Wood Stock Duracoat Prep

[TrueBlue711]

I've been doing do-it-yourself duracoating in my garage for awhile now, but all my work has been on synthetic or metal material, not wood. I'm going to paint my wife's bolt action stock next. I know I need to sand it first, but my question is how do you sand the checkering areas without screwing up the checkering? And no, I don't have a bead blaster (which I know is the best method for prep work).

 

[wpsdlrg]

" how do you sand the checkering areas without screwing up the checkering? "


Short answer - you CAN'T. The only thing you can do, if you must sand the stock, is either 1) mask off and AVOID the checkered areas......or 2) sand the whole stock, then RE-CUT the checkering. (Or, you COULD sand the stock down enough to eliminate the checkering - but I doubt you'd want to do that.)

The question is, do you really NEED to sand the stock ? If the surface is smooth as is, you may not really need to sand. If there are imperfections, then you might get away with light sanding to fix the imperfections (but only in those areas), carefully feathered into the rest of the surface.

If you are thinking that you MUST sand in order to remove the existing finish, that MAY well not be necessary. If the existing finish is poly, you probably do NOT need to remove it (and I wouldn't want to, if I were you). If the existing finish is an oil finish, or some type of varnish, etc., you still might be able to leave it alone, as long as you thoroughly de-grease the wood first. You need to de-grease anyway, so that is not a problem, in and of itself.

I have no direct personal experience with Duracoat, so IF the Duracoat people say that you MUST remove ANY old finish, regardless of condition or type, then you are sort of screwed, as regards the checkering.

 

[jmr40]

The checkering can be filled in with auto body filler then lightly sanded. Much easier than trying to file it down enough to remove it and the way McMillan does their stocks when they are ordered without checkering.

Or you can mask off those areas and not sand them. I'd think some cleaning with a de-greaser and an old toothbrush in the checkered areas would help ensure the coating sticks well.

I've never used duracoat, but if I were painting I wouldn't worry about removing the finish down to the bare wood. Just lightly sand enough to remove any oils etc. on the stock and to slightly rough up the areas. The existing finish would work as a primer. If removed, paint will want to soak into the wood rather than cover it. Now that is paint, duracoat may be different, but I'd think the prep would be pretty close.