This is a new acquisition, a BRNO 21H with a carbine length barrel, which pleases me in all but one respect. The stock finish looks as though the stock has been overheated, causing the finish to melt and take on a bubbly surface. Is there any relatively simple solution to this condition?

Going to have to sand it smooth and refinish; maybe stain if it isn't uniform in color. You can try to rub it out with rubbing compound; might work or it might not.

Sand off the gorilla snot -- likely to find nice wood underneath. Refinish.

You could try a mild furniture stripper with steel wool and plenty of old rags. Once you get all the excess gunk off you can blend the finish. If you are going to sand it you should steam out all the dents first to minimize the amount of material you take off.

Chem strip, sand, recut checkering and finish. It will be worth the effort.

There is a problem with steel wool on wood. Small bits of it break off and you will have spots of rust ! You could use stainless steel wood instead.If you aren't in a hurry you could in a small area strip and refinish .If the bumps reappear , strip the entire stock dry thoroughly and dryn for at least a year .

I personally would never use any metal smaller than a scraper on a stock. Too many other great products available. That rifle is a great candidate for restoration, and completely stripping it to the bare wood is the way to go.

Striping or sanding the stock down to bare wood will remove the patina that comes with age. Not good.
If you scrub with steel wool it will break down and leave small particles in the wood. The secret is to Wipe Not Rub. You can use "scotch bright pads" if your worried about it.
Suggest that you first try denatured alcohol and steel wool or "scotch Bright pads" to reincorporate the original finish. You should restore this stock, not refinish it. Homer Formbey makes a good product for this.

I don't know a damn thing about what you should do. But I would like to say congratulations on that beautiful new acquisition. Those 21h rifles are just gorgeous. Hope it all works out for you whatever you choose to do.

I agree. Try to re-amalgamate first. If the alcohol doesn't do it try lacquer thinner. Failing that, you likely have a type of varnish and will have to destroy it with a liquid stripper. Scrub it on with the blue Scotchbrite and wipe off with paper towels. Lastly, use paper towels soaked in alcohol to neutralize the stripper and to blend the tone. This method won't strip patina. Let it dry and topcoat with a drying oil or wiping varnish (like Formby's).

quote:

Originally posted by dave wesbrook:
Striping or sanding the stock down to bare wood will remove the patina that comes with age. Not good.
If you scrub with steel wool it will break down and leave small particles in the wood. The secret is to Wipe Not Rub. You can use "scotch bright pads" if your worried about it.
Suggest that you first try denatured alcohol and steel wool or "scotch Bright pads" to reincorporate the original finish. You should restore this stock, not refinish it. Homer Formbey makes a good product for this.

Patina? There's no way to recover that on that stock. Patina is a mix of oxidized finish and oil from handling. You may be able to get close to it in color with stain but it's long gone or will be as soon as you remove that crap on the surface. But, that being said, I could be wrong; in my wife's opinion I'm always wrong, but my Labrador thinks I'm always right which confuses me greatly.

John,
You don't recover the patina,you simply don't remove it by striping the stock back to the bare wood.
The Formby product that I referenced is the antique refinishing product. It re-incorporates the original finish allowing some of it to soak back in while leaving a thin coat on the surface. The patina is maintained and you then top coat the stock with another coat of oil.
You are a good gunsmith but you are confusing restoration with refinishing.

Dave

I would respectfully disagree. Patina is often the result of oxidation of elements of the wood itself, rendering a darker/mellower color. Have you ever seen Pine in a diner/cabin or Oak in a church exposed to light for a number of years? Even stripped they retain significant color. Gentle re-amalgamation/removal of the topcoat finish can preserve it. Some finishes(tinted) on inferior woods such as Birch or Beech can contain all of the color and removal will reveal the blond parent wood beneath. The stock in question appears to be Walnut and it is likely there is a fair amount of natural patina. Worst case scenario is that after re-amalgamation the patina is lost staining/tinting can then be used to reswtore appearance.

quote:

Originally posted by Toomany Tools:
Patina? There's no way to recover that on that stock. Patina is a mix of oxidized finish and oil from handling. You may be able to get close to it in color with stain but it's long gone or will be as soon as you remove that crap on the surface. But, that being said, I could be wrong; in my wife's opinion I'm always wrong, but my Labrador thinks I'm always right which confuses me greatly.

By golly, I wasn't aware of Formby's Paint and Poly Remover and Remover Wash, but having read about it at Formby's website I'll be getting some in to the shop. Certainly worth a try, and if it doesn't work, well then chem strip, and refinish. Thanks for the info.

The old patina is gone. But all is not lost. You can get that oldish look easily, though it will look like a new finish of an old look.

Firstly I would not use steel wool. My experience is that steel wool is very brittle and it crumbles and tiny bits get impacted on the wood and show us as shiny bits.

I would just use sand paper down to 400 grit. First take the old finish off with a stripper or a scraper.

Once you have sanded it, I would suggest that you use any of the following

Boiled linseed oil with Alkanet root suspension to get the old English reddish colour. Dilute this with mineral spirits or IPO.

Or Alkanet root suspended in Mineral spirits and use that infusion to dilute TruOil 50% or even thinner.

Now use the above oils - one or the other and sand it into the stock with 400, 600 and even 1000 grit.

Apply with finger - light coat & sand in with the grain. Wipe off the excess oil and wood dust slurry across the grain. Let it dry completely. repeat it many times. I have done 20 coats!. Critical to let it dry completely before the next coat.

The final finish is unbelievable and looks as professional as any good stock makers! May be I am biased but I just love that look in the guns I have tried these two options.

Remember that if you are using BLO it is not waterproof and you may wish to put either a wax coat or a Danish oil coat on top.