I have agreed to refinish and restore the stock of a mid-sixties Ruger rifle for a friend. It's not in bad shape. I've successfully finished several new stocks using the patient wet-sanding oil process. My few attempts at refinishing modern hunting rifles have been of mixed success. I've not found a stripper that would eliminate the need for scraping, or take the stock down to bare wood.

Can anyone recommend a stripper and the process following? I'm thinking that after stripping, applying a urethane followed by an oil might be the best approach.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Brice

I use Circa stripper, sometimes it takes several passes, using fine steel wool and soapy water to remove the mess,dry and repeat if necessary. A fine ss brush to clean the checkering, then wash the whole stock was acetone, which normally cleans up the stock. After a good drying de-wisker with a very light sanding, when I'm happy I apply the True-Oil. I usually don't mix my finishes and use T-O mainly because if there is still some residual oil left in the wood it will still dry given time. FWIW --- John

Thanks,John. I'll look for that stripper. Would it be Citra? Orange in color?

It's - "Circa 1850, Furniture Stripper" but probably any good stripper would do, in fact the Acetone alone will take off most finishes it just evaporates rather qickly.

Just a word of caution do this in a well ventilated area - I do it outside. Also have some of that soapy water near by just in case I "splash" myself ,especially the stripper - it starts to "burn" almost immediately. Good luck with the project. --- John

Don't know. I have has to scrape ruger stocks in the past. I use citri-strip for m14 stocks and works great. Rugers and browning finishes laughed at it

Yep Jeff been there and about the only thing I resort to is "soaking" in Actone over "however long" it takes to dissolve the finish.

The problem with Acetone is, one it absorbs water right out of the atmosphere and second it is very volatile so the "soaking" needs to be done in a closed container of some sort. On the flip Acetone can be used over and over until it is spent. Fwiw --- John

Thanks. I'll do a search for Circa 1850. It's looking like this is going to be just as much fun as stripping a M700 a few years ago. Never could get all of the finish out. Maybe I'll try a propane torch.

Next time you attempt to strip a "bowling ball" finish, sand it well with 80 grit. It breaks the surface tension, so to speak, of the finish and allows the stripper to get into the layer of finish rather than just sitting on top of it. Still, some finishes will require 2 or more applications of the stripper.

Thanks for the good suggestion, Craigster. It makes good sense. By the way, what are bowling balls made of, and how do they finish them?
Brice

while it is a bit dangerous MEK will strip the epoxy finishes. Just make damn sure you do it outside, preferably in the wind. It too dries very quick

Thanks Butch. To all who have helped, I will post a report of results.

The best thing I've found for stripping these hard urethane finishes , is Permatex or CRC aerosol gasket remover . Spray it on , let it work a few minutes , then scrape with a razor blade (plastic works) . It usually takes three of four applications . The nice thing about the stuff is the easy clean up , and it doesn't raise the grain ! Steve at Brownells put me onto it , when I asked him how to strip a Browning stock !

I don't know about this.. there not as bad at the Swedes ;-0

I use Formby's finish restorer and Formbys polyurethane stripper. It is water thin and strips with steel wool. I pour some in a small stainless steel dog dish.

I am with Mike on the gasket remover.

Refinished a Grade III Citori stock several years back. When I stripped the finish, I discovered that several repairs had been made to the checkering presumably where diamonds had torn out. The stripper starting melting whatever had been used to glue the wood plugs back into the checkered area. Not a fun job!

Thank you all for the advice. I promised a report: I used Jasco stripper. I think it's made here in the Seattle area, and is industrial strength. The finish was not like the Remington stuff, and came off rather easily. Two applications did the job. I washed off the muck with hot water, soft scrub brush and a brass bristle brush for the checkering and nooks and crannies. Next task is steaming out a few small dents.

When I used to do furniture I used a mix
Acetone 300ml
Mineral spirits 300ml
MEK 30ml
TRIC 30ml

This mix would dissolve about anything. I don't think you can buy TRIC anymore but the mix should still do the trick.
you can come up with your own mixes using these as well as alcohol and other solvents. Just remember the bulk of the solution needs to be the mild stuff. It takes a very small amount of the really polar stuff which is also the most toxic BTW. Maybe I am showing my ignorance of modern finishes but you said urethane followed by oil? I don't see how that is going to work.