My dad just received a 1953 Winchester Model 70 standard in 30-06 from his hunting buddy of many years, and am looking for some advice on what to do/not do to it. Dad's friend was the first owner of this rifle and used it up until 2 years ago, when he finally hung up his gear at the ripe age of 92.
I have seen (and shot) this rifle in the past, and it shot fantastically, with bluing in decent condition. The wood in the stock was in good condition, though there was not much finish left on it, though probably could have been brought back to looking decent with a wax job.
When Dad called and told me he had received this rifle I was thrilled, and started asking him about it. My heart sank when he told me that due to the condition of the finish he had already stripped and lightly sanded it in prep for finish (ahhhhh!!!!). I immediately gently suggested that he do nothing else to the rifle until I could do some research. He agreed when I reminded him what he had.
After getting off the phone and calming down, I realized that despite the impact to the rifle's collector value, it probably didn't matter anyway, as this piece belonged to a life-long family friend and would probably never leave our family anyway. He would not want it to sit in a case, but be used to hunt whitetails. Now, taking solace in that fact, I want to give my Dad advice on how to at least restore the stock to the correct finish. Any advice you experts could provide on the correct finish materials would be appreciated.
I have seen (and shot) this rifle in the past, and it shot fantastically, with bluing in decent condition. The wood in the stock was in good condition, though there was not much finish left on it, though probably could have been brought back to looking decent with a wax job.
When Dad called and told me he had received this rifle I was thrilled, and started asking him about it. My heart sank when he told me that due to the condition of the finish he had already stripped and lightly sanded it in prep for finish (ahhhhh!!!!). I immediately gently suggested that he do nothing else to the rifle until I could do some research. He agreed when I reminded him what he had.
After getting off the phone and calming down, I realized that despite the impact to the rifle's collector value, it probably didn't matter anyway, as this piece belonged to a life-long family friend and would probably never leave our family anyway. He would not want it to sit in a case, but be used to hunt whitetails. Now, taking solace in that fact, I want to give my Dad advice on how to at least restore the stock to the correct finish. Any advice you experts could provide on the correct finish materials would be appreciated.