The varnish came off very easily. I used a lot of Qtips getting into the small areas. I decided to go with the BLOicon since the finish on my AR41 appears to be a little more durable than just RLO. First coat went on last night and the second will be applied when I get home from work. The stock does not appear to be sanded but I was disappointed that there were none of the usual stock stampings under all of that varnish. Had they stopped stamping the stocks by then?