I have a couple of rem stocks that are scratched. Hate that glossy crap that rem keeps puting on their rifles but continue to buy them anyway. Well can any one tell me if i can strip the glossy crap of and finish it to be a polished satin like finish (so if it does get scratched I can fix it easily) also I noticed that boyds stocks has checkering tools could i use these to touch up the checkering. Any help would be appreciated i have a feeling i'm not alone here!!

Do a search in the Gunsmithing Forum and see my post (and others) re Rem700 stock refinishing. It's not hard to do.

------------------
there's a fine line between hobby and mental illnes

Don't strip it,... rub it out. Use automotive rubbing compound, super fine steel wool, and a little water. It will knock the gloss off and leave a satin finish. What the factory applies is great stuff, it just needs a little work.

Hooker,

I'm about halfway through a stock refinish on a 700 mountain rifle stock. Which, I've never done before on a remington. Here's what I've done so far:

First, I stripped the finish with a paint/epoxy/polyurethane stripper. It is in a thick "brushable" paste and the most powerful stuff in the store. (and it didn't hurt that black forearm and grip caps either!)

It didn't seem to strip the finish so much as soften in. Also, scoring with a wire brush after the stripper was applied seemed to help greatly after 5 minutes or so. Nevertheless, that hard-hard finish takes some further convincing. I did this with a dull, flexible metal scraper. I think atkinson once recommended the toothless side of a hacksaw. Same thing and it works great!

After the stock was pretty well stripped, scraped, and seriously ugly, I blasted it off with the garden hose and kept at it. Eventually, I had to wipe it off with a rag, sit down, and pick all the little left over bits off with the scraper. The whole process took about 1.5 hours. Incidentally, the checkering was in fairly good shape, and between the stripping agent and several light strokes with the wire brush, it disappeared on it's own.

Once down to the bare wood, I pulled out dents and dings with a wet cloth and clothes iron. It works perfectly. (Though admittedly, I left a few for character) A few rough spots in the checkering I touched up with a razor blade, no problem (just take your time). Finally, I took fine sand paper and 00 steel wool over the stock and wiped it down with lacquer thinner.

As for the finish, I use Sea-Fin Teak Oil. Which you can sometimes find in the isles of paint stores. Though you can buy "rifle stock" refinishing oils, I believe they are the exactly same thing. Basicly, you rub them on, wet sand, wipe down, let dry, repeat for 4-6 coats over several days.

This gives a rich satin finish that is tough as can be, impervious to most anything, and doesn't ever flake off like that stupid coating that comes from the factory. It also has a different feel altogether and gives the wood a richer, deeper luster.

Hope this helps, just go for it, it's not as hard as you might think

scot,

That's an interesting thought! I have another Rem stock I may just try that on. Great suggestion.