Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Beretta Silver Pigeon 1998 Questions: Wood & Finish; Receiver Finish

I have a Beretta Silver Pigeon in my care that was manufactured around 1998. To be precise, the Silver Pigeon is a model 686 (J686315).
I am looking for information anyone can provide in reference to a couple of things:

1. Does anyone know exactly what kind of finish was used on the stocks from that era of Silver Pigeon? I would also like to know what kind of wood (although I assume it's some species of Walnut) was used and whether or not any stain was applied.

2. The Receiver is a silver finish of some sort, although I can't tell if it's some sort of brushed nickel or stainless. The owner of he shotgun has used it in countless competitions and hunts and where he has held the shotgun by the receiver over all these years, the finish has turned a darkish grey. So, the question is whether or not there is anything I can do to sort of polish the receiver back to it's original lustre.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

JD

I had a Beretta 687 EELL from around that time frame. To answer your second question first, I used Flitz metal polish to clean mine (I shot competition as well) The receiver is not stainless but some type of nickel or hard chrome finish (best as I understand)

The finish on those stocks was some type of an epoxy that was really bad about chipping off in big pieces around the recoil and receiver area. I stripped mine down and put a hand rubbed Tung oil finish back on mine.

Just thinking back on that gun, I bet a dump truck could not haul off all the shells I shot out of that thing.

Hey thanks, pullit!!

Your information seems to corroborate what I was told by Beretta, yesterday...

The stock is Turkish Walnut with either a Lacquer or urethane finish. The gentleman at Beretta wasn't sure which, for some reason, although his answer was helpful in that I wanted to know if it was oil or a non-oil finish.

Like you, my buddy has put thousands upon thousands of rounds through it - he estimates somewhere in the 15 - 20K range. The gun is in remarkable shape, but the butt stock has a deep vertical gouge about 2 inches long on the right side wrist between the front points of the checkering and the flat side of the stock where it meets the receiver. It happened the very first time he took it out into the field when a dog jumped up and clawed it! Pretty funny, if you ask me, but only because it happened over 20 years ago.

Anyway, so I decided to go ahead and strip the stock. To my surprise, the gouge almost completely disappeared with the finish removed. Now, I am just looking for the best possible finish to serve his needs which enhancing the beauty of the firearm, overall. I've used Tru-Oil on a few stock refinishes and have been very pleased with the results, although I'm not sure I want to go that route as I want something that will provide more protection. Any suggestions would be considered.

I have some Forby's Tung Oil, but have yet to use it on a gun stock. On bare walnut, how does it color the wood compared to Tru-Oil or BLO? Also, does the Tung oil provide a more protective finish?

As far as the receiver goes, I was shocked to learn that the receiver block itself is made out of aluminum, but it does have a nickel finish, as you stated. The dark area from his hand indicates a removal of one of the components of the nickel plating, so I don't believe I'd be wise in taking some type of metal polish to it as it would likely exacerbate the issue. The gentleman at Beretta provided a name of a company that he always recommends for refinishing such nickel plating on the Berettas, but I'm not going to worry about it. Should anyone want the name of the company, PM me, as I don't know if I'd be overstepping the forum boundaries by posting it here. I've never heard of the company and have no affiliation whatsoever with them. I am not a huge fan of nickel plating simply because it's not as easy to deal with. One thing I can say is NEVER rub a bunch of Hoppe's 9 or any other solvent on such finish as it will compromise it under certain circumstances. Yup. Learned that the hard way. TWICE.

Does your buddy have the Lite model, I think they were aluminum receiver.
As far as Tung oil goes, I used Forby's on mine. Best as I remember it took about 25-30 coats to feel the pours of the wood and get a glass smooth finish. I used satin finish as opposed to the gloss that they come with. It shows the grain in the wood really well and was hard as a rock. It held up for several years until I sold it and moved on to a K80

Not exactly sure what additional nomenclature is associated with the model model (J686315). Really nice shotgun.

I may give the Formby's a try.

Man, I really appreciate it!

Now... I'm off to go fishin'! Have a great weekend.