How do you steam out dings and dents from walnut stocks?

[Scott in Indiana]

What is the best method to steam out dings and dents from an old walnut stock? How will the heat effect the finish if any? Thanks.

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[AlReiter]

My personal preference is to leave them there. They serve as examples that the rifle has "been there, done that"!!

[LS6bob]

Hi Scott.................You can do it simply by using an old wash cloth, dip it into water , lay it over the dent and then us your wifes,mothers,girlfriends clothes iron. It takes practice and patience to raise the dent and not burn the wood.

OR you can buy one of the hand held household steamer devices which are used to clean spots on carpet etc. and use the steam directed at the dent.

There are several other ways that I'm sure someone will speak up on.

The only reason I wouldn't try to get dent out is if I have a "collectable stock". All other are fair game and I like good looking stocks..

Bob

[Mike D]

Get a regular household clothes iron. If it has the steam option, use it. Put a wet towel on top the ding. Put the tip of the iron on it 5 seconds or so and check. Repeat if neccesary. Refinishing may be neccesary. I did that on some old M1 handguards and it worked great on the small stuff. Brought the deep gouges closer to the surface. Sanded lightly and used BLO afterwards.

[Milsurp Collector]

Steaming can fix a dent, where the wood fibers have been compressed but not removed, but not a gouge or chip, where the wood fibers have been lost.

The easiest way to steam out a dent is to put a wet washcloth over the dent, then apply heat to the washcloth over the dent with a clothes iron. Keep rewetting the cloth and repeat the steaming as necessary.

I prefer to use a scunci steamer because it is more precise and you can apply steam continuously rather than just for a few seconds as with the washcloth and iron method.



This is a walnut K98k stock that had a deep dent.

[AKA Hugh Uno]

agree, lots of heat, lots of steam, but it will for SURE remove the finish. Oh, if it has a poly finish, none of this will work. Oil finishes only.

[mack]

The above methods all work. Removal of the finish is a "given" in these circumstances as the heat and steam will almost certainly take away all the dents if done often and vigorously.

The point here is that one application will NOT get anything but the surface scuffs and light compression dents. Deep dents will require a process that goes like this:

1 Wet area with terrycloth rag and let it soak in for a few minutes. I mean really wet if the wood will soak it up. If it won't soak up the water, then......

2......go directly to placing the wet rag over the dent area, apply the iron and steam, steam and steam some more. Lightly passing over the dents won't get it done. Lay the iron down hard enough to produce a cloud of steam and move the wet cloth or rag frequently. About when you think you are making progress.......

3.......quit for the day. Let the wood fiber rest and cool. As it relaxes, it will return to it's natural shape. The wood fiber wants to regain it's original shape and I have found that letting it rest and cool is one way to encourage that reshaping. Then.....

4.......return another day and do it all over again. Same routine and same vigorous effort. Again, as you make progress, watch for the wood to stop responding and then quit. You are done for that day. Wait and let the wood rest.

5.......I have worked stocks for as much as 14-21 days, coaxing out dents and scars, all the while deep cleaning the pores of wood of years of accumulated grease and oils, both manmade and human.

A good strong cleaning with one of the popular degreasers usually follows the steaming and then the finish of your choice. I usually work with tung oil as a base finish before moving on to color (if needed) and linseed oil or whatever else you may pick as a finish.

Good luck and enjoy. It's a Zen thing you know. Patience is a virtue in this endeavor. Now I have to go check on the one I just re-worked. I have the first coat of oil on it and the walnut is simply stunning.

[gcp611]

+1 on the Scunci steamer. I tried the wet towel and it does work. However the Scunci puts the steam where you want it and for a lot more time. It works fast on deeper dents. It will take off all of the finish.

[Swede]

I used the iron and wet cloth method. It worked good but I ended up buy my wife a new iron. There was a lot of finish left on it.

[gyrfalcon]

Is it okay to boil a stock in a turkey fryer?

I have some Chinese Nagants and it would take forever to try and steam out each ding individually. Thought it might help clean the stocks a bit as well.