Refinishing laminate stock

[dougedwards]

I am not sure if this is the place to ask this question but the mods can move this if they see fit. I have some scratches and pits in a thumbhole laminate stock and would like to sand them out. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a good procedure to do this? What grit of sand paper should I start with and what is the best way to finish it? Any help is appreciated.

Doug

[Deleted]

Doug.....
You'll probably get a million and one different ideas on this one...
Here's what I did on mine....Being the laminate stock is not a fine hardwood I chose not to go with a rubbed oil finish....I went for durabilty instead. I used a medium grit 100-120 and then worked it down to an extra fine then to fine steel wool. I used a min wax stain and sealer and then finished it with a spray can of satin minwax polyurethene. This makes a for a real nice looking and durable finish..... When I sanded mine I sanded out the checkering....I did the same proceedure on one of your old stocks. Awhile back I traded a camo synthetic to a board member who had bought a ML from you that had a factory Savage wood stock on it. I took your old stock, filled the blind magazine, glass bedded the receiver and recoil lug, free floated the barrel and put it on a pre-accutrigger ML11 I had. It turned out looking good also...I was looking at it tonight and thinking how I could take some weight off it. ...Can't leave well enough alone.
Good luck, Zen

[Jon]

Doug. Glad to hear from you. You've been quiet for a while. I'm almost ready to send my 6.5 for beding and tuning everything. Then to black ice. Hope everything is well with you?
Jon

[dougedwards]

Zen......was that a dark brown stock? I did sell a ML2 to a guy in Texas that had a stock from a Savage bull barrel. Thanks for the good pointers there. I am having my barrel and bolt action sent off to get powder coated and wanted to attempt to revitalize the laminate stock myself. Will keep you posted on how it goes. Thanks again for the advise.

Doug

[dougedwards]

Hey Jon......hope all is well with you also. You may know that Tom Post was kind enough to purchase my Swinglock back from me after all of my frustration. I have been getting into archery much more than rifle shooting lately which is the reason that I haven't been posting much here. Please keep me posted on your progress with the 6.5mm muzzleloader. It should be a fun project.

Doug

[youp50]

I am of the belief that when you start to work out knicks, gouges, and dings; you need to strip the existing finish.

I would start with 100 grit and work to 220. I would use a poly/oil mix. I like the higher gloss. It is still a hand rubbed thing, only you will see much faster results. I believe I put 4 coats on my ML. This type of finish will be very easy to repair future knicks. Or just spruce it up. Wipe it down with mineral oil, buff it with fine steel wool, and rub it on.

You can put on multiple coats, buffing with fine steel wool between coats. The stock is probably not checkered, but... In the past I have modified screwdrivers to chase the checkering. I now have Dembart checkering tools. The proper tool always make the job easier,

Some hardwoods respond to steaming to lift dents. I have never tried it with a birch laminate. If you have a deep dent, remove the finish, put a very damp rag on the dent and apply heat with a clothes iron. I have reduced the depth of dents in walnut this way.

Some place over in 'Pictures' there is an image of the my bowling ball.

[dougedwards]

Jan 26, 2011 6:18:29 GMT -5 youp50 said:

I am of the belief that when you start to work out knicks, gouges, and dings; you need to strip the existing finish.

I would start with 100 grit and work to 220. I would use a poly/oil mix. I like the higher gloss. It is still a hand rubbed thing, only you will see much faster results. I believe I put 4 coats on my ML. This type of finish will be very easy to repair future knicks. Or just spruce it up. Wipe it down with mineral oil, buff it with fine steel wool, and rub it on.

You can put on multiple coats, buffing with fine steel wool between coats. The stock is probably not checkered, but... In the past I have modified screwdrivers to chase the checkering. I now have Dembart checkering tools. The proper tool always make the job easier,

Some hardwoods respond to steaming to lift dents. I have never tried it with a birch laminate. If you have a deep dent, remove the finish, put a very damp rag on the dent and apply heat with a clothes iron. I have reduced the depth of dents in walnut this way.

Some place over in 'Pictures' there is an image of the my bowling ball.

I certainly don't have all of those tools but I do know that this repairing of the surface of the laminate is going to be an ongoing process. I hunt with this thing. I sometimes fall with it and I pull it up to my treestand in the dark. There is no way that it is going to stay in a pristine condition. Without putting too much time and expense into it every year I think I can keep it looking decent. I actually thought about getting the stock powder coated along with the action and barrel but the laminate is very nice looking. Thanks to all for the responses. This is some good info. Will probably have other questions as I get into the process.

Doug

[youp50]

That is why I like the poly/oil finishes. I hunt with the gun, too. Pretty easy to dress her up as needed.

[toosensitive]

The iron and wet tee shirt / towel works well on dents even with laminates..at least K98 stocks. Safety tip: Make sure your wife knows beforehand that your using the iron. I still hear about that one. Guess what I got for Fathers day the following year....? Sort of looks funny sitting there among all my other gun stuff.

