stripping #1 stock

[craveman85]

I'm getting ready to start fitting my #1 stock to the receiver. Ruger clearly cuts corners on fit and finish. Actually if this hadn't been a special order I would have never gotten it. There are spots where I'm going to have to take down almost an 1/8th " to get it flush. Also plan on putting on an ebony for end and maybe a skeet style adjustable butt plate. Well before I get to that part I'd like to remove the finish. Has anyone used a chemical stripper on these? I've used citristrip on the 10/22 but don't know if the finish is similar.

 

[cadillo]

I would try Minnwax Furniture Refinisher. It is a mild stripper that is actually good for the wood. It will remove most, but not all finishes, and is very pleasant to use yielding nice results. Use it outdoors with a Scotchbrite pad and rubber gloves.

 

[rugerjunkie]

I have refinished a lot of stocks and always use aircraft/marine grade stripper. It takes 2-3 repeats with this strong stuff and wouldnt mess with low powered stripper. Mop it on heavy and wrap it in saran wrap or something similar to keep it from drying out on you and to let it work longer so you dont have to work as hard!

I use a stiff nylon or soft brass bristled brush to work in the stripper too. Let the first coat soften the finish and start brushing with the second coat of stripper. You'll want that brush for the checkering also. Just dont get very agressive with the brush on the checkering.

When I think the stripper has done its job I wipe the stock down the best I can and then wipe it down again with plenty of laquer thinner. The stripper will pull stain out of the wood and so will the laquer thinner but the thinner helps clean off the stripper. And I dont know if my last step is necessary , but I do a final wipedown with denatured alcohol to neutralize anything that might be remaning on the stock and to clean out any nooks n crannies that need it in the inletting.

Ruger uses some sort of a tinted polyurethane finish and it doesnt go very deep into the wood so its pretty easy to remove. I think my refinishing using a stain and clear poly look better and is absolutely more durable. Minwaxs "Gunstock" color is a very close match to Rugers color and if you mix 15% to maybe a max of 20% of dark walnut to the gunstock , it will still have the reddish brown color but really help to pop the grain.

This is a 77 Ultralight with straight gunstock color I recently did...



And this is an old Rem 721 just done and I used 20% dark walnut in the mix since it wasnt quite as red as the rugers usually are. It still has quite a bit of red in the color ,more than I thought it would , but made a nice difference in grain constrast. I'll be doing my next Ruger this way.





Im no expert by any means but have finished quite a few and have done tons of wood windows and cabinets for customers that give new meaning to fussy! If you have any more questions I'll help out if I can...

 

[craveman85]

Is that an old weaver on the 721? I've got a 721 in 300 h&h that I'll need to refinish someday as well. I'd just like to get my #1 and a couple others done first. It's got decent wood but bad fit.

 

[rugerjunkie]

Looks good! The blend with a touch of dark walnut would help pop that grain.
The 721 has an old Leupold 4x Mountaineer on it with fine crosshairs and a dot. I missed out on a 721 in a 300 H&H years ago...never should have walked out the door without it.

 

[craveman85]

I might go 50/50 dark walnut. I don't like the red in my stocks. My old 700 adl might be my first refinish as practice before my #1. It's got an old almost orange looking factory varnish (1964 remington 700)

 

[rugerjunkie]

My phone pictures dont show the color very well but the remington stock is pretty brown compared to the ruger. The variance in the natural wood colors will make a difference too. Its always easy to go a darker shade...not so much the other way! The one nice thing about refinishing though is you can make it any color your heart desires!

 

[craveman85]

I like 'em real dark. I'm looking for a highly figured super dark piece of walnut for a future stock for the 1. Someday I'd like to put a European style butt stock on it with a shadow line cheek rest like the cz rifles.

 

[craveman85]

I hope it works better on the ruger but aircraft stripper is not touching the finish on my 700. I basted it liberally, wrapped it in plastic, and have waited over an hour but nothing! Whatever they put on this stock I'm going to put on my cj8 when I get to the paint stage.

 

[rugerjunkie]

Some finishes can be tough! Be patient. A somewhat soft bristled wire brush helps in cases like this to score the finish to help the stripped work in deeper. Trial and error is needed at times too. Try brushing in the stripper or even brushing in some laquer thinner to start things softening up. Ive had stubborn finishes that can take 4-5 rounds of stripper to get it all. Then the next time the finish almost falls off with one round.

 

[craveman85]

I actually visited my neighbor who retired from the remington custom shop. He said burn it and buy another stock. He said there was one stripper which he forgot the name that would take it off. Other option is to scrape it. I let 4 different strippers sit on the stock for 2 hours and they haven't touched it. I may wash it off and put it back on the rifle.

 

[rugerjunkie]

Wow! Never had that problem before. Is it a glossy BDL stock? Never did one of them. Tell your friend to lean on the guys he still knows at Remington and get them to bring back the XP-100's and XR-100's!

 

[craveman85]

It's a gloss adl. The old monte Carlo plain walnut. Same finish as bdl. My neighbor told me that I could have 2 stocks from the same year and stripper would work on one and not the other for some reason. Remington won't bring it back do to the limited market therefore limited profit. If it isn't dirt cheap or tacticool then they probably won't care much. They care about nothing but profit. They laid off a ton of people last year then after most of them found new jobs they started hiring again. Quality sucks too. This coming from a remington fan. Xr100 would be cool but I like mine being the only one I see.

 

[rugerjunkie]

Ive got a handful of xp's and an xr in 223. Wish I'd bought one of each of the xr's while they were in production. Super accurate and got mine new for under $600. Cant touch em for that now! I also picked up a stainless 700 5R 20" in 223. Still have to run that one through the paces to see what it'll do. Im hoping with the 5R to use heavier bullets and extend the 223's range on the pdog towns. Could be even more fun than we already have!

 

[craveman85]

Do you wet sand at all to fill the pores?

 

[rugerjunkie]

I dont. After stripping I will steam any dents that need it and use 120 grit on any rough areas and blend em in. Then 220 followed by a wipe down with alcohol to raise the grain. Knock it down again with 220 and follow up with 400 if im getting really picky. Slow work around the checkering and dont get too carried away by the pad or grip cap.

I will normally go with 2 good coats of poly before sanding. I do the second as soon as its "tacked up". Followed by a light sanding with 220. Dont burn through into the stain. Then repeat. After a few coats the pores fill in and a final sanding will be smooth enough for a nice n slick finish coat.

 

[rugerjunkie]

How's the project coming along?

 

[craveman85]

I'm still tinkering on the remington. That and other projects have me held up a little. Also working on a boat, an aerodynamic truck cap and remodeling my half of my house so I can get in there and ditch the woman!

 

[rugerjunkie]

Lol! Sounds familiar! Im 3 years into a remodel and the bright side is that everyone tells me i'll be done in 10 more!

I put the refinishing to the side a month ago when I messed up the almost done Browning BAR-22 Im working on. Gotta restrip and start over on that one. Also have a pair of thumbhole XP-100 stocks to freshen up now so I need to get back at it. Ive been thinking of trying a Watco oil finish or similar on the walnut xp stock just to see how it turns out.