My father promised to get a hunting buddy's old combination gun into shape. It's a Tikka over/under shotgun (12 gauge)/222 Rem. The stock seem's to be laquered with some sort of clear compound. Can you scrape it of, heat it or what's the best solution? This is something of a "mercy" job to at least get the old gun into working shape. Any answer appriciated.

Wachtel,

Try a commercial finish remover that you can spray or brush on. In the U.S. I use brands such as Klean-Strip stripper or Zip Strip. I don't know what you have available in Sweden, but any store that sells supplies for refinishing furniture should carry it. These will dissolve almost any finish and with a little wiping will get you right down to the bare wood.

People who know what they're doing can use scrapers to get down to bare wood, but the spray-on stuff is so easy to use that I've never felt the need to learn how.

Good luck with your project,
Wayne E.

Sometimes the finish does not react to the spray types of finish remover. The thicker semi paste type are often better. Also the older solvent types are much faster that the environmentally friendly water base types.

Wachtel,

First, are there dents and dings in the wood of the stock? If so, and you want to remove them, then strip the finish. Check around, there are two places in my town that will strip old finishes from furniture and such. They charge about $15 dollars for a rifle stock sized item, but the results are fantastic.

The dents and dings can then be removed with a wet cloth and a hot clothes iron. Deeper scratches will steem out somewhat but require a little wood filler. Sand and steel wool smooth and then you're ready to add the sealer and finish.

Lacquers are the most common. Precatalyzed is best. Incidentally, if the wood is not damaged and only the finish is bad consider this: Chemically, lacquers are very hot. Therefore each coat melts into the layer below it. Thus you never truly have multiple coats of a lacquer, just one coat of a certain thickness. The lesson here is that if your stock's finish can be sanded smooth, there is no reason to strip the old lacquer finish. Once smooth, a fresh coat(s) of lacquer maybe all it needs. Certainly, this is MUCH easier. Be sure to apply a test spot of lacquer in the barrel channel or underneath the recoil pad to make sure the original finish is lacquer. If the test spot gets wrinkley, then it's NOT lacquer.

Anyhow, if you have other questions feel free to email me.

good luck!

Personally, I like to sand the polymeric finish and then oil it. I use masking tape to protect the checkering and hand and orbital sander with 220 and 320 grit sand paper. The grit is somewhat dependant upon the thickness of the finish. I take it down to I just take off some wood. Then oil it down. With this approach the wood's pores are still sealed by the polymeric finish with the oil protecting the woods surface. You end up with an easily repairable highly water resistant finish. I prefer tung oil, but linseed oil will work as well.

Todd E

Thanks for all the answers! Will try to find some sort of remover as a first option.

Wachtel.

A heat gun is a quick and easy way to get rid of the old finnish. Use the heat gun and a (don�t know the name in english, sorry guys) "sickel". The laquer will come off easy, be carefull at the checkering thogh. Use heat and a brass brush to get the laquer out of the checkering and rechecker with a checkering tool.

Good luck!

Stefan.