Hi, I was wondering if anyone has a few good tips/ideas on how to remove minor dents from my rifle stock?

Thank you.

I'm not an expert on this but have removed dents from several stocks and found it to be easy to do. I use a small electric iron (travel size). W/ finish removed, I lay a wet cloth on the stock over the dent then run the iron over the cloth. The heat from the iron turns the water to steam which is forced into the wood raising the dent. Doing this over the stock not only raises dents but aso raises the grain.

Good Luck!

I use a cheap soldiering iron and a wet cloth. Allows me to put heat in a smaller area.

i (actually my wife) uses a damp, not wet cloth, and her normal iron.. if the grain isn't broken, it usually works great

jeffe

I use my wifes iron and wet rag..........not sure why I call it hers.........can't recall her ironing my shirts.

wet rag and heat gun works good too.

It depends on whether you are doing this in conjunction with refinishing the stock or just repairing a dent. If you have stripped the finish, wetting the whole stock and letting it air dry will raise some minor dents. A damp cloth and iron or soldering pencil will help on deeper ones.
If you are not refinishing and the gun has a thick, glossy finish, you will likely have to scrape the finish off in order to raise a dent. I would use a soldering iron in order to not apply heat to the surrounding finish.

I use the iron and wet rag a lot also. But not all finishes work well, the new spray on sealers like lacquer, turn white under the heat and steam. And waterproof finishes block the steam and you need to strip off the finish before you can get good results.

WHich leads to another point, why I like oil finishes on my wood stocks, in the long run they are easier to maintain, and fix scratches and dents.

Last thought, after the steaming your wood will lighten a little, you need to put oil back in the wood, don't be stingy if you have a big dent several coats of oil are required, I also use the very finest steel wool after to blend it all in. With a little work you can get most dents out, with the exception of when the grain or fibers in the wood are cut. These will show even after there steamed, but if you use filler or bone black and work on it these can be disguissed pretty well, not 100% and you can tell if your really nit picking, but you need to look carefully to see it. I have also found that after you have used the steel wool and blended, use a good wax, it makes it all look right. Another trick before the wax, is use rottenstone and a felt pad, its a hand polishing
deal, but it makes the final product look at lot better.

Real deep cuts and gouges are bad news, some of these you just do the best you can, steaming really can't replace a 1/8"-1/4" of missing wood. This usually ends up working filler back into the stock and blending.

Jeffe, do you have a better method on the deep stuff? These always seem to be the toughest to straighten out.

Ditto on above....if you have a gouge or the wood is missng, try using a bit of acraglas with some sawdust from a similar colored piece of wood to fill and stain/finish to match.....mix together to form a paste and fill only in the area of missing wood. Very durable and while not perfect, can be hard to detect.

To all, thanks so much for all your help. I recon with all the input received one should be able to make the stock as “newâ€.

Thanks again!!!

I have best results with hot steam.

I use a thin triangular chemical glass bottle that is plugged with a foamrubber paintroller. Through the roller I sick a thin glass or metal tube, so that it protrudes into the bottle. The businessend is bent in a curve and narrowed.

I put some water in the bottle and bring it to boiling. When steam escapes from the tube, I hold the dent or scratch in the steam and most of them disappear completely in a matter of seconds. Stockfinishes are not damaaged.

Don't use a cork or rubber to plug the bottle; pressure might cause it to explode. The foamrubber alows excessive pressure out.

I aslo found out that dents completely disappear when treated fresh. Older dents and scratches are much more difficult to remove.

Try this; you won't be disappointed!

As has been said, you can steam dents out pretty good unless the grain has been "torn". Even so they will still look better than if not steamed.

I like to use a wet rag and an iron, I let the rag sit for a few minutes on the dent first.

If it has a thick finish I do it a little differently, take a pin and poke a bunch of holes in the finish, say if the dent is the size of a pencil eraser I'd poke 3-5 holes depending on the shape of the dent. Then fill the dent with water and let set a minute, and use the tip of a soldering gun or iron to boil the water. Wipe off and let set for a while and see if you need to do it again. If the finish whitens, most will, let set a few days and they clear up.

The thing to remember is that you are steaming the wood, and not getting it hot enough where you are cooking it.