Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Selective Finish Removal

I bought a nice pre 64 Win 70 Fwt. The stock was refinished with Tru-Oil, was recheckered, but then they coated the heck out of the checkering with Tru-Oil! Ruined the job! It would have been very nice. This is a 1955 stock with wide panels in 18 LPI.

I am looking at options / advice for getting the gun presentable. I may end up shipping it off to Ahlman's in MN and have the checkering gone over. The checkering was not sanded and is nice and sharp, it just looks like someone sprayed gloss clear paint over the checkering! It is Tru-Oil though.

I am thinking of maybe masking it off good and scrubbing around in the checkering panels with a toothbrush and mineral spirits, just to dull it down a bit. I don't want to try the same thing with Zip Strip, but am open to suggestions.

If the checkering is good,why not buy a single point tool from Brownells and do it you self. It isn't that hard .Mask it off, carefully follow the lines until you get the Tru Oil out.You could even use small riffler file.When done, mask it off again and apply just enough Tru Oil to seal it.I apply a small amount ,work it with clean tooth brush and blot excess off.

You could work the Tru Oil out to maybe 1/4 " from the edges with a stripper to get most of it out.Then work the edges with a tool

Cutting a bunch of oil with a checkering tool is a PITA, IME. I would think Formby's Furniture Restorer worked in with a toothbrush would get the vast majority of it out. Most stockmakers do not put anything on cut checkering.

One advantage is there is no real need to tape off the checkering. Any that gets on the finish can be wiped right off and if it does discolor the finish it will flatten out just fine in a week or two. A coat of wax over the works will hide any other imperfections.

Hmm
I am not familiar with tru-oil, though I feel I may have had an experience with it..
Is it what I have heard referred to as western snake oil?

I will have to look it up..

Tru-Oil and Old West Snake Oil are not one and the same.

Nearly all the pros charge the same to recut checkering as to do a new pattern, I've gotten quotes from $350.00 to $600.00. Attempting to do it yourself may not be as simple as suggested especially if you're dealing with a heavy coat of Tru-Oil that has really filled up the lines of the checkering. I would take SD's advice regarding the Formby's Finish Remover and a moderately stiff toothbrush. When done with the stripper you may want to wait 24 - 48 hrs. before proceeding with further restoration of the checkering giving it time to dry. Good luck with your project whichever route you choose to take.

Do not rush the final clean-up of oil in the checkering. Wait at at least a couple weeks for the oil to dry before recutting the checkering if you go that route.

I have checkered exactly one gun. The job was probably a solid "D". It did what it was supposed to do and that was provide grip to gloved hands in the winter. There were not many overruns and the border cleaned up most of those. The biggest detractors was the checkering was not level.

I kind of figured it would be a bit of a pain to recut it (not by me) in that the finish would be gumming up the checkering tools. For those who have never saw the cutters the blades are much like an old electric razor.

I scrubbed it pretty hard last night with just a stiff toothbrush and nothing else. It looks a heck of a lot better. There is a 1/4" wide border of heavy gloss checkering the whole way around each pattern; a truly amateur, p-poor job! I am assuming they added Tru-Oil to the checkering because of that.

The checkering was done by Ahlman's and was a recut of the original pre 64 Win 70 pattern in 18 LPI that is usually $150.00. The stock is too nice for me to hack with my limited checkering experience. I can not bring myself to say checkering skills on my part.

Sitka Deer: I will try the Homer Formbys. Now are you saying let the stock dry a week or two after that before recutting or were you referring to something else?

I would take a little different approach. Instead of masking off the stock I would just strip the whole thing clean including the checkering. If the stock is freshly finished from before there should be minimal sanding required before re-applying new stuff. Work carefully up to the checkering, mask it if you feel you must, but either way a little finish is bound to seep in around the edges here and there. Deal with those intrusions with the checkering cutter by turning the cutter around in the handle and pull away from the border instead of push toward the border. Wash the cutter with a toothbrush and acetone as/when it clogs up.

No matter what approach you take, it'll eat up some time. No way around it thanks to the ham-handed guy who preceded you.

On freshly cut checkering, even that cut into a varnished stock, I apply some thin oil and immediately blot it away with a lint free cloth. More for color than anything else.

That option has been in my mind as well.

Yes, let it dry a week or two after the Formby's before recutting. It takes awhile for the solvents to leave and the surface to cure properly.

I understand your points, but just cleaning up the checkering is a lot easier than doing the whole stock, no?