Stripping Checkering

T

The Rattler

New member
I had the comb of my 2 year old Benelli Montefeltro cut down 1/4 inch for fitting purposes. I am now refinishing the buttstock & forestock. After applying 4 applications of Citristrip on the buttstock there are still dark lines & a few blotches of old finish. Normally, I remove those with steaming, which I can do here for most of them where raising the wood slightly won't matter.

Three of the dark lines, however, are in the checkering, & one darker area is about 3" long & 3/4" wide where the comb was cut down. On one side the darker area runs the length of the checkering, & on the other side, it is only 2 3/4" long. For the checkering, I applied & removed the Citristrip with tooth brushes. It was successful 100% on the forestock.

1. Do I risk damaging the checkering by trying to steam out the stubborn finish?

2. Do I risk changing the fit of the gun by steaming on the very location that was cut down? The fit now seems perfect.

3. If steaming is ill-advised, what do I do to remove the stubborn spots of the old finish? In removing gun oil on other stocks, I noticed Acetone also removed old stubborn finish. Should I use that here?

I will appreciate all comments.
 
1. Do I risk damaging the checkering by trying to steam out the stubborn finish?
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I'm certainly no expert but I'd be very leery of steaming pressed checkering. I'd think it would cause the pressed in parts to expand.
 
I would rechecker it to freshen it up. The nice thing is that the lines are already there. All you have to do is to stay within each line.
 
I use a gel-type stripper, and a soft toothbrush. You want a brush that the bristles are easily bent over with your thumb, so its not too abrasive. You might want to check the brush, to make sure the stripper wont melt the bristles on it. I can't remember where I bought the last ones I used, but they were plain soft and cheap tooth brushes from a pharmacy. A rule of thumb, is to buy a stripper that is compatible with synthetic bristled pain brushes.

Let the finish remover set for about 15-20 minutes, and gently use the brush to scrub the old finish out of the checkering. It will work for both cut and impression checkering. Mineral Spirits, on a rag, will remove the gunk that is brushed out easily. You might try Acetone, too, but I wouldn't get that on the brush.

Another brush you can use, is an old paint brush. Cut the bristles back, to where they're only sticking out about 3/4" to 1" from the ferrule, which will make a soft scrub brush. Something about the size of a sash brush will work fine.
 
Steam won't do anything to any finish. Steam will raise pressed checkering, but not cut checkering.
How you get old finishes off depends almost entirely on what it is. Dark lines and a few blotches may not be finish at all. Could be the grain. However, bleach and Dixie's toothbrush is the way to go.
 
It is according to the finish, as you may have to try another type of finish remover. I sand the finish out of undercut combs using a dowel and sand paper. I actually sand the entire stock, except for the checkering, which I sand up close to, then use remover. After that, I blend everything in.

If you have a dark spot, such as an oil stain, bleach will bring that out. Just put some bleach on a rag, and hold it to the wood for a few minutes, and it will lighten it pretty quickly. You'll have to keep an eye on it, or you can get it too lite.

If you want to see what the stock will look like, with finish applied, after sanding, etc, wet it down with mineral spirits. It can raise the grain, though, so you'll have to run you finishing paper over it lightly to get it smooth. I finish sand all the way to 600 grit paper.
 
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