I'm thinkig about buying a scratch 'n dent custom that's built on a nice stick of curly maple. The stock has a couple dings and scratches but all can be sanded-out. I've used truoil or linseed oil for minor touch-up in the past on walnut with respectable results... What can I use for touch-up on clear coat curly maple?
Thanks.

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What can I use for touch-up on clear coat curly maple

What is the finish now? Always best on a patch job to use the same. If you are already sanding some areas and raising dings in others I would strip the entire stock and go back with truoil.

I don't know what finish is on it...I'll see if I can find out...

Thanks for your $.02

If you can figure out what finish is on it and you don't want to sand the entire stock down to the wood. Do your repairs clean off any wax and do a light sanding then finish. Even so knowing you could probably use Truoil.

There is a cleaner I have used on furniture that will remove the wax prior to refinishing. Picked it up at Lowes or Home Depot.

Is the stock stained or natural? If it is stained (dyed) the last thing you want to do is sand on it. It would be better to try and steam the dents out and live with it.

Post a pic and most xperts can chime in.

The problem is most woods "oxidize" as in darken even under a finish. Light woods, eg maple more noticeably than darker woods, such as walnut. Any removal of this oxidation usually leaves a much lighter color, it may be to your advantage to strip the stock (chemically), make your repairs, do a very light blend sanding and refinish. JMHO-FWIW --- John

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Originally posted by dave wesbrook:
Is the stock stained or natural? If it is stained (dyed) the last thing you want to do is sand on it. It would be better to try and steam the dents out and live with it.

I believe it's natural.

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Originally posted by Bobster:
Post a pic and most xperts can chime in.

Unfortunately I don't have the rifle...yet. If/when I get my hands on it, I'll revisit this post with some pictures.
Thanks.

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Originally posted by John303.:
The problem is most woods "oxidize" as in darken even under a finish. Light woods, eg maple more noticeably than darker woods, such as walnut. Any removal of this oxidation usually leaves a much lighter color, it may be to your advantage to strip the stock (chemically), make your repairs, do a very light blend sanding and refinish. JMHO-FWIW --- John

Can you give me an example of chemical stripper that works well for gunstocks?
Will a chemical stripper work for ALL typical gunstock finishes?

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The problem is most woods "oxidize" as in darken even under a finish

Great point.

As to stripper it depends. There are some almost plastic finishes out there I'm not sure anything will cut. Penetrating oil can be an issue. Varnish a surface oil finish can be removed chemically.

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Originally posted by ramrod340:
If you can figure out what finish is on it and you don't want to sand the entire stock down to the wood. Do your repairs clean off any wax and do a light sanding then finish. Even no knowing you could probably use Truoil.

There is a cleaner I have used on furniture that will remove the wax prior to refinishing. Picked it up at Lowes or Home Depot.

This may be similar to my question to Johh303 but do you remember the name of the cleaner?
Sorry for all the questions. Trying to figure out what I'm getting myself in to. I'll try to post a picture or two when I can...

Thanks to all!

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This may be similar to my question to Johh303 but do you remember the name of the cleaner?

I happen to use several Formby products. The have several strippers that I've used. For wax they have a buildup remover. I do a lot of antique furniture restoring for the wife and kids and have Formby stuff laying around.

For simple wax Mineral spirits, denatured alcohol will remove it.

As stated above if you sand an area you are more than likely going to have a different colored spot.

If it were my stock, time and $$ I would leave it alone. Or strip and refinish. Not fool with trying to only spot repair.

Thanks for the information and advice! I'll try to post some pictures in the near future...

Personally I use Circa 1850, apply a good coat and let it work, then brush off the goo with a stiff brush and slightly soapy water. Having the water around right at the first is a good idea to instantly wash off any skin contact - it will "burn". I use a brass brush to clean any checkering.
Then I wash the whole thing with acetone, again using a stiff brush. this does 2 things it gets rid of most "tough" spots still hanging on and sucks up water as acetone is water hungry & also fat hungry so try not to get any on your hands etc. Never leave acetone open to the atmosphere as it will absorb moisture and become useless. Don't put your acetone wash back into your supply, keep the wash in a separate container.
After all this you will most likely need to refill the pores prior to finishing. It's not that complicated just takes a bit of time. FWIW --- John

JASCO Marine grade stripper will remove any finish. I currently use Do-It-Best brand Marine poly stripper and it does the job and costs less. Use gloves!! I have several maple stocks in the shop and the age/oxidation/color change is most due to UV influence. Stripping the wood doesn't cause the wood to change color but the sanding does. If you must bring the wood back to the original color you can try what I call the "Fajen trick" Use a water based stain that is on the orange side to bring that color. Trying a spot for testing is important. Please remember water based stain on Maple is very invasive and is not easily removed once applied. Let the stain dry completely before you make your decision to use it. It changes color greatly when dry. As for a spot repair...only if it were Garnet Varnish or Imron. Anything else is a lottery choice.

