# Re-finishing a gun



## Mamps (Feb 3, 2008)

Well, I am under way of re-finishing my first gun.
It is an older Springfield bolt action .410
I bought a 3 round clip for it off of gunbroker, stripped the blue off of it first.
The stock had tons of scratches (no dents), the barrel was a mess, no major pitting but a lot of surface rust, the action was aweful. I will have to re-build the action (if I can find the springs)

I completly disassembled the gun down to the action springs and safty springs...everything... 

I have striped the finish off of the stock, I have removed the blue (spelling?) 
I am now making a slurry of tru oil and saw dust to fill the scratches.
I am going to polish the barrel a lot.

Any suggestions?

Lets put it this way, if it does not turn out, I will only be out about $30.00 for the re-finishing kit and $25 for the gun.

The gun in PRIME shape would only be worth $150 so that is why I did not take it into my gunsmith for any wondering.
If you see pictures up in a few days, it will have turned out good if not...could the mods please delete this post? LOL


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## BigV (Nov 11, 2004)

Before you start the re-bluing process, make sure the barrel is clean and free of any oils. Wear rubber gloves and use solvent for the final cleaning. The oils from your fingers will prevent the bluing from adhering properly to your barrel.


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## BigChessie (Mar 12, 2005)

Mamps If it does not turn out the way you would like...................I'll let you double your money on the weapon...........Hows $50 sound? I'm sure it will turn out but you do have to be careful with the Blue.


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## Bigun (Jun 20, 2006)

What kind of blueing are you using? Hot? Cold? Rust? I was thinking of reblueing my shotgun so I deffinitly want to see pics of how this come out.


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## Mamps (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks guys.
Bigun...Cold Blue.
THe stock has turned out a lot better than I expected. Only a few scratches that were really deep did not fill in all the way. Maybe more will show up when I stain and seal.

BC...thanks for the offer if it flops (I have my doubt about the blue) however if it does not turn out, I am going to either brown the barrel or heat treat it.
If the stock looks bad, I am going take out the airbrushes and do a cool design on it with a white laquer background.
I will keep you updated.


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## Rednek (Nov 6, 2006)

Mamps,

You might try "raising the grain" before you start to put the final finish on the stock. "Raising the grain" is done by rubbing warm water into the freshily sanded wood and allowing to dry for 24 hours. The wood will soak up the water and effectively push the grain to the exterior. Repeat 2-3 times lightly sanded in between.

Have you purchased your wood finish yet? If not, I would look into using a hand rubbed red oil finish or the standard Truoil finish.


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## Mamps (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks Red,
yes I purchased tru oil however Redoil sounds nice...any idea where to find it?


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## BigChessie (Mar 12, 2005)

I was only teasing you Mamps. lol Good luck with your project! BC


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

the best finish you can put on a gun stock is linseed oil.i've finished a few stocks over the years with it,and nothing beats it for protection and finish.an old friend of mine used to build his own custom stocks and hand rubbed all of them,sometimes for years.every so often he'd just take one out and rub it good.over time,the finish just gets better and better.takes a long time to dry,which was why it was so long between rubbings.last gun i did was a T/C renegade i built in the 80's and after a couple years of rubbing,my buddies couldn't believe the finish.i'm not sure if it ever really completely dries,but is absorbed.but there's a linseed oil on the market now that dries much faster.http://www.huntamerica.com/linspeed/


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## Orlando (Apr 12, 2004)

Bolied Linseed Oil has additives which makes it dr ymuch faster. Thats whar the Military used in WWII on Garand, 1903, carbine stocks. It gives a nice flat , no sheen finish. Problem is it takes many many years of buildup before it has any water resistance and is never water proof like a varnish. I use it on my Military stocks but dont really recommend it for a rifle or shotgun that you would take outside in the possible rain. For best results the old finish must be completely stripped and then put on very thin coats in between applications letting dry overnight.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

i like true-oil for hand finished stocks. true-oil+steel wool


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## Mamps (Feb 3, 2008)

Well...here are the results. 

The photos do not do the stock justice however they do the blue too much justice...lol



I was a bit unhappy with how the blue turned out. I would have liked it a little darker but it seems as if I was not getting any more results after 5 times.



Stock is AWESOME if I may.



Neat little gun to keep in the safe for my little boy (though he is only 2 months old now)


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## BigV (Nov 11, 2004)

Looks like it was well worth the effort!
Great job!


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

what did you use? looks pretty good so far! run 0000 steel wool over that booger (wood) and it will smooth the finish out for you


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## Mamps (Feb 3, 2008)

Thanks guys...king, that is what I meant when the phot does not do it justice.
It is actually very smooth but photo made it look slightly textured or something.
Used the kits that you buy at the sporting goods. Tru-oil.

Lots of coats and lots of steel wool between coats.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

looks good, what your trying to do is fill the pores of the wood with the oil, looks like it needs one more run down with the steel wool as its still shiny.

how did you apply the oil?


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

here is a true-oil finish thats completed (as reference)


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## Mamps (Feb 3, 2008)

So let me get this straight king, the shinny look is not "correct"? I kind of like it but I think it is a bit shinny!
My ithaca's are the only guns that I have that are shinny like that (all originals...not re-done) and I just thought that was supposed to be the look.

Thanks for the link...helpful!


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## One Legged Josh (Jan 27, 2008)

I think you did great Mamps.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

you did do a great job, but your correct, the "shiny" look is not really what your looking for


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