Paint removal from wooden stock

perdix

Well-Known Member
The previous owner of my .222 painted the wooden stock on it black.
I am contemplating taking it back to a natural finish and oiling the stripped wood.
What would be the best way to remove the paint causing minimum damage to the wood underneath?
 
Paint stripper, but if the first coats of paint were thinned it will be very difficult to get all traces of colour out of the wood.
You could also save the hard work and have it stripped in a dip tank, probably find one at the local furniture restorers.
Failing that if you (or a friend) have access to hot vapour degreasing plant, I can promise it will remove all traces of
staining in the wood after you manually strip the worst of the paint off.

Neil. :)
 
as Hornet says paint stripper but don't be frightened to give it a good rinse with soapy water then clean water to remove any trace of stripper and dry gently it will lift the grain but fine sandpaper then steel wool will take it down
 
Thanks Neil :tiphat:
The residual paint left in the wood after stripping it was what was concerning me.
As it is a baikal I wonder if it would be possible to pick up another stock and fore-end or even if it might mean me ruining the stock,just leave things be.
The old adage " it it ain't broke don't fix it" may well apply and for the first time in my life I might even take notice of it if that's the case :oops:
 
as Hornet says paint stripper but don't be frightened to give it a good rinse with soapy water then clean water to remove any trace of stripper and dry gently it will lift the grain but fine sandpaper then steel wool will take it down

:tiphat:

Thanks roedeered
 
I would n't use stripper. Instead use a hot air gun and a very sharp cabinet scrapper. I use the same removing paint and / or varnish off wooden boats - leaves a very much cleaner finish than paint stripper. You may need to grind the scrapers into various shapes. Look on YouTube on how to sharpen a cabinet scrapper.

alternativley, given that it's a Baikal whose stock shape are not as shapely as they could be, just use a rasp and file then sandpaper to take off the paint and reshape the stock.
 
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Not intended to take thread off topic but does anyone know if the chemicals in a dipping tank would dissolve epoxy resin bedding? I am presuming it would.
 
i did a stock on a old shotgun aya no4 forend as well with nitomors v/paint remover put some on leave two or three mins rinse with meths reapply more stripper till clean any awkward bits do with toothbrush meths in between coats finnally rinse with soapy water when completly dry oil with 80 linseed 20 white spirits s many times as you like , put it this way it will be better than paint.:old::fox:. PS WEAR GLOVES. AND GLASSES.
 
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Use Nitromors craftsman the yellow one then wash with warm soapy water rinse clean and dry for a day.

Then re finish as per normal.
 
as Hornet says paint stripper but don't be frightened to give it a good rinse with soapy water then clean water to remove any trace of stripper and dry gently it will lift the grain but fine sandpaper then steel wool will take it down

I would have said this I had thought about it at the time, sorry.
But personally I wash it all off with white spirit, just because it doesn't raise the grain.
probably more important if going for a high lustre oiled finish.

Thanks Neil :tiphat:
The residual paint left in the wood after stripping it was what was concerning me.
As it is a baikal I wonder if it would be possible to pick up another stock and fore-end or even if it might mean me ruining the stock,just leave things be.
The old adage " it it ain't broke don't fix it" may well apply and for the first time in my life I might even take notice of it if that's the case :oops:

It may well have been painted over the original varnish, if this is the case it will be a much easier job.
Being a Baikal the wood to metal fit isn't great, and you can remove a amount of wood around the cheeks just to bring it down flush.
You probably don't have any checkering to worry about either.

By the way, a Black (shiny) Baikal single shot in .222 rings a bell.
Did it come from down south about middle of 2012 or a bit later ?

Neil. :)
 
I wouldn't use any strippers, you will lift the grain and if you get it on the chequering it could swell and you will lose the points. Mask off the chequering and flat block it with sand paper, it takes time but you will not swell/ open the grain. The chequering might not even need that much work if the points are good , buy yourself an eye glass and set of fine riffling files and go slowly. Don't forget to seal the grain and flat block again then tack cloth the stock , thenever so slightly dampen the wood as to not open the grain, this will life the the loose fibres and use fine wire wool to take the fibres down. I messed up the first stock I did using stripper.
 
