Firearms Talk banner

Strip Boyd's Finish

5K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  jigs-n-fixture 
#1 ·
I am asking about the best method for stripping the finish off of a Boyds stock.

Although I am not sure, I believe they use some kind of acid-based lacquer. When you open the box, it smells like you just walked into a Harbor Freight store.
 
#4 ·
There is no place on the Boyds website to ask a question like this one. They have a FAQ, but it is strictly categorized to prevent anyone from asking a technical question.

Boyds was the first place I tried. - Now I'm asking here.
 
#6 ·
If and when you get it stripped, Tung Oil works very well on them. I used it on a couple of unfinished Boyds stocks I ordered.
 
#7 · (Edited)
That's what I have in mind. Tung oil, or maybe boiled linseed oil. The stock will be walnut, not laminated.

I would order the stock unfinished, but Boyds are incapable of adding the laser checkering - and then sending the stock to you, unfinished. So, I gotta order it finished, and then strip it.

I'll try the Email address, thanks for the tip.

Boyds has not been very communicative with me in the past. I offered to send them a Howa Mini-1500 barreled action so they could scan it for the stock making machinery, but they never responded at all. Seems like a "thanks, but no thanks" eMail wouldn't have cost them much.

I recently stripped a TALO Ruger 10-22 international that had laser basketweave checkering. - Then I gave it a Tru-Oil finish and it looked much better than it had originally.

A lot of people talk about the quality of walnut dropping - but with this Ruger 10-22, getting rid of the milky-looking Ruger finish immediately showed a much better piece of walnut than I expected. It had all kinds of figure and character that was concealed by the original Ruger finish, whatever it was.
 
#8 ·
I got a reply from Boyds Stocks:

Hello,

We do not have a specific suggesting that we recommend. We typically refer customers to a gun smith when they are wanting to do things of this sort.

Customer Service,
Jodi
I won't say that I am disappointed, I didn't really expect a useful answer from them.

Note that I identified myself as a gunsmith when I asked.
 
#10 · (Edited)
As it's a commercial stock, it has to be a spray-on finish. That would make it either polyurethane or a lacquer. Since water-based polyurethane dries faster than oil based, my guess would be that if it's a poly finish, it's water based. If it's lacquer it is probably a catalyzed lacquer as that would be the fastest curing.

If you want to test the stock to try and determine the finish, if it's a water-based polyurethane, then testing a spot with alcohol will soften the finish. If the finish doesn't soften, then try lacquer thinner. If it's an oil based polyurethane finish it will get sticky, if the finish is lacquer, it will dissolve.

However, to me, none of that matters. If you want to remove the finish, simply use a paint remover that has methylene chloride in it like Zip Strip. Go to an Ace Hardware or True Value and get a can of Zip Strip and it will take off the finish regardless of whether it's a varnish or lacquer.
 
#12 · (Edited)
As a guy who has done both multiple Boyd's Stocks (& others)
and Antique Furniture Restoration, my suggestion would be...
CITRISTRIP, at every Lowe's & Home Depot.
http://www.citristrip.com/product/citristrip-gel

In fact, I just got another can for a small project...
a Schecter 5-string Bass that the finish is pretty much gone...
dude either played a LOT, or never wiped it down after playing...

Oh, yeah, make sure it's a WARM Garage...
turn on a heater and get the place nice & cozy
so the gel will do its thing faster...
because in wintertime, everything of that nature slows down...
and a little goes a long ways...

Removes pretty much everything...paint or varnish or laquers...
Citrus-based, but you still need to wear gloves,
because it'll do bad things to your unprotected skin...

This Marlin 60 had a standard Mar-shield coat,
which was a heavy polyshades brown, almost a paint,
with a couple coats of Polyurethane...which looked nice & uniform,
to Marlin's Standards. however, as evidenced by the finished product,
there was quite often some mighty nice wood underneath...
once you Citristripped it off :)
 

Attachments

#13 ·
A second, more informative eMail from Boyds positively identified the factory finish there as a lacquer finish.

Lacquer thinner will liquefy it in short order, with no caustic stuff required. - I'll have to have good ventilation though, or lose brain cells that I really cannot spare.
 
#15 ·
Something that might be worth looking into is a trick i learned from my uncle during restorations on old bikes and cars. Brake fluid.

We use to lay a rag soaked in it on the pained surface, and left it sit overnight. I twouild peel up the paint, without damage to the metal, rubber, or plastic that we were trying to take the paint off of, and it rinses right off with water. I'm not sure on wood, as i never tried it myself, but it might be worth picking up some Krylon and some old scap wood to try it out.

The other option is to use a blasting cabinet with a soft agent, such as baking soda. It takes longer than other media, but it is soft enough that it won't blow through a rusted panel, which is why we used it on parts we had to make our self, as it didn't heat up, warp, or blow through said metal, but it still removed the rust, thus allowing for an accurate measurement with the contour gauge. Again, try it on a scrap piece of wood, but also on a new pressure treated piece before the stock, but it should be soft enough to not muck up the lines, as it ids a hard wood.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Brake fluid will stain the wood. CitriStrip and other similar strippers will remove the lacquer, and allow a quick prep for the new finish. It is far less toxic and dangerous than any other option.

Soda or shell blasting might work, but since CitriStrip works so well I wouldn't risk the potential for damage without trying it on a test piece first.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top