removing old epoxy weatherby finish; How??????????

[path]

have an older weatherby shotgun, over and under.  have tried to remove old finish with little to no luck.   answers?

[Marshal_]

If the usual run of chemical strippers don't work, there's always good ol' fashioned sand paper.

[zonie]

I think I would find a good old fashon stock maker and see what he recommends.  I've used  chemical strippers follow directions, sometimes multiple applications to get it all off.  Use a soft tooth brush in and around checkering,    NO sandpaper to pull the finish off, once you remove wood it can't be replaced and you can  round points on checkering if you accidently hit them.   Old school guy's use to scrape stocks with a piece of glass,  that's not something I would recommend unless you know what you are doing.

[fuonlynu]

I scrape mine with a custom flat flexible bladed knife, and a razor blade. You have to sand regardless the finish and or stain penetrates and sanding is the only out. Tape off all Checkering and if any sharp edges,use delicate strokes near and around these areas this stuff is hard to fix!. I have fixed,finished and re finished more than 140 rifle stocks as well as handgun grips. Yes this is part of how I make a living besides being a wood worker,Hobbiest, Cabinet finisher,Painter. Since 1979.

[telemaster]

I use a chemical stripper, sometimes it will take more than one coat and some area's might take three or four coats,I do not use sandpaper or a metal scraper, I use a flexible plastic 2 inch scraper, on really tough spots i will take OO steel wool and dip it in the stripper and work it with the wood grain(be sure to wear good rubber gloves) use a tooth brush on the checkering and use a good chemical neutralizer wash between coats and when your finished. I have had good luck with klean strip KS-3 and citristrip after wash.
after that's all done I will sand out the barrel channel to free float the barrel and save the sanding dust and if there are any gouges in the wood mix the dust with just enough epoxy putty to hold it together, fill in the gouges and let it set over night and sand that smooth with 200 grit paper then the whole stock with 400 grit paper. (don't sand the checkering) wipe it all down with a tack cloth and you are ready for the new finish.

[Marshal_]

Scraping with glass...now that's something I wouldn't have thought of. I would imagine that requires a piece of glass with a certain shape to it? I'll have to look into that.

fuonlynu pretty much hit what I was getting at. I didn't want to write a  book expanding on my methodology but I'm not doing anything more important so here goes. Doesn't matter how the finish coat comes off, it's all got to go. My preference for that step is chemical stripper because it's usually off in 2-3 coats. Which is a heck of a lot easier than sanding because most finish coats gum it up quick.

Then there's the matter of working passed the old stain. To date I haven't been successful with chemical strippers. My patience wears out long before I see bare wood. This is the point where I break out the sandpaper, starting with 80 or 120 grit and working my way up to 300 or 400 grit. If you're feelin extra frisky, the sky is the limit. Go up to 2,000 grit automotive paper if it suits you.

Sanding does remove material, but if done right the amount of material lost won't be noticeable. Tape off and work around any checkering to preserve it. Use a sanding block so you don't round edges that are meant to be sharp. Like the where the stock meets the buttplate. Make sure to sand evenly, with the grain, and don't hover over any one area so that you don't re-shape the stock by mistake.

Once I get to 300 - 400 grit sandpaper, I "paint" the stock with hot water. Close to, but not quite boiling, to raise the grain. Let it dry for an hour or so. Then I start at 200 grit and work my way back up. Then I'll hit it once with 000 steel wool, wipe it down with a clean cloth and commence with staining.

I've seen video of folks using steam to draw stain out of a work piece after stripping the clear coat off. Looked like all it took was a piece of cloth to drape over the wood, a steam clothes iron, and more patience than I have. Basically the steam raises the grain and pulls the stain out of the work piece and into the cloth. Move the cloth around as it fills with stain. This also has the neat side effect of raising any dents the stock might have.
Let the stock dry for 24 hours after you get the stain out. then knock the raised grain off, starting at 200 grit and working your way up. Since I've only seen this done and not done it myself though, I'll link you the video I learned it from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkIDm_2lN1c

I like sand paper because it keeps me busy. No apply chemical, wait half hour or so, wipe down and repeat. And when you're done you can go straight to staining, no 24 hour wait or washes to neutralize chemicals. But there's more than 1 way to skin a cat, and now you have 3 to choose from.

[zonie]

I learned the glass trick from old time stock  refinishers.  If you can find a nice sharp straight piece  3 or 4 inches long and wear gloves.   Glass is very  sharp and stiff,   practice on a few flat spots first to get the correct angle,  just don't get carried away with it.   For really tight corners and  intricate areas glass is probably not the best to use,  for large areas for fast removal of old finish it works very good.  Sometimes what I'll do is scrape down  the big area's to get the majority of the finish off and use a chemical stripper to get the rest.   

[cessna172]

WestNut on the Weatherby Collectors site is a professional Weatherby refinisher.  He did a Weatherby stock for me, and it was beautiful work.  Money well spent.  Unless you just want to do the project yourself.

[224KING]

Westhunt!

[yuma93]

I have used Jonas Stocks on a few of my pieces and am extremely satisfied. They are back east in Ohio and seem to have had a fast turn around.

On some of my projects I used a Ball Jar (Broken) and simply scraped it off and there are always curved and flat pieces for hard to get to spots especially around the checkering.

It always worked for me.

[wyominghunter]

I believe you are referring to the high gloss polyurethane finish?  If so, you should use Zip Strip (or equivalent) to remove the finish. Use a cloth, greenie, or steel wool (lightly). This may take a few applications, but it works. My father has been a stockmaker for 40+ years (member of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild) and he has removed this finish several hundred times. It is actually much more difficult to apply that finish and have it come out perfect.

You shouldn't use any type of scraping or sanding as the goal is not to remove any wood. Yes, of course an abrasive removal method will work, but you will remove some wood which isn't highly desirable. I have seen a lot of people use sandpaper on their stock and ruin some great wood. For whatever reason, people cannot help but use sandpaper. You also don't use sandpaper to remove dents in wood stocks, but that is another subject.

[cessna172]

224KING, close.