remove factory finish

[rayb]

I've got a TC renegade stock that i'd like to remove what's left of the factory finish from, repair a piece missing from the toe of the stock, and then refinish.

Will regular furniture stripper work ok for this? Any potential problems that kind of finish removal?

I see plenty of advise on finishing in various threads, but haven't seen anything on removal.

Thanks

rayb

 

[roundball]

I've used a product called "STRIPEEZE" from hardware stores on TC Hawken stocks and it works pretty good, put it on, let it sit, wipe it off, do it again, do it again, etc.
But in the end, there always seems to be a few stubborn spots that have to be sanded out and if not careful, you can alter the dimensions of the stock.

Then I discovered a local antique furniture place with a stripping booth, and for $20 I get a stock back 100% clean to the bare wood, so I don't bother stripping stocks myself anymore...they do it better, faster, cause no dimension changes, no chemicals and their dangers to deal with, etc.

 

[lonewolf5347]

furniture stripper will work fine I also think some guys use oven cleaner to remove the factory finish also but I never tried it (I would go with the wood stripper and then use some 000 steel wool to clean it up for sanding
I always did use tru oil on all my gun stocks but the last stock I done on a mauser custom I used FORMBY'S TUNG OIL LOW GLOSS.
I still use the true oil in the barrel channel,funny that you mention t/c ReNEGADE I will be doing one over this winter also.

 

[rayb]

Thanks for the information

I hadn't thought about using a furniture refinisher to strip it for me...great idea

I like tung oil also... did a cherry stock with it some years ago.. and still looks good.

rayb

 

[musketman]

The best way I found to remove a factory finish is to loan the gun to my brother-in-law...

Other than that I use:

 

Use Formby's furniture finisher.

If you cannot find that then regular lacquer thinner with steel wool will strip the finish.

Wash the residue down, sand the whiskers from the stock and apply your choice of oils.

 

[robinghewitt]

I used to have a problem removing polyurethane from chequering and other hard to reach places, but that was before I bought the pressure washer, (whatever you call those super powerful hose things you use to clean the patio).

I start with Nitromoors paint stripper, let it dry and them pressure wash it off, the effect is amazing and does no harm to the surface like brushing and scraping might.

:m2c:

 

There are a lot of excellent suggestions here and I certainally can't add to what has been said. However, I would suggest that you try the steaming approach to dents and inperfections in the wood and not sand anything. Sometimes the damaged wooden fibers are crushed and will not respond to steaming techniques. When that is the case I have found that it is better to make a matching (near matching?) repair rather than sand down the problem.

 

[RJR]

One thing I've used for years for stripping an oil or varnish type finish off any thing (gun stock, wood machinist box, old furniture) is spray carb cleaner. I prefer Chemtool B-12, it seems to do about the best. A little OOOO steel wool after to smooth the grain back down. It even remooves a good amount of the old stain.

 

[TexasMLer]

I recently used Easy-Off oven cleaner to remove the original finish from a WWII Japanese Arisaka Type 99 rifle stock that had been cut down from a full-length stock to a half stock by the previous owner.

It worked well but was quite messy and the fumes were horrible. I would recommend doing it outside if you use Easy-Off. I did it in my garage with the garage door open and the fumes were still very strong.

This was my first attempt at removing the original finish from a stock and I was surprised and pleased at how well the oven cleaner worked and how easy it was.

 

[lonewolf5347]

Easy-Off oven cleaner also get the white letters on your car tire white again ,but becarefull not to get any on the paint.

 

[jrdavis]

stop by your local Ace hardware store and pick up a can of Japan Drier along with your Tung oil...I mix it 1-2 or better in a small jar and apply with you fingers and rub in and set up to dry with the Japan Drier you can pu several coats on in the time it takes to put one with out it...