I'll post it up in the classifieds once the varnish cures some.
Now posted in the classifieds.
What are you using to strip the stocks? Is it good old fashion elbow grease?
For the poly or varnish coat I use Tuff-Strip. For the stain the only thing you can do is sand it out.
I have a 10/22 stock I'm working on so no clue on the varnish. I just put some stripper in it we shall see how it works.
What about your thoughts on blo va tung oil
It is likely a type of varnish or poly... Stripper should remove it ok.
Haven't used blo. Couldn't offer a comparison. Sorry.
Klean strip is doing the trick, cutting sanding down by a bit. I'm going to dye the stock and finish after, I was using tru- oil but it's kind of a pain.
No disrespect Catt, but I don’t entirely agree. Most strippers that I have ever used will remove oil based stains fairly easily right along with the topcoat. It just may take more than one treatment. It’s the water and alcohol based stains that are tough for strippers to remove due to how deeply the stain permeates the grain. For any oil based stained stocks that have been stripped, but still have stubborn areas of remaining stain…hit them with steel wool soaked in acetone and that will normally remove all traces of the remaining stain. Alcohol and water based stains will be much harder to remove and will typically involve soaking portions of the stock in denatured alcohol for short periods of time to leach the stain back out. IMO in most cases, sanding with anything more abrasive than 0000 steel or bronze wool (especially on a military surplus stock) should be an last resort.
Overall BLO will be a much easier oil finish to work with than pure tung oil. Tung oil typically has a much longer dry time, so it is easier to over-apply leaving yourself with a gummy mess. BLO has driers mixed in which aid in shortening the dry time. Because of this you need to be very careful about leaving rags soaked in BLO in confined spaces as they will spontaneously combust quite easily.
Most of the stocks that I have refinished or maintained over the years have been treated with BLO. I have no first hand complaints about BLO, but I have since substituted using it for Real Milk Paint’s Pure Tung Oil which I cut with their natural citrus solvent when needed. I prefer the appearance and PTO provides better protection than BLO. There are reports of BLO darkening stocks (nearly black) over time and molds and mildews are known to feed on linseed oil, which has been another incentive for me to switch to PTO.
If you are refinishing a commercial stock (like a 10/22) that doesn’t require a specific “correct” finish…tung oil finish is definitely the way to go. Both Formby’s and Minwax produce a tung oil finish product and I believe that they may be the exact same formula. Tung oil finish is very easy to work with, gives excellent protection, and can easily be built to a matte or high gloss finish. I just personally don’t use it on milsurp stocks as it is a viping varnish. If the 10/22 stock that you are planning to refinish is birch (most are), you will get the best results by using a pre-stain conditioner and an alcohol or water based stain...otherwise expect a blotchy, uneven finish. Birch and oil based stains do not like one another.
Tomorrow I’ll try digging up some comparison photos of BLO, PTO, and tung oil finish treated stocks for comparison.
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