[dougedwards]

I am going to try the iron thing before I attempt to sand everything down and re-apply coats of oil and poly. I really didn't want to get into a major production there but it may be necessary in the end. I think I can try to steam out some small dents while my wife is away and sneak the iron back to it's original position. If not I guess I will get my own steam iron to keep in my gun case.

Doug

[toosensitive]

You might be able to get away with it unless the stock is especially dirty I was working on several M1 Garand stocks and actually stained the bottom of the iron. That's how I was busted. The G.I.'s must have had a potent blend of sweat, dirt, grim, mucous, ect.. I call it tenacious smut!

Stripping the finish is always fun. I've used alcohol, mineral spirits, paint stripper, Easy off oven cleaner...depends on whats on there.

After steaming let dry thoroughly. Sand with 220-600 and steel wool from 00, 0000. Stain, dry, stain, dry, with steel wool between applications. Hand rub Min wax paste or Howards feed and Wax or Tung oil.

If you want hard finish 2-3 light coats of polyurethane, using steel wool between coats. Tac cloth works well to remove dust between sandings.

Had a K98 that was a pit when I received it. Russians did a real number on it. Took some time but it came out pretty.

[rossman40]

With the Savage OEM stock finish on the laminates you can hit it with a green 3M scouring pad and then hit it with Minwax spray polyurethane in gloss, for a couple of years they did use a satin finish. At least for the small dings. I have one I'm doing a complete refinish on and I am going to try a darker stain before hitting it with the poly. I have to agree the spray poly is tough in the field and easily repaired. I have to agree with Panhandle, after all it is a laminate, if it was a good piece of walnut then I would go with a hand rubbed oil finish. I have used Imron clear in the past and while it is a pain to put down, it is harder then woodpecker lips. The only downfall is once you use that your stuck with it because you'll have to grind wood off to get rid of it.

[Deleted]

I just did a spot repair on my laminate. I put some pretty heavy scratches on it right around the pistol grip. While hunting this year it rubbed on my suspender clamps and did some damage before I realized what was going on. It was stained and finished with Min-wax poly. I took some steel wool and took it down in the area of the scratches, smoothed it up good, touched up the stain a little and put a couple light coats of spray poly. It looks as good as new.
Zen

toosensitive.... That's a good lookin 98 you got there

[sqezer]

I had to jump in with my project at hand, a few weeks ago I bought a .45 Knight Elite with a tupperware stock, the tupperwares got to go. I have a new Nutmeg thumb hole stock down stairs that is un inletted and waiting for a buildup. This is what I'm thinking, the stain is from Cabot in semi gloss, the color is Newburyport, sort of a blueish color, then seal it in a poly type sealer. Any thoughts.

[rossman40]

You have to watch using stain with the laminated stocks that have colored layers. Rutlage Plywood uses a pressure dye infusion so the dye is thru the wood. You may have to experiment with different colors to get the effects you want. Luckily the nutmeg or brown/brown is pretty much natural color and takes stain a lot better then some of the other colors.

If the stain is semi gloss it could be the stain and finish mixed. I think your looking at a exterior stain. You have to watch if your getting a solid, semi or transparent. The solid is just like paint.

For a factory stock I use the interior stain in the half pint cans that is marked "penetrating wood stain". I basicly brush it on and let it set a minute and then wipe off the excess. You have to remember that when you add the top finish it will darken a bit. I just did a factory VLP using red mahogany which darkened it a bit but not with a lot of red.

As far as the top coat you have to remember that most of the interior stuff is not UV stable so extended time being outdoors in bright sunlight could yellow it or make it somewhat cloudy. The newer polyurethanes are pretty tough and unless your out shooting prairie dogs in the bright sun everyday you might not see a difference. Another thing is holding up to cleaning stuff. I like the Minwax fast drying poly. The really tough stuff is like spar varnish or my favorite for toughness, Minwax Helmsman Spar Urethane. However I have been playing around with automotive clear coats.

As far as the sheen, gloss looks good but can be very slick and shows scratches and rubs. Satin or semi-gloss gives a better grip and doesn't show the bad spots as bad but if you get mud on it can be a bear to clean.

[oked]

I am a paint and body tech and i have used automotive clear ,two part activated polyurethane clear . It is more durable than house type clear ,is uv protected and is available in high gloss, satin or a very dull finish ,but you must have equipment to apply since it must be sprayed on.

[sqezer]

Thanks guys, First, I'll check and make sure I get the right stain for the job, second I do have access to the auto clear coat and a sprayer. What I'll do first off is, the stock is un inletted so I'll try the stain where the receiver and barrel channel will be cut out and see how it looks. THANKS AGAIN.

[sqezer]

Another thought, after I stain the stock what do you think about using LIN-SPEED to finish off the stock? Just a thought.

[rossman40]

I do not know if the laminate would even take it, it hardly takes stain. Then if your using a stain mixed with a finish coat it will not take at all.

[sqezer]

thanks rossman40, I guess I'll have to try the stain on the uncut barrel channel.

[deadon]

Make sure you sand it as smooth as the place you want to stain or it will show up darker.

[sqezer]

Thanks deadon, I'm hoping on trying it as soon as I get the stain tomorrow.