Wood Stock Help Needed

T

TheCarDoctor

Inactive
I've got an old Ruger M77 with a wood stock that has seen better days that I'm wanting to paint it camo. The stock has some engravings where one grips the gun that I want to fill in and sand smooth. What would be the best product for this? I don't know how well wood filler would stick to the existing finish. What about automotive body filler?
 
Don't cover up that grip checkering. It is there for a reason. It is functional - not decorative. Besides, nothing you can add on top will stick well enough (too thin). You can either camo over it or mask it off and leave it as-is.

Why not just refinish the stock? With a little work, you can have a stock that looks as good as the original factory finish.
 
Checkering is not deep enough that you cant sand it off, and make everything match and look normal. Just sand both sides down, and make sure to keep the grip the same round oval as the original, though it will be a small bit smaller.

You will need to sand the entire stock to finish it correctly, anyhow, so blending everything in is a piece of cake. There are several posts on here about how to sand a stock for refinishing.
 
The reason I want to fill it in is because the stock has already been refinished once before and there is a lot of clear varnish built up in the checkered areas. It looks bad.
 
Like I said, Citristrip and a stiff tooth brush will clean it out nicely and prepare it for your new finish.
 
If that is the case, and the checkering is still all there, then as Doyle says, you can clean it out with a good stripper and a soft toothbrush. Cut checkering should not have any finish in it, or if it does, it has to be a thin amount. At the factory, cut checkering is done after the finish is applied, unless it is the pressed in reverse type similar to Remington.

If any checkering was removed by the refinisher, by over sanding, then you can re-checker those areas, if you want to go that far. But, if you try to fill it in, it will look much worse, as there is nothing that will match the wood. The only choice would be to sand off the ruined checkering, and leave it plain, or re-checker it.
 
Good tip on the chemical stripper, thanks. I hadn't thought of that. I'll try cleaning it out and see how it looks and then decide if I still want to paint it camo or stick with a wood finish.
 
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