Gentlemen:

I have a beautiful Beretta shotgun. Wood is factory oil finished, EELL grade. It recently took 3 dings to the bottom of the stock, directly along the edge of the bottom of the stock, between the pistol grip and the heel.

The dings are perhaps 3/8 inch long and about 1/8th wide. Perhaps a little larger than the width and the depth of the edge of a coin. I can't measure the depth, but they are certainly deep enough to see and feel when you rub them with your thumb.

The top of the stock, along the comb, also has some dings, caused by hitting the bottom of ear muffs as the gun is mounted. These dings are also slight, yet noticeable.

Can I steam them out without first doing anything with the factory finish? Can I just hold them over a singing tea kettle and raise the grain?

What is the danger to the wood, and how will the factory oil finish respond to the steam?

Can someone walk me through this process, please?

Best.........TWL

First steam can't repair cut wood fibers. It can improve them but the steam will only raise the dent. It can't repair a cut (yes it often makes it look better.

I happen to prefer the tip of an old iron and a wet cloth to allow me to get the steam where I want it. I have also used a wet cloth with a soldiering gun or iron as well. Someone mentioned having good results with a steamer used to remove wrinkles from clothing. Isn't hard lay the cloth on the dent and apply heat to the cloth driving heat and steam into the wood. Little at a time to much heat too long can burn.

What the steam will do to the finish is a crap shoot. I've had it go both ways. I'm unsure as to what finish (oil) they used.

I would do a search here on AR there has been a number of threads discussing it.

Another issue to deal with on Beretta stocks is their painted-on wood grain. They use a hand-painting technique to "enhance" the grain with dark, almost black steaks. When restoring/refinishing Beretta stocks I point out to customers they will lose this feature as I'm no good at faking wood grain.

I have "steamed" out dents in several stock by heating the tip of a large old screwdriver till its red then I dampen the area and then take a very wet wash cloth and hold it on the dent and apply the red hot screw driver for about 3 to five seconds. About three applications will raise a large dent. I have never had it hurt a finish that I could discern. Most of my gunstocks are finished with True Oil

Barstooler