Got my rifle back from gunsmith doing a bedding job(not to pleased) There are some small spots on the fiberglass stock of compound. After it's dried,is there anything to these off other than sanding?

Thanks
Kian

P.S. Don't worry I will be in contact with smith ASAP

[ 05-31-2003, 16:46: Message edited by: Encore260 ]

probably not... bedding compound is an epoxy and as such becomes an inert substance after all chemical action is completed. You might try getting a pointy-tiped soldering iron and heating the stuff until it melts, which is around 325 degrees. Be careful that you don't burn or craze your stock, of course. Other than that, I think you'll have to blast.

Encore,

Yes, you can most likely get it off. I had a rifle come back from a paid gunsmith with a sloppy bedding job, and I was able to remove epoxy from the wood. The epoxy on your stock is probably much more brittle than the stock itself, and that's the key.

I used a set of Nicholson miniature files. It took a few strokes to get the feel for it. For me, it was maybe 20 away from perpendicular draw filing, the angle being in the direction of direct, regular filing.

When you have the angle and pressure right, you can feel the teeth on the file crumbling the surface of the epoxy. I was able to go right down to the wood. At the angle and pressure I was using, the file slid over the wood without any marks. I didn't sit and file all day on the wood, but the clean wood had a certain feel, and then I moved on to the areas still crusted with epoxy. I wiped away the last traces of epoxy with 1500 grit sandpaper. Again, the paper "catches" on the epoxy, but it glides over the wood.

Again, I didn't sand all day on the wood after it was clean. If I did, the stock would have gotten shiny. As it is, the sandpaper is so fine, it doesn't disturb the slightly rougher finish the rest of the stock has. Think of how long it would take to remove the saw marks from the end of a hacksawed bar using fine grit sandpaper. Think of the texture of your stock's current finish as those hacksaw marks on a micro scale. Just don't sand so long that you remove those micro marks.

I was able at the same time to improve the appearance of the metal to wood fit. I angled the file in about 20 degrees to bevel the epoxy around the edge of the wood. Any non-straightness in the glue line is disguised by the bevel. The rifle looks great now.

H. C.

[ 05-31-2003, 19:58: Message edited by: HenryC470 ]

The glass is probably adhereing to the finish not the wood...take a plastic tooth brush sharpen the end (opposite the Brissels) then carefully scrape the glass off the wood, if that does not work then take a hack saw blade and grind the teeth off leaving a flat surface and use that edge to scrape it off...use the blade flat so as not to scrape into the wood...mostly the glass will just pop off..

I've had pretty much the same experience as Henry & Ray. I VERY carefully use a very fine file, and once it gets down to a certain point, it will pop off, usually before I ever touch the wood.

Go slow & careful, and you'll probably be just fine.

This may sound crazy, but if you have a freezer large enough to get the stock in, leave it there for 24 hrs. After that use Ray's toothbrush chisel idea and the bedding should come off a lot easier.

you could try using a single-edge razor blade and with the patience of Job, carefully scrape away at the offending compound until it gets so thin in section it might pop off.