Here are a few pics showing the pad as it was delivered and then how I finished it. When it was installed, the pad was ground to fit (the fitting to the stock was fine) but the edges were left sharp and the top of the pad was not rounded at all. Also, the pad was not finished with any sort of conditioner etc. I took Duane's advice on the Armor All, but since I have no motor tools, nor any sort of skill, I decided to finish the pad by hand starting with 220 grit wet/dry paper and finishing very lightly with 600 grit to remove any rough surfaces. I rounded the top of the pad, eased the edges all the way around the pad and sanded out a few light black smudges that were left on the red rubber. I then applied Armor All and rubbed it in and will put a few more coats to keep it pliable and nice looking. Think it turned out pretty decent after all.
The pad should be finally sanded (or ground) WITH IT FITTED TO THE GUN.
I would never use vaseline on any rubber pad it will be destructive to it.
The traditional way to "slick" a silvers pad so that it did not catch on the shoulder was to use a mix of 50/50 French polish with (I think) linseed oil on the rubber.
The oil evaporated leaving the varnish to give a gloss to the pad.
I've a small pot of it somewhere that a gunstocker here in UK gave me.
Posts: 6820 | Location: United Kingdom | Registered: 18 November 2007
These pads must be blended in with careful belt sanding. I finish them off with red scotch pads made into a loose wheel and spin at 3400 RPM. A light touch where appropriate will made the blends perfect and erase any marks left over with the belt.
Armor-all works well as does Renaissance wax for a soft glow finish. varnish will soon flake and break (look llike hell)
Posts: 2221 | Location: Tacoma, WA | Registered: 31 October 2003
Thanks for the ideas Duane. The stock is gloss and the pad has been fit to it quite well, it;s just the icing on the cake, so to speak to get the pad into a finished state where it looks like it is actually finished. Just getting out the sanding lines and smoothing some areas up is what it needs.
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Thanks! The pad is a little more 'red' that the earlier pics. HEre is a slightly better pic with more accurate colors. The texture of the pad is a nice slick, soft surface and not as grabby as unfinished rubber.
