05-04-2008, 09:24 PM
| #1 |
| Senior Member  | Need help with refinishing a rifle
So I have asked a few questions here and there, sent a few pm's and now this...just want to cover al the bases to get the best info. I want to refinish my Enfield rifle, the finish it has on the wood now is this old thick black gunk. There are a few markings and dings and all that so I really don't want to sand it smooth, I like the character it has. I have for the last few hours not been rubbing a small section of the bottom fore stock with mineral spirits and a green scrub pad. It has taken a tiny bit of the dark finish away and the wood underneath is really nice, but it took a ton of scrubbing to get just that far. I need an easier way. I have heard mineral spirits, which are not working so well, i have also heard oven cleaner. I have not tried that yet. I want to do this right and not ruin the wood. I'm also removing the blueing on a few parts as a test...using vinegar and it's working, very slowly but it's working. There is a lot of knowledge here in this forum, can any of you help me out on this one. Here's what I'm looking for. A list of things I can get, at an ACE hardware or home depot, since I have no old fashioned hardware stores in Vegas...stain color I can pick myself, but what goes over that? Some tips on methods, how to's, things you've done that have worked well, step by step..stuff like that. I have never done this before and have no idea, and I'd like to do it right, and have it come out great. If you did it yourself, how did you do it, and what did you use? I just need some solid advise. 
__________________ Blaming guns for violent acts is like blaming the keyboard for your poor spelling. |
|  |
|
05-05-2008, 01:10 AM
| #3 |
| Military Rifle Collector   |
TO remove the wood finish Easy Off Oven cleaner. Or Dawn Power Dissolver I think its called. DONT SAND the proof marks estuctions etc off. You can get blue remover. Or vinegar. Stain Most use Red Mohogany Minwax stain. Then BLO or Tung Oil.
__________________ Let's light this fuse and see what happens! |
|
| |
|
05-05-2008, 06:20 AM
| #4 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Northern Orygun
Posts: 615
|
Oven cleaner works good to get back to the original wood color, use a bath tub and rinse well. I don't use any stain on mil-surp stocks, just tung oil. It well start looking good after about six coats.
__________________ The difference between a hot dog and a weenie is a fine line..... |
|
| |
|
05-05-2008, 04:11 PM
| #5 |
| Senior Member |
Well, I got some finish remover/stripper with acetone in it...took a lot of work, but I got most of the dark brown finish off...it seemed more no like finish but like 80 years of grime that had just worked it's way into the wood. I'm guessing it's walnut, since the wood is now a greyish med brown. When I rub the stripper on the wood with steel wool, the wood color is like a light reddish color. I have the wood out in the sun right now drying, lots of oil is coming to the surface. I'm going to give it another once over with stripper and steel wool in a little while and see how it looks. Since the last post I have finished removing as much of the dark finish as I had energy for. I let it dry in the sun for several hours and wiped a few coats of tung oil on...so far it looks pretty good, i'm pleased. I still have to work more on the metal parts...getting the blue off and polishing them...and thoughts on the polishing part, how to and what to use?
__________________ Blaming guns for violent acts is like blaming the keyboard for your poor spelling. Last edited by roadie; 05-05-2008 at 08:07 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost |
|
| |
