I purchased a mid-80's Remington 700 BDL Varmint Special yesterday that is overall in outstanding shape. The picky side of me, however, is wondering if it is possible to get out some small surface "abrasions" that are on a couple places on the stock. It is hard to call them scratches, since they don't seem to go through the external finish to the wood. The usual places, mostly on the cheekpiece from earmuffs, undoubtedly. Anyway, since it is a high gloss finish, I am guessing (not from experience) that any light, fine sanding will still be noticable. I really would prefer a less glossy finish overall, so I am wondering if it would be silly for me to attempt a light sanding on the whole stock, removing the marks in the process. The wood is actually quite nice, so I don't want to try anything until I get some advice from those who know better than I...

Anyway, any thoughts on a method to get a non-swirly, less glossy finish would be appreciated, if you would even recommend trying it. I am particularly worried about making a mess of the checkering and black forend tip.

I've used Brownells stock rubbing compound on a few stocks, with excellent results! It really helped on a 700 VLS that came with fingerprints in the finish.

dduck...

Thanks, that is just the kind of thing I was looking for...stripping and refinishing is not necessary or desired, but this product looks like it will do exactly what I want it to. Did you use the felt pads that are suggested to apply it?

A little rottenstone mixed with mineral oil will take the shine down to a "satin" finish. It`s availible at most paint supply houses.