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Removing Scratches from rifle stock

40K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  Airdog 
#1 ·
I have some surface scratches on my 1991 Browning BAR. Does anyone know how to remove them scraches with refinishing the stock? The scraches are not into the wood......
Also, What kind of finish is on the wood? It looks like varnish or polyurathane.
 
#4 ·
I have used Tru-Oil and it will touch-up a scratch . A side bar to this. I have not tried this but a few years back. I read an article about removing dings in rifle stocks. The guy said to put a damp towel over it and use a normal clothes Iron medium heat, back and forth over the ding, would rise it out. I never tried it. But thought I would throw it out there. See if anyone else has heard of it.
 
#5 ·
yes that works but only if the ares is stripped of its finish. The steam needs to penetrate the wood to make the grains raise back out. If there is finish on the gun the steam can't get into the wood. Steaming out dents does work well but its does have its limitations. Dents with broken grain won't raise much.
 
#7 ·
Airdog,
I have had real good luck with a product called "restore-a finish" made by the Howard company. It is sold in Home Depots in the paint department. This stuff is remarkable! No stripping or sanding, just wipe it on. It works for me. You can get it in the wood color you are working on, but I tend to use the walnut for almost everything.
Old Gun Guy
 
#10 ·
you have not told us what type finish you have,if its poly you can use 0000 steel wool to remove them and then lightly buff.if its oil base still 0000 steel wool but poss tru oil as described above.if these scratches are light then i would call it normal use and leave it alone. old semperfi
 
#11 ·
The iron works good but the hotter the better.
I have a buddy who had some BAD dents. He wet em good, applied a very wet wash cloth and a red hot head of a bolt-heated w/ torch. It lifted the dents. May need a couple doses of water/heat. Some deep gouges wont lift much or for sure entirely.
 
#13 ·
I've removed many dents from old stocks. First I clean with Murphy's Oil Soap that comes in a spray bottle. I set the iron heat one notch down from as hot as it will go. I place a thick towel over the area and make sure that it is thoroughly soaked. I only use the tip of the iron ( just over an inch or so). I work on a tiny area at a time, and you might have to do two dozen passes to completely raise a good dent. I really like the Howard products as mentioned above. They are pretty amazing.
 
#16 ·
I have tried True-Oil and Restore-a-Finish and both products did not work...Can anyone tell me what kind of finish is on the Browning Bar.
Not knowing exactly what the finish is on your BAR, this I can tell you......If you try to remove (strip) it, plan on a LOT of work! I think it took about five stripping sessions with a VERY caustic stripper to remove mine.
 
#18 ·
Hi,
You were correct that the finish on your BAR is probably a commercial polyurathane. I've had good luck removing scratches by lightly sanding with 600 or 800 grit wet or dry to remove existing finish gloss and allow adhesion of new finish. This assumes that they are not too deep and have not fractured the finish (turned an area white a whole new level of effort). Sand carefully you do not want to go down to the wood as the effort to patch an area is a lot more work. After you have removed the gloss, wipe area with mineral spirits, let dry, then take a very small brush or a toothpick and put poly finish on the scratch, let it dry per instructions. What you are trying to do is fill the scratch level with the sorrounding existing finish. This may take several coats. When you have the scratch filled let the poly cure for at least a week. Then use 800 grit WoD with pleanty of water to sand it flush with the existing finish. Remember that all sanding must be done with blocks. Rubber eracers work well for this size project. After the new poly is sanded flush you will need to polish the area to match the gloss of the rest of the stock. Try Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen it has worked well for me in the past; auto body polishing compound also works well. I use either on a small piece of shammy or leather. While you are at it give your whole stock a rub down. If your new poly doesn't want to come up to a gloss let it cure an additional week, the try again. Done carefully with this procedure you should be able to remove the scratch or at a minimum make it essentially undetectable.

Good luck Turcis1
 
#20 ·
I worked on my stock tonight using some 3m rubbing compound for boat hulls. It did the trick. It took out all but a couple of scratches but it look great. I put Johnson paste wax on after I was done with the rubbing compound. Thanks for all the advice.:)
 
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