Is there anyone out there......

[carwashchris]

that refinishes stocks. I have come to the conclusion that I suck when it come's to stock refinishing. Is there anyone out there that I can send a stock to and have it done ??

Thanks Chris

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[Harlan (Deceased)]

If I were to have someone else do a carbine stock it would be painter777 if he was willing to do it.

[jimb16]

Good choice!

[ChipS]

Chris

Why do you think you suck at stock refinishing? Admitted, some get marginally better looking results because they've learned the little tricks, patience and when enough is enough before it becomes too much. But, you should be able to do a very presentable GI military finish without much effort and learn the tricks as you go along to make each refinish job a little better and a little faster. Remember, you are not working on a $500 piece of AAA Fancy burl walnut - you are working on a $50 piece of lumber that has been kicked around by who knows who for 70 years and you don't want it to look arsenal new when you get done - just well cared for.

I use Formby's Furniture Refinisher to strip the old finish. It cuts through years of hardened gunk like the proverbial hot knife. I never use oven cleaner or soap & water to clean a stock - period. Oven cleaner has a bad wood discoloration rap and a very bad (costly) experience with warm soap & water I had years ago stopped that. Go out on the patio, put about an inch of Formby's in a cheap disposable aluminum bread pan, hold the stock upright in the pan and gently scrub it down with a toothebrush, reversing the stock in the pan as needed until all surfaces have been scrubbed clean of old finish. You can change the solvent and give it a final clean scrub if you want to but I never found that to be necessary. I cover any cartouches with masking tape during the general scrub and then clean over them carefully afterward before finish application.

Let the stock dry (dries very quickly) and then steam out the dents by using a double layer of sopping wet cloth over the dent and a hot clothing iron aplied over and over. Dents will usually only raise so much and you will learn when you start to be wasting your time steaming them any further. Let the stock dry and rub it down with steel wool to knock down the grain raised by steaming. Fill any gouges or lost wood that you want to fill with appropriate color wood putty and file/sand flush with the stock surface. I usually don't fill gouges but that's my personal preference. Other than filing and sanding wood filler flush with the surrounding surface you should never sand a stock in the process of refinishing, particularly if it is a collectable stock.

I have rarely found it necessary or adviseable to use any stain on walnut but I can't speak for other woods. I simply apply raw linseed oil to the cleaned and prepared stock surface by hand rubbing, let it soak in for about and hour, wipe off any excess and let dry about a day. Then do that over and over again until you are happy with the depth of finish. You can steel wool the stock between coats for a smoother finish if you like. I will usually give it at least 3-4 coats and then an occasional maintenance application every few months. You will be amazed at how beautiful most GI wood will look after only the first coat of oil. Works for me and I think the stocks are well protected and look great - not cartoon new but real life great. I think if you start monkeying with different stains and tints there is a fair chance you will end up with something possibly irreversible that does not look natural and original, particularly if you are not very experienced with the staining processes.

There are a lot of diffferent stock problems that may require a more advanced level of restoration expertise (missing wood, cracks/splits, oil and oxidation stains, warping, etc.), but IMHO general refinishing of a sound USGI stock to a very nice milspec result should be achievable by anyone with patience and readily available materials. There are many good ways to skin a cat and others here in the Forum may offer equally good, or better, methods of achieving the desired result, whatever that desired result may be. What I offer you is encouragement and the benefit of my experiences (good and bad) in Carbine/Garand stock refinishing. You can pay someone else to refinish your stock but there is enjoyment and satisfaction in doing it yourself, to the way you think it should look. Remember, practice makes perfect. Semper Fi, ChipS

[USGI]

Very well said! - Bob

[carwashchris]

Chip, thanks for all the encouragement. I was frustrated when I started that post, I came home from a show in Louisville and saw a bunch stocks that had been re-finished and they put my work to shame. I have a couple that I just finished, degreased with Murphy's and then used a mixture of BLO and mineral spirts, they came out ok. I have a nice marlin stock { very few bumps and bruises } good color. This one is for my M2 and I just want it to have the WOW factor. So I thought I would see what my options were before I jumped in myself. But thanks again and I will keep you all in the loop.

Chris

[Bruce McAskill]

Chris, If the stock your working on is a pot belly for your M2 then it is possible that it's a Birch stock and they can be a pain in the butt for sure. Birch doesn't take staining well but if you use a stain that is alcohol based it comes out much nicer as the alcohol helps the stain to penetrate the dense Birch grain.

[ChipS]

Chris:

Re the stocks you saw in Louisville, I don't know what look you are going for in your stock finish but you have to keep in mind what your goal is. If you want a stock that faithfully replicates the original USGI finish then follow my instructions or other similar recommendations from the Forum. The stock finish will be dull, the grain and pores will show and the surface will be a little rough to the touch. If you want a 'pretty' commercial finish then go at with sandpaper down to 320 grit and a few coats of polyurethne or tung oil varnish (i.e.Minwax), sanded or steel wooled in between coats, and you can make it as smooth and slick as a baby's butt (please don't do this to a collectable stock). Very pretty and totally wrong if you want to make your carbine look original.

Maybe I'm out of line here and the stocks you saw in Louisville did actually looked better than yours by original finish standards, but you didn't see what they looked like before the refinish job and you don't know how much wood the guy sanded off (damaging the stocks forever) in order to get that right out of the factory looking stock surface.

I suggest you start with your low value beater stocks and practice your techniques. You will teach yourself a lot at no cost except your time and you will be more confident when you start on a grungy stock of higher collector value (a diamond in the rough).

BTW, boiled linseed oil was not used originally on carbine stocks. The BLO will dry quickly, fill the wood pores and build up a hard slick surface on the stock which is not really authentic. Like yourself, for some time I used BLO cut 50/50 with mineral spirits or turpentine but changed my ways several years ago as a result of info received from this Forum. However, it's your stock to finish as you see fit and BLO does produce a good waterproof finish that doesn't look too bad to me as long as it is not overdone with too many coats. Good luck, ChipS

[Bruce McAskill]

As Chip said don't use any of the poly or Minwax stains on a real USGI stock. They have a sealer built into them so once you put them on you won't get anything else into the wood. And the same thing with BLO or Tung oil finishes. The ONLY finish used on USGI stocks was raw linseed oil. The oil was heated and then the stocks were dunked into the oil. That is how it was applied. You take your time with the RLO and rub a small area at a time. If you put in the time it will turn out nice just don't be in a hurry.

[carwashchris]

OK I think you have me talked into giving it another try. Bruce this one is Walnut, I do have a Birch pot belly that I used ez-off on it's looks like @#%$&^ ! 1 step up from fire wood. LOL