Reply With QuoteWebley had an aversion to light stocks and a lot of the walnut used to make the later ones was, so a stain was added to the lacquer. A chemical paint stripper will take it off but you could end up with a stock shade that Webley never intended.!
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I have just acquired a last series Webley MNk3, with a nice tiger striped stock, but with the polyurethane varnish which is not in such a good condition. I am thinking of refinishing the stock but have never tried to remove the vanish off one of these late Mk3's. Does anyone have any experience on how best to proceed, I know this sort of varnish can be difficult.
Thanks
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Webley had an aversion to light stocks and a lot of the walnut used to make the later ones was, so a stain was added to the lacquer. A chemical paint stripper will take it off but you could end up with a stock shade that Webley never intended.!
Where's his User name?
A big sharp blade... just scrape scrape scrape! I've tried chemicals heavy sandpaper the lot ... big blade is best for me
Donald
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Maybe have a look at a 'cabinet makers scraper' & see what you think. Cleaning off varnish is always a messy job but I think I prefer dry methods without the use of corrosive paint strippers., but they can have their uses for getting into hard to get at places or tricky areas.
Nails Mc Fugger
Yes happened to me I had a beaut but with a couple of chips , refinished it and it was like a relumOriginally Posted by Maple
I think most of the beauty in these stocks is down to the finish put on there !
Registered User
I've got a late Mk 3, which I had no intention of buying. But the seller of the 35 brought it along anyway, I took one look at the 'tiger' stock & went to the cashpoint! It is now looking a bit chipped here & there now, has anyone tried a touch up on them, if so what was the result/product used?Yes happened to me I had a beaut but with a couple of chips , refinished it and it was like a relum
Tia
Bru
Webley Mk3 x2, Falcon & Junior rifles, HW35x2, AirSporter x2, Gold Star, Meteors x2, Diana 25. SMK B19, Webley Senior, Premier, Hurricane x 2, Tempest, Dan Wesson 8", Crosman 3576, Legends PO8.
Registered User
Probably the most efficient way to remove the old finish on a stock is a piece of broken glass but the safest is a chemical remover.
Webley did stain quite a lot of the first model stocks because of a lack of traditional seasoned walnut after the war. They used birch which is almost white in colour The lacquer had a dark stain added and with age often look quite horribly two tone.
Don't over think it......I would just lather it in stripper, then bleach with Oxalic, then stain to taste and Tru-oil .......here is a TX I did like this a few years ago which also had the poly type nasty coating from the factory and was cheap light wood;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/312284...57624084731589
ATB, Ed
Registered User
I agree, best way to remove varnish is to scrape, I use Stanley type blades, drag across the surface with the blade trailing just off vertical, finish with sand paper, start with 180 grit then work through to around 400, clean the wood with alcohol then apply the finish you require, if it's too light, I use a spirit wood stain/dye then any of the various oil treatments available, be careful around chequering, if the finish needs removing from these areas , then use a chemical stripper.
I've done several stocks (and other wood renovation projects) in this manner. If you want I high gloss lacquered finish, I'd go for 2k lacquer (car stuff) a local body shop can spray it for you when they are found a car, so shouldn't cost that much if you haven't the kit to do it yourself. This finish can be polished up to a glass like finish
Registered User
Thank you.
The Chrono Slayer
Here's a mk3 stock that I bought off the sales corner on here some years ago for £20, It was black with grime and age, It seemed as though someone had stripped it and not put a protective finish on as it felt like bare wood that was just loppy!
I eventually got around to rubbing it down after a bath in an Oxalic acid wash to remove the dried in oil, I then bleached it in a strong Domestos bath then went at it with fine ally oxide paper when thoroughly dry..
I then gave it a couple of rubs with alkanet root oil followed by some of Welsh Willies grain filler and then around eight or ten rubs of his tung based oil..
By the way, The stock that was originally on the rifle had a split and was filthy too, I thought i'd binned it but found it a few weeks ago in the loft so I glued the split and set about rubbing it down, To my surprise it is actually very dark wood!, It's the early type too with the parallel lines cut in!!
John
for my gunz guitarz and bonzai, see here
www.flickr.com/photos/8163995@N07/
Airgun Alchemist, Collector and Scribe
That is a fantastic piece of renovation, John. Really brings out the quality of the wood.
Incidentally, on a trivial scientific point, the oxalic acid does little to remove any oil, but it does remove the dark stain that oil leaves behind. The stain is due to iron compounds in the wood and oxalic acid has a great affinity for iron.
The Chrono Slayer
Ahh! I see, I didn't realise that!
We got it from work years ago as white crystals because grindings were removed and shot straight out of a duct, The cars in the carpark became like sandpaper and the Oxalic acid mix was the only known thing that would break down the resin that was holding the carborundum grit to the paintwork!
I think everything that goes out of the foundry now is filtered now as it stopped happening years ago!
I only knew that it removed the staining and presumed that it broke down the dried oil as it did the resin at work!
Cheers, John
for my gunz guitarz and bonzai, see here
www.flickr.com/photos/8163995@N07/
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