Last winter I loaned my Ruger Hawkeye 223 to a young hunter who was going out for deer with his dad on our property. The stock is walnut and only had a few minor marks in the finish. Upon returning from that hunt it had several scratches in the finish.

The rifle is an early version of the new Hawkeye (M77). It would be nice if I could touch it up and blend the finish through sanding but I think I'm going to have to take it back to wood and address a bit of the grain.

My question concerns the finish and exactly what Ruger used or uses on their wood stocks. Should I try to go back with that, use a hand rubbed poly or BLO/turpentine?

Opinions and experience welcome.

lc

Step one; whip his ass for abusing your rifle.
Step two, Forget about linseed oil and turpentine; that is some outdated concoction that does nothing to protect wood.
Step 3; To the real work; to remove the scratches, you need to sand to bare wood, which also will remove the stain which Ruger uses, so it won't be easy; I use tung and polyurethane stock finish sold by Brownells. It actually repels water. So it will depend on how deep the scratches are. I use Laurel Mountain stain, and their walnut is close to Ruger's. maybe. You can try to work on the scratches, maybe some steaming, but be prepared for more drastic action.

Unless the EPA made them change...the finish is Sherwin Williams Kem-Var C. It is a fast dry cabinet finish sold to Commercial customers only...now. I am not sure you can avoid going to wood. But judicious application of marine grade stripper IN the divit will allow one to steam out the dent. Pro Custom Finish will do well as a replacement finish.

Good info; yes, Pro Custom is what I use. I guess the real question is, are the scratches in the wood, or just the finish. If just the finish, then your job will be easy.

That is very good information, Dennis. I looked up SHER-WOOD® Super KEMVAR® "C" Catalyzed Vinyl Coating and the first thing it says under Specifications is "Wood (interior only)". That's enough to put me off of using it for a firearm.

Something isn't right; Ruger finishes are tougher than just for interior use.

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I could be wrong because it's been a lot of years. But for some reason I seem to recall asking the guys at the plant what they used when I was doing warranty work for Ruger and they told me that it was an epoxy paint. I know that Weatherby used to use Fullerplast and Remington used DuPont RKW but what Ruger used escapes me right now.

quote:

Last winter I loaned my Ruger Hawkeye 223 to a young hunter

I have a couple of loaner rifles that I don't care what they look like when they come back.

Having had a couple bad experiences loaning firearms out I don't loan my good firearms out.

Had a idiot cousin use a 94win as a drag stick wrapped a rope around the action and pulled his buck out of woods with it. Then he bragged about how smart he was doing it.

Had another person drop a rifle on its scope and bend the rear of the scope a quarter of an inch down.

Loan a rifle Sorry no clue as to the finish but as others have said you are going to have to go to bare wood for an even finish.

For years I had a beater MKX in a cheap plastic.
Years ago I did loan a full custom built in my 416PDK wildcat. Darn if that thing still isn't home.(with my agreement) Figured it would have more fun hunting in Alaska every fall vs sitting in my safe.

Thanks for the responses. It looks like I'm going to have to take the long way home on this one. I now have a winter project.

lc

Factory stock. Can you not buy a replacement and save the current and use cor when you loan it again?

Leonard Brownell set up both the Ruger Wood shop and the Kimber of Oregon Wood Shop. Kem Var C was the go to finish for both shops. Yes, it is rated as an interior finish from the factory. Guess what....it works outdoors too! Kem Var C is a two part catylized Alklyd Urea Epoxy. I used to buy it in 5 Gal. cans for my shop and for Kimber of Oregon. As the head finisher for the company I got to use a lot of it. In fact the finish I accidently created included Kem Var C and two other Sherwin Williams hotter Alklyd Urea Epoxy finishes. That's what happens when the boss can't read the typed order sheet correctly.

Use Brownells GUN SAV R finish, its a spray on and comes in gloss and satin, easy to use and its a top notch finish that can take a beating and it touches up real easy..

young hunters can mess up a stock..If you lend your guns, have a special one that a scratch or two won't hurt..Like the ones I hunt with! f Im pretty rough on a gun and I should know better..but just can't stand on formality/tradition in that I hate babying a rifle. Its a cowboy thing taught from childhood.

Well. I did learn a lesson. The young fella showed some interest in buying the rifle. I might just slick it up a bit and make him an offer. I'm probably out of the rifle loaning game for now.

I guess most of you guys are like plumbers. You mend other people's firearms and don't have time to keep your own in top shape.

I grew up helping my dad build furniture. He was an old school joinery builder. I'm comfortable with wood grain and finishing. I appreciate all the advice.

lc

Right on! I build custom rifles and sell them..I hunt with what most folks call junk..I have a friend that likes SS and plastic guns, and I do not as a rule..He rags on me over the virtures of SS and plastic...A couple of fall hunts ago, and a lot of snow was on the ground,so I brought my old Win. 70 300 H&H..He saw it and squelled like a gal and pointed and accusing finger, "aha, SS and plastic on your personal gun, I knew you had one hidden" blaw blaw blaw!!

On closer inspection he had to back down! the blue was totally worn off other than under the wood, the stock is exhibition drift wood..He was devastated!! It was a happy moment for yours truly!!