Fading finish on a wooden stock

B

Beezer

New member
I have an old Remington 700 that I inherited and I've been cleaning it up. I noticed that on the wooden stock, there are several sports where the clear coat/varnish is faded. I'm assuming it is just normal wear from use of use then decades of non-use.

What is the best way to restore these faded spots to make a consistent clear coat finish on the stock?
 
Strip entire stock and refinish. However, IMHO, stripping and redoing with an oil finish would be much more attractive. And easier.
 
I'm also an oil finish fan, and it is easier. For a quicker approach, you could probably just lightly sand the stock and apply an oil based poly varnish if you just want a durable finish. But, if you want a pretty finish, that isn't the way to go.
 
Before getting to far into this, you need to determine if the finish is the Remington "Bowling Pin" epoxy finish.

That finish was used on most Remington rifles and shotguns for many years and is one TOUGH finish.
It's also one tough finish to get off, usually requiring a special type of paint stripper that will attack the epoxy based coating.

The Bowling Pin finish is a glossy, extremely hard, tough finish that's noticeably different than a varnish type finish.
You can take it to a good gun shop and they'll usually have Remington's with the same finish to compare it to.

Once you know what you're dealing with, then you can decide the course of action.
That may be no more then applying a coat of wood wax, to totally stripping the finish and starting over.
 
Practicles first, then the particulars. ..

Beezer
Hard for me to relate on how, the finish is faded. Now if it's just surface scuffs, you might be able to polish these out. I have done so, on many occasions. If it goes deeper than that, then you have to weigh the efforts. On lightly scuffed/scratched surfaces I polish these out with a product named Novus-1. and then follow up with shot polish (wax). .... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
one tough finish

I once tried using regular stripper on a bowling pin finish gun and the only effect it had was to sort of clean and polish the finish it actually made it look new again
bb
 
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