I have a 100+ year old SxS that is in excellent condition except for a good ding on the stock, about 1/4"dia. and about 1/8 deep. Looks like and impact crater that has turned dark over the years.

Will steaming really raise something like this back up? I have an old style soldering iron so I can apply heat in a small area, what is the proper procedure for this without having to refinish?

thanks, Rob

Truthful answer....sometimes yes...sometimes no. Never on an synthetic(non oil) finish that is still embeded into the fibers of the wood or has not broken the surface of the finsh. Water must be able to reach the effected wood fibers in order for them to rise( you have to remove the finish layer to get to the wood). The water must be turned to steam by a heat source....I use an old travel iron/thick cotton cloth combination for this. Usually touch up IS needed no matter how careful one is.

So I should clean out the finish in the crater (probably oil or varnish from back then) fill the crater with H2O and let it absorb, and then apply heat....?

quote:

fill the crater with H2O and let it absorb, and then apply heat

As Dennis said the water must get under the finish into the wood fibers. If the fibers are cut or torn then you will have less success. If it is actually a dent it will work better.

Depending on the size I would simply use a wet cloth and either and iron or soldering iron. It doesn't take that much water. work slow and don't burn the wood.

On many of the old military stocks I work on , a certain amount of success was met dampening the wood for some time and than holding it in the vapor from a tea kettle. After each tea kettle treatment it would be steel wooled and than start over. roger

As others have already posted , by placing water on the dent an allowing it to stand for a few days it might penetrate the finish ,it also might not it also can discolor the finish ( Use distilled water for best results ) .

After a few days cover with a wash cloth use a steam iron or iron , yet only dampen the portion which covers the dent .

If fibers are crushed they'll expand if their gouged or severed your wasting your time . FYI; Reshaping or swelling wood is best accomplished without finish of any type . I also understand your particular predicament. BOL ...

A pin hole or two in the dent before applying steam/water sometimes helps penetration into the wood.

You will also find that the above applications, done repeatedly, rather than just once, are sometimes very effective.

Just got through taking some dents from a chest my wife is working on. Wetted the wood and went to work on it with her hair drier set on high and an orbital sander w/ fine paper. Two applications did the trick. roger

Damp, sodden, cloth. Directly on top. Then touch with tip of electric soldering iron until steam starts.

Remove, inspect, repeat. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. Depends on the wood.

What I've done with fine furniture with dings is to use a hypodermic to inject the water deeper into the wood.
The ex-wife had one of the bee sting kits that expired, that I used the first time. Then I found the local drugest would sell me a dispoable hypodermic.
Let the wood dry for a week after steaming and apply new finish.

Jim

I have a small dedicated stock iron used for raising dents. The finish needs to be removed from the effected area, otherwise the finish will act as a barrier. I do not soak the stock at all. I use a standard dish cloth that has been soaked and lightly wrung out. Lay the wet cloth over the area and then I run the iron over the wet cloth and dented area similar to ironing a pair of slacks. The iron will turn the moisture in the dish cloth to steam and drive it into the wood below. As this steam is driven into the wood, it will force the wood to swell and rise up to the level of the iron. The wet towel will prevent the iron from scortching the wood. When you raise the iron and towel, the heat will make the wood appear near dry. Depending on the hardness of the wood and the depth of the dent, it may take several applications to raise the dent. Some dents cannot be fully raised due to the overall damage. Do not let the towel run completely dry as you will then risk scortching the wood beneath the iron.

I've done this numerous times on wood stocks each year for as many years back as I can remember hunting with a wood stock. I've used the same small stock iron for nearly 20 years.

Best

Dear Rob:

I have had credible results in using a similar application as described by GaryVA. Everyone who posted here is right, you have to remove the varnish first.

The only difference is that I use an iron set high on the cotton setting with soaked and squeezed paper towels folded over to 4X thickness. I usually iron the dented area plus 1/2" around the area like a shirt. When the paper towel starts to dry out, pull it off.

You will be amazed at how much crud, gunk and varnish remover that you can pull from the wood pores. With an oil finish, I just steam until the dent is gone, scrape a bit with a dull knife, let it dry for a few days, re-sand and rub in more oil.

American walnut stock dents seem to rise faster, since the grain is more open (1957 Model 12 for example). European/French/thin shelled walnut wood takes a bit more applications and effort, I assume because the wood is harder and closer grained (1950's A-5's).

Eventually, you will end up ironing out the rest of the stock, sand off the whiskers and find some grain color that may boggle your mind. This happened to me with some of what appeared to be mediocre 1950's A-5 stocks, that just exploded with color.

Like Gary said, use distilled water (although I've gotten away with using tap water). I dump the paper towels after each application. They look pretty gunked up and yellow usually.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis