Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters CZ 457 stock refinish ???

I need some stock refinishing advice. First of all let me clarify that I am not a wood worker or refinisher. I can screw up practically anything to do with that type of work. I am looking for simple and easy.

So here is the issue - I have a CZ 457 American on the way and it has a walnut stock the "muddy" looking finish on it. What I am looking for is ideas for a stripper that will remove that finish (whatever it is) and not leave a lot of fuzz on the wood that requires sanding. I can really screw things up with a piece of sandpaper. Hopefully after stripping I can get by with just using some 0000 steel wool.

Then I need ideas for finish to put on the stock. I am looking for simple, not something that requires multiple layers of hand-rubbed finish. I just want to put something on it that will protect the wood and look better than the "mud" finish.
I can see through the "mud" finish enough to know that there is no character to the wood so there is not any point in wasting a lot of time doing something that I don't enjoy.

In the past I used a product called Deft One-Step but it must have been too good because it is no longer available. Is there something similar that anyone knows of - Tru-Oil perhaps, or MinWax with built in stain?
Or any other ideas for something that don't require hours and hours of rubbing and drying.

drover

HOWARD Feed n Wax - Wood Conditioner & Beeswax Polish

Applied some directly to a CZ MTR stock and was very pleased with the results. The wood is darker and richer in appearance with a waxed finish rather than the nondescript factory finish.

You could also just rub it firmly with 0000 steel wool, which will often cut down the muddy finish enough to reveal more grain--and doesn't require application of anything "extra."

I have re-finished (2) CZ 457's.

I tried a couple different popular "strippers" on the market to no avail. None of them worked very well, so I took the stock to a local wood working shop and they were able to get the finish stripped off using commercial grade strippers. They said it didn't come off easy though.

After that I sanded with 400 grit to get the desired texture and then applied 6-8 coats of Tru-oil. They both came out nice.

It was a lot of work but I'm glad I did it now. The wood under that "muddy" finish on CZ's is usually rather nice.

I refinished a CZ 527 years ago. Used some kind of citrus strip aand all it did was soften it. Then used a butter knife to scrap it off. worked better than I ever imagined it would. very little sanding afterwards. finished with watco oil. Best looking stock I own. Has a 3D effect, looks different when you look at different angles. Its a shame CZ covered up suck pretty wood with whatever finish they use.

The 457 Americans I’ve seen had a finish that was not only very dark, but was uneven, the finish itself not the wood. I’d try Mule Deer’s idea first. If it succeeds a little Birchwood Casey gunstock wax applied once in a while will help protect the wood from sweat etc, and won’t harm the metal. Actually that metal is nitrided and pretty impervious to just about everything. Wish more guns came with it.

If you strip the finish, you’re gonna have to do some sanding. Use a sanding block. A small brass brush as is used for suede helps get into the checkering without damage. Sand with the grain. There’s probably a million YouTube videos that’ll show you how to sand properly. Get a tack cloth to remove dust.

I used matte spar polyurethane on a nearly finish-less pre-64 M70 stock, the liquid, not spray. Thinned the first few coats, and all that I applied to the checkering. Sanded lightly between coats. Used cheap sponge brushes, tossed them after use. Came out very nice, still looks good 20+ years later and the rifle stays zeroed since it no longer sucks water from the air.

found pics of the 527 I redid. Should have taken a before pic. It was just brown and couldn't make out the grain you see now. As you move it around in the sun it changes.

Yep, try to "improve" the existing finish first because if you strip it you'll have no choice but to follow wood finishing protocols you say you don't know how nor want to do.

Pappy- I wouldn't apply a brass brush to checkering, no matter how fine and soft it is. You can't help but soften sharp diamonds to one degree or another. Matte varnish is a lot less UV light resistant than gloss- fact. If a subdued finish is wanted, use gloss varnish and rub out the final coat to the desired effect, then wax it.

Always wax the final coat of any finish you use. Birchwood Casey's liquid stock wax is woeful stuff compared to about any good paste wax. (BC products are average at best, but universally used because their stuff is omniscient in every gun shop in the land. Marketing, baby, marketing.) If you want the best damned wax for your prized possessions use Renaissance Wax, proven in use by the conservators in the great museums of the world. Expensive? Yes, but that little $20 65ml can of the stuff will probably do 50 guns. And it's easy-peasy to apply. I swear if you try it you won't use anything else again.

Thanks to all who have replied

Bumping up for more comments

As I said when it comes to wood I can screw it up just by looking at it.

drover

I have done a few stocks but that stuff on CZ's was referred to by one here as "gorilla snot". A revered old member here called Karnis (name was Carlos) did mine for me for free. Took him a while.

Just taking this opportunity to recall him to other members. Salute brother.

That works. 4-0 steel wool to cut thru the factory finish enough to make it satin. Then if wanting some sheen, polish with different grades of polishing compound, finer you go the more sheen you get.

I’d do that before stripping unless the stock was pretty beat up. When you sand it, may need to recut checkering which is a lot more work. I’ve done it both ways.

For a full refinish, check out Custom Pro-Oil, a tung oil/urethane finish. Brownells sells it. It’s tougher than Tru-Oil, just slower to work with, dries slower.

DF

Ixnay on 0000 steel wool. Oh, it works nicely but microscopic pieces of the steel wool will embed themselves in the finish and announce their presence later as little brown rust freckles if the stock gets wet. Rub out with rottenstone, it isn't rocket science and there's tutorials out there for doing it. Quick and dirty approach also is to use a 3M Scotchbrite pad, but be careful to use the most ultra-fine grade they make (light gray) which can sometimes be difficult to find.

That turned out really nice - I suspect that you have quite a bit of work in that one.

Thanks for picture.

drover

Thumbs up onto Renaissance Wax! I works on wood, leather, and metal. I rub all the blued barrels and actions before hunting season as a moisture barrier. A little goes a long ways.

If you are using stripper, wrap the stock in plastic wrap right after applying the stripper. That will hold the moisture in and allow the stripper to penetrate tough finishes. If you sand, make sure you raise the grain and get the little wood hairs off. I'd do a coat of two of stain and then a coat of hand rubbed tung oil/linseed oil, then more stain and finish with a hand rubbed oil finish tung or linseed oil. I liked the hand rubbed finishes because they are easy to touch up or repair dings. An iron with a wet wash cloth and steam will get dings out of the wood better than you think.

I have heard that before, now and then--and haven't found it to be true. In fact have tested it by pouring water over steel-wool smoothed finishes.

Suspect it might happen depending on the finish, and if the steel wool is pressed really hard on them. But so far haven't had it happen....

Sand it off wet 600 grit on a soft block...wipe it off. it's actually really easy
Might take two rotations

I've refinished a bunch of M1 Garand stocks using steel wool and I've never seen any rust. Some are maybe 15 years ago.

Had it happen to me twice, once on a M94 stock that I was carrying when caught out in a rainstorm and once on the brightwork (varnished trim) of a sailboat whose owner wanted a dull finish not the gloss of the final coat. Both times with Epifanes spar varnish, and both times rubbed out with 0000 oil-free steel wool.

Have yet to see a steel wool rusted stock. Anybody got pictures ?

I guess I’m just lucky; did everything wrong and still had a good outcome.

I’ll get some of that Renaissance Wax for my Browning. Sweat takes a toll on it shooting clays in the Summer.

EDIT: The 200ml was $25.69 w/free shipping and also just free with my points. Thanks.

Sorry, can't help you. My experiences were long ago, back before cameras were in everybody's hip pocket, and I'll not purposely expend the time and energy to re-create it today.

Woke up this morning to find my Renaissance Wax sitting on the porch, delivered in the early morning gloom judging from the pic the driver took. That’s fast!

Don't eat it all in one sitting!

Here's one that DIDN'T rust. It's a custom 6.5x55 on a commercial FN Mauser action, barreled with a 1-8 Lilja by Charlie Sisk, who also blue-black Cerakoted the barreled action. The stock was made from a pre-turned piece of pre-turned "California English" walnut. I did the final inletting, shaping, finishing and checkering. The finish is commercial spar varnish, these days generally a mixture of urethane and "natural" oil, usually tung. It's very water-resistant, which is why I didn't worry about the stock lying in the snow. The deer was taken in 2011, and wasn't the first or last time the stock got wet.

I suspect a stock finished in only oil, whether tung or linseed, might acquire some steel wool fragments, since such finishes tend to be softer--and far less water-resistant.

Today's hardware store grades of spar varnish are actually spar urethanes like John said. It's good stuff, I use it too, but it's more inelastic than higher grades of spar varnish. Stuff like Epifanes is more elastic and have a much higher solids content and brewed to move with wood expansion/contraction (hence why the marine industry gravitates toward it) and is formulated with natural resins. Spar = mast, and a wooden mast flexes like a fishing rod, hence the term spar varnish. Urethanes (synthetic resins) are typically harder and more unyielding. The relatively softer Epifanes may well also pick up steel microfibers more readily than say Minwax Helmsman spar urethane and could well be why I encountered the phenomenon. I use Epi's when I can but it's damned expensive so it's reserved for the most significant projects. Bamboo rods and gunstocks are two.

I lightly polish with the 4-0, don’t grind it hard into the finish. I’ve not experienced those rust spots.

Once a satin finish has been achieved, polishing it with progressive finer grades of polish, the level of resulting sheen depends on desired look. And it will be a much nicer, hand rubbed look.

DF

To all who have replied, and others - this is a real learning experience for me. Please keep information coming, it is apparent that there are a great many ways to improve the mud finish.

drover

More than one way to skin a cat.

My wife doesn’t like that statement. I’ve offered to take her ole cat hunting on more than one occasion. She won’t hear of it. What if that cat can tree a squirrel? No deal. She doesn’t trust me with that cat in the woods with a rifle.

Back to the subject at hand. My take, do the easiest options first, you can always circle back and start over. Don’t strip it down to bare wood if the finish is intact. Lots of info on that subject. I’d exhaust those options first.

DF

No one here uses pro custom oil, instead of tru oil? I made the switch and really like it. It was suggested by my gunsmith. It works about the same way, but I found that it dries a little quicker. Maybe because it's slightly thinner than tru oil. I still use tru oil on some jobs, but thin it down a bit. Especially on the last couple coats. Good luck to the op! Hopefully it turns out to your liking. Also, as an aside, I handled a 457 yesterday, while at the fun shop buying a Sako. That 457 had a very nice looking stock on it. Much like the ones I've already seen. This one was a varmint model though, or I may have bought it...

This will be my most likely approach. I don't enjoy wood working/refinshing and am reluctant to tackle it except as a last resort. But if I have too there have been some really good suggestions made, which I really appreciate.

drover

This Pre-64 FWT was sorta refinished without going to raw wood. I lightly sanded it, used Custom Pro Oil which is a Tung Oil/Urethane product sold by Brownell's. I had to recut the checkering, which is a slow process but can look good if you take your time. Get a 90* tool, preferably carbide.

DF

For those who might be curious, here's a close-up of the 6.5x55 shown lying in the snow next to a dead buck--which also doesn't show any rust in the finish, at least that I can see:

Those finishes worked. No worse for the wear.

Nice rifle.

DF

That is really nice - you did a great job

drover

Thanks.

Shot out .243, now a .358 Win thanks to JES in Oregon. Shoots MOA.

DF

With a bit of luck with the post office being on time I should have my 457 American on Friday. It's going to be a little cool here (28) but I have a shooting bench on my deck so I can step out and take some shots to at least see if it has promise. If it shoots as well as I hope then I will decide what to do about the stock finish.

drover

Tag