Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Reinforcing/waterproofing 99 stock

Finally took the butt stock off my 99F after and the forearm got very wet. I had previously polyeurothaned the forearm channel, & it was fine. But the finis on the outside of the forearm & to a lesser extent the butt turned a pale color, and the forearm swelled. The interior of the butt stock is unfinished - just bare wood. So I might as well refinish it all. Since I have polyed the forearm, should I continue this on the outside? Should I then also poly the butt stock, and are there issues with doing the interior? Thanks for your help.

I have heard that if you seal the wood, there won't be proper expansion and contraction. I do not know if this is true or not. I am sure someone will chime in to help!!


Mike...

Mike: Thanks for your reply. Spoke with someone at work who suggested Thompson's water sealer after stripping. Then the application of polyeurothane (sanding between coats) and at least two coats. It gets wet here. I am unsure about the poly on the wood by the action as it is a tight fit, and may just go with the Thompson's (probably a few coats) as it will be absorbed by the wood.

David

Just my observations.. but poly'd stocks on 99's seem to be very unpopular. It'll make it into a great hunter, but it's going to hurt the value down the road.

I have an early (1923) E that someone poly'd, sure messed that up. OTOH, I currently have a late model .243 with the birch stock that is in the process of getting poly'd. Sure beats what was on it, and the gun is what it is.

This all reminds me of why I'm going to go with a laminate. Anyone use gunstocksinc's for a laminate for a 99?

Hi!
I shot my first deer in Louisiana and my son was born there. I was a grad student at LSU at the time (Geaux Tigers! 2 losses in 6OT's but I digress. . .)

I have refinished a fair number of stocks, so if I may, I would offer the following suggestions:

Polyurethane the interior of the stock with several thin coats. If you plan on refinishing the exterior, and in order to preserve the value of the gun, I would highly recommend stripping it with Homer Formsby. I would then fill the pores of the wood with French Red filler--this will give you the characteristic red color found on old Savages and Winchesters. Follow this with several (at least 5) coats of your favorite oil finish (Linspeed is OK). Use minimum 200 grit sand paper. When you're ready to take it into the palmetto swamps/piney bayous, rub a GENEROUS coat of Johnson's Paste Wax all over the gun. Reapply during the season as necessary. When the season is over, buff the wood to a nice shine. If you get a bit of oxidation from the wax, Murphy's Oil Soap will clean it up.

I know the above is a lot of work, but you will have a nice, water-proof stock with an apparent original finish.

Thanks to all for the input. My 99 is definitely a hunter, not a collecter. I will definitely look into the forsmby's stripper. Used an oven cleaner to strip a cheap birch Husqvarna stock and, while it worked, I don't want to subject the 99 stock to that! My primary goal is to make this stock as waterproof as possible.

David