Cheers, Phil

[thisisdonald]

If you dont like using chemicals, the method I use is to strip with a sharp blade.. anything will do really as long as its razor sharp . You just use it like a draw knife. Chequering is tricky and I have to admit to using stripper in that department.
As for refinishing.. if its beech I'd use a tinted lacquer.

[piggy589]

[QUOTE=I. J.;7705846]This started off as a tatty HW35 standard beech stock. Using stripper (in a bin bag overnight) several sanding downs then a slight stain and finished off with Danish oil. Isn't there a risk of cloths which have used Danish oil combusting?

I remember an automotive paint rep. warning us to not mix body filler on cardboard because it can contain organic peroxides and self combust as the filler warms up during the curing process.

There again he was trying to shift onion boards at the time.

[deejayuu]

For example. Oiled finish tomorrow if you like.





Or

[Lundy]

Looking really nice! Are you using try oil or Danish?

[I. J.]

For example. Oiled finish tomorrow if you like.





Or

My God!!! It goes from a TX200 SR to a HW77 (Mk 2) WHAT stripper are you using?

ATB
Ian

[thisisdonald]

😂😂😂😂😂