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I would have said this I had thought about it at the time, sorry.
But personally I wash it all off with white spirit, just because it doesn't raise the grain.
probably more important if going for a high lustre oiled finish.



It may well have been painted over the original varnish, if this is the case it will be a much easier job.
Being a Baikal the wood to metal fit isn't great, and you can remove a amount of wood around the cheeks just to bring it down flush.
You probably don't have any checkering to worry about either.

By the way, a Black (shiny) Baikal single shot in .222 rings a bell.
Did it come from down south about middle of 2012 or a bit later ?

Neil. :)

Thanks again Neil.
nd yes it was from Ivythorne in about September :eek:
 
I wouldn't use any strippers, you will lift the grain and if you get it on the chequering it could swell and you will lose the points. Mask off the chequering and flat block it with sand paper, it takes time but you will not swell/ open the grain. The chequering might not even need that much work if the points are good , buy yourself an eye glass and set of fine riffling files and go slowly. Don't forget to seal the grain and flat block again then tack cloth the stock , thenever so slightly dampen the wood as to not open the grain, this will life the the loose fibres and use fine wire wool to take the fibres down. I messed up the first stock I did using stripper.

No chequering to worry about chickenman but thanks for the reply
 
don't worry about raising the grain
if its covered in horrible varnish you want that and any residue right off the easy way
I use "Weapons Grade" NitroMors. at least 12 years old, not the current child friendly version

trick is to keep it moving constantly with a brush
Wash off with water and leave to air dry naturally away from a direct heat source, at least a few days, preferably a week

once you have done any heavy work to it (pads, lowering wood to metal edges etc) use grain sealer and then you can flat it with several rounds of decreasing grade paper. go as high as you can if you want a really fine finish

I blow it with an air line midway through the medium (600 grit) flatting and apply another very light grain sealer coat

once sealed and flat you can choose to stain and oil or just oil
oil sparingly by hand, "once a day for a week, once a week for a month and then once a month for a year"! so they say!
you will find some areas soak up the oil faster than others and need a bit more
 
Thanks again Neil.
nd yes it was from Ivythorne in about September :eek:

Thought so, it was in there when I traded a green painted version in .223 in against my 6mmPPC.
I actually quite liked the black, didn't it also have an alloy recoil pad ?

Neil. :)
 
It did but that had disappeared when I took delivery of it.

Just had another look at the wee triple again and I am wondering about leaving it be until it has succumb to a bit more ware and tear.
I know it's not a pricey rifle but Id hate to cock it up to be honest and as my partner has just pointed out I haven't finished stripping and sanding the stairs yet :lol:
 
It did but that had disappeared when I took delivery of it.

Just had another look at the wee triple again and I am wondering about leaving it be until it has succumb to a bit more ware and tear.
I know it's not a pricey rifle but Id hate to cock it up to be honest and as my partner has just pointed out I haven't finished stripping and sanding the stairs yet :lol:

I'd leave it alone until it desperately need attention.
It actually looked pretty good when I had a look at it.
When I walked in and saw it on the wall my heart fell as I needed to get rid of mine to buy another rifle.
When I saw it was .222 I breathed a sigh of relief knowing mine was .223 and the chances were good he would take mine.

Neil. :)
 
Mulled it over today while walking the dogs and I think you're right Neil.
It's something I can always do next winter if I don't swap it :doh:
 
It's something I can always do next winter if I don't swap it :doh:

If you find a really nice .222 or .223 single shot break action let me know, I still fancy one, but not a Baikal or Thompson Centre.
I did consider springing for a blaser K95, until I realised they have a alloy action and not steel.

Neil. :)
 
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