Refinish FWB 602 stock

[jkingrph]

Got a FWB 602 last week, I knew it had a few issues.  I have the working parts off to David Slade for resealing and anything else it might need.

The stock looked bad, a lot of what appeared to be numerous dents in the wood alongside the rail.  I started stripping using some lacquer thinner and steel wool but that old finish was so tough that did not work well, so got some 22o grit sandpaper and rapidly learned that the dents were mostly in the thick factory finish.  This morning made a trip to the hardware store and got some paint stripper and started on it. applied some waited and scraped then coarse steel wool and repeated a couple of times.  Let dry then coarse then fine steel wool, then 220 grit sandpaper followed closely with some 400 grit.  Finished up with a coat of Minwax red oak finish, waited a couple of hours then the first of many applications of boiled linseed oil.

attached are a couple of not too good pictures, taken outside, with heavy overcast. One shows the forarm where the dents were the other the entire stock with the first application of BLO, stock is upside down.

[Frank in Fairfield]

Jeff,
It looks like it has been re-finish (or finished ) a couple of times.
Just strip it and use a light varnish.
Like this original:

[Gwelo]

Good find Jeff! From my experience your walnut stock is pretty rare. That one has some nice figuring and will turn out great. Most 600 series stocks are the blond laminate like Franks’s. Also rare are the red/blonde and red/green stocks. Look forward to seeing how it turns out.

[jkingrph]

Well Frank I don't think it has previously been refinished.  For starters the finish was rather thick, shiney and very evenly applied.  I did a FWB 124 years ago that I bought new and finish was similar.  The pictures I showed are after I had started by stripping, light sanding and one application of BLO
I never had much look getting a finish to look like I wanted using a varnish.  I really prefer an oil finish, slow, but too me they bring out the beauty of the wood, I tend to go by the old saying an application once daily for a week, once weekly for a month and once a year thereafter.  I have some firearms treated like that that are beautiful

I tried a polyurethane one and never again, if you get a scratch they are too hard to repair.

[Frank in Fairfield]

Can’t go wrong with BLO:

[jkingrph]

Been using BLO and wax for about 60 years now.  Slow but makes a nice finish.  That old factory finish even had it not been damaged was far too glossy for my taste.  It's amazing how an oil finish can bring out the grain  and color in a piece of wood.