Refurbishing a few stocks

[bighit]

That's a good tip. I haven't started dying yet. So perhaps I should go for tinted lacquer.
The only thing I don't understand is that you write that 9/10 beech stocks don't take stain. Whereas almost all beech stocks are stained/dyed by the manufacturers right? And they always look pretty decent.
Thanks, Louis

I dont think they stain/dye them. almost always varnished/lacquered as its cheaper and quicker.

[thisisdonald]

I dont think they stain/dye them. almost always varnished/lacquered as its cheaper and quicker.

exactly... theres no denying that beech is cheaper and less attractive than walnut., and it doesnt respond as well to treatments that beautify harder woods.
Manufacturers know this and use the best, most cost effective finish... a nice thick brown lacquer! Think of old Webleys and BSAs - I love that chestnutty brown of an 80s Webley!!

in the video the OP posted, it shows the wood still having dye in it and the lad uses bleach to lighten it, I think whats happened here is he just hasnt removed all of the original varnish. If Im stripping a stock I just use a stanley blade and shave the varnish off right down to the wood - the benefits of doing it this way are many - theres no chemicals, you dont wet the wood and raise the grain, theres minimal sanding to prep for the new finish, its cleaner and I can do a full stock in about an hour... the only downsides are, its tricky to get into the nooks and crannies (I use good aluminium oxide paper for these), and you still have to use some stripper on any checkering.

walnut rules!!!

[bighit]

exactly... theres no denying that beech is cheaper and less attractive than walnut., and it doesnt respond as well to treatments that beautify harder woods.
Manufacturers know this and use the best, most cost effective finish... a nice thick brown lacquer! Think of old Webleys and BSAs - I love that chestnutty brown of an 80s Webley!!

in the video the OP posted, it shows the wood still having dye in it and the lad uses bleach to lighten it, I think whats happened here is he just hasnt removed all of the original varnish. If Im stripping a stock I just use a stanley blade and shave the varnish off right down to the wood - the benefits of doing it this way are many - theres no chemicals, you dont wet the wood and raise the grain, theres minimal sanding to prep for the new finish, its cleaner and I can do a full stock in about an hour... the only downsides are, its tricky to get into the nooks and crannies (I use good aluminium oxide paper for these), and you still have to use some stripper on any checkering.

walnut rules!!!

my Annie stock was sanded . not a coarse paper. never took long to do and I did not remove a lot of wood. there is only 3 coats on the stock. its hunting rifle so its ok if its not showroom looking. its just a little light colour wise. I managed to scratch the original finish badly when fitting a sling stud so I removed it . I was going to stain the true oil but never did get one. I wanted to use the rifle asap so just coated it. its been that colour for 4 years or so.

I just left the chequering as it was.

my HW99S, I used the Stanley knife blade to scrape after reading that you did it that way. took longer than it did with my Annie.

I soaked the HW99s with hot water from the shower to remove all the dust and to raise a few dents with an iron.

the finish on this stock was cracked and flaking off. its a 2003 model according to wheirauch . it looked bad. just on the one side at the for end . I got money off due to it and the galling. galling is fixed. just the stock to do and fit the tuning
kit.
I painted my father in laws planter a few weeks back with a green garden stain/paint and it looked like a good colour. I meant to get a sample but unused it all on the planter.

I even thought about spraying it black then clear varnish.

in had a beach HW80k stock done by a guy on a forum years ago and it looked really good. I'm sure it was a wax type finish .he is a carpenter and did a lot of was type finishes .he said it was an expensive finish . I forgot to ask him the name of it .

possibly briwax http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebas...---370g-238162

[thisisdonald]

I e sanded varnish off stocks in the past... never again.. used loads of paper because it kept clogging.. made loads of dust.. just a nightmare for me...

For cleaning dust, just buy microfiber cloths from pound land.. get loads of them and keep them clean... you'll hear furniture makers and woodworkers call them tack cloth because they lift every speck of dust.

I done a lot of research on stock refinishing, especially beech as it's most common.. I remember watching a YouTube video where a guy claimed to have invented a stabilising liquid that you could apply to any wood which hardened the soft and the hard grain evenly, which then allowed you to dye or stain the wood perfectly... cant find it now

[bighit]

the HW80 k he did was left in the bare beech by me as I tried a stain and it looked horrible so I stripped it off. Mick then waxed it and did a few coats then sent it back.

the stock had a crack in the wrist area that I pinned with thin brazing rod that I roughed up on a bench grinder at work so the epoxy would key to it.

Mick filled the holes up ( not huge holes) too .you cold not spot them unless you really looked for then.

I have a pic of the stock some where . will try and find it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fqxq8d4wd1...21115.jpg?dl=0

That is just brown wax .that I think is briwax.
One pic found

[vestlenning]

I e sanded varnish off stocks in the past... never again.. used loads of paper because it kept clogging.. made loads of dust.. just a nightmare for me...

Heat gun and a blunt knife works wonders!

Stained beech, varnish on top:

http://barx.org/diverse/hammerli_hun...rce_900_08.jpg

http://barx.org/diverse/weihrauch_hw_35_05.jpg