Dennis if by far more experienced than I am. I happen to use a wood dye mixed in alcohol. It doesn't contain pigment so you don't risk a build up in open pores. With alcohol you don't raise the grain either. Or use water if you want to raise it. I use Transtint. I also make it weak and keep going back over it until I like the color. Doesn't take long for the alcohol to dry.

Either way as Dennis said make sure you like the dry color. Don't rush it.

The products John and Dennis mentioned to strip a stock are probably more aggressive than what I use. As I said I do far more furniture refinishing that stocks.

Listen to Dennis he knows his stuff. He helped and taught me several tricks that saved me from a nightmare project. As to stripping try oven cleaner first. You spray it on and hit it with a nylon bristle brush after 3 to 4 minutes and immediately wash off with water and dry. The finish will strip except for some polyureas. It will not soften the wood fibers as it is only there for a few minutes. Also don't water log the stock. Just immerse or rinse and wipe quickly then dry with a towel and a torch being careful not to scorch.If you run into something tough and ugly to remove then any of the marine grade strippers will work fine. Most likely some type of stain/darkener was applied to the curly maple to bring out the grain without darkening the rest of the wood significantly. As one who learned the hard way, if you have major dings gouges and repairs it is just better to strip the stock instead of trying to spot fix and match. It saves a ton of time in the end.

Thank You to everyone for all the great information!
I've attached a few photos showing what I'm up against.
I may be taking off the super high comb completely...

Looks like Birdseye to me. That style sure isn't my cup of tea. Not knowing what you are planning on for sights that comb looks WAY too high.
Sense there is no checkering. I would get out the rasp, sandpaper and some time. Shape it the way I want and refinish.

I agree looks like birds eye maple from the picture. Hopefully it is and isn't a faux finish. I often find the faux finishes on stocks that have the plastic type finishes on them. That is a gouge showing so it will ne some sanding and filing as well as possibly a little filling. It will hide just fine. If you are going to try and bring the birds eye out more there are stains/dyes that can be used just like in tiger stripe maple. It would be well worth the effort if the wood cleans up as nice as I think it will. Then about 30 coats of oil and wet sanding.

I don't want to get ahead myself but I've started to do a little research on finishes...
Any experience or opinions on Laurel Mountain Forge: Permalyn sealer and finish? Appears to be sort of a hybrid polyurethane and oil sealer/finish.

Permalyn is a good finish. So is Pro Custom Oil, Tru-Oil, and Timberluxe as well. It depends on just how well you can read and follow instructions as to how to make it do what you want. All of them have been used for years successfully and I now ACGG members who use them with success. Opinions are many and varied. Not everyone can use all of them successfully. You must find out which you can use....well. Never go part way, always go for the gold ring.

I assume a 4oz can of the sealer and a 4oz can of the finish would be enough to finish one rifle properly...?
Thanks for sharing your expertise!

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I assume a 4oz can of the sealer and a 4oz can of the finish would be enough to finish one rifle properly...?Thanks for sharing your expertise!

I have never used Permalyn. However it takes about a cap full to do a coat of Tru-oil.

unless you really like the style of that stock i wouldn't worry about patching. Just start with a good rasp and sander and grind it down to a useable shape, then finish it anyway you like

After discussing with everyone here....I'm definitely leaning toward reshaping the stock and then refinishing the whole thing. Started out thinking of doing a patch job and ended up somewhere else...but I'm glad I asked the question! Thank you all! I'll post some "after" pictures when I finish.

It does not appear to be dyed..

I would reshape it as best I could, its a very old style roll over and hard to reshape IMO but that's up to you.

The best and easiest finish ever is Brownells GUN SAV-R. Its a great finish and a Linseed or Tung oil modified Urathane..I have had great success with it and application is a snap. You would use the high gloss on Maple I suspect. I would burn the wood (Swegie ? spelling? finish) or dye the wood with scarlet red clothes dye and rub that down and add a lot of finish, it will come out a dark reddish brown.

There's a maple big bore that someone posted pics of a long while back. It's stained medium brown and it's fantastic.

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Originally posted by Atkinson:
It does not appear to be dyed..

I would reshape it as best I could, its a very old style roll over and hard to reshape IMO but that's up to you.

The best and easiest finish ever is Brownells GUN SAV-R. Its a great finish and a Linseed or Tung oil modified Urathane..I have had great success with it and application is a snap. You would use there high gloss on Maple I suspect. I would burn the wood (Swegie ? spelling? finish) or dye the wood with scarlet red clothes dye and rub that down and add a lot of finish, it will come out a dark reddish brown.

Thanks for the information! I plan to reshape the butt to a more modern-looking rollover. The Gun Sav-R suggestion is especially appealing. After getting your suggestion, I checked out GunSav-R and it sounds like a great option for my project...Thank You