Milsurp After Hours

OK Lee. The actual varnish that is left is only a few pin head sized pieces and not the large black areas on the top and bottom of the stock that can easily be seen. Those areas are just different coloured wood.

I had another go at it today and there is no sign of any of the old varnish now. Next job is the dings and dents. We have got our hands on an old(er) solid electric iron which I think will work better than these modern ones.

How is it coming? Take lots of pic's.

Candyman wrote:How is it coming? Take lots of pic's.

'Resting' at the moment. more pictures to come. The weather here is very wet at the moment, been raining solidly for 26 hours so the air is very damp. the pool water level was up 5.5cm!

I shall be taking some more pics tomorrow.

We were looking for a commercially produced Grain Seal here and it is easier to get Rocking Horse Shit! The French don't normally do anything like this - they are too lazy!! However, I spoke to the MD of CCL in the UK and after a 40 minute chat I ordered some Grain Sealer and some Conditioning Oil from a company called Frankonia who sell his products here. Now waiting for them to arrive so we can continue. Looks like we will use a water based stain made from walnuts to give the wood some depth of colour.

Ready for the application of CCL Gunstock Grain Sealer which arrived today from Frankonia in Germany. The wood is now ultra smooth with no trace of varnish anywhere. All the colours are natural.













Working on it tomorrow

Looks like it came out very clean.

Moving on, and a bit fast too!

We tried to use a water based stain derived from walnuts but it was too weak and so the alternative spirit based one was used. The colouring and regularity of shade was immediately obvious and 3 coats were applied in quick succession. A point of interest is that the 3V3 stain is priced in Francs and not Euros which means it is at least 10 years old.



After it was dry the CCL Restoration Oil was applied and the following images are after 2 coats of brush / cloth application and then rubbing in with the hands - not mine I have to add as I was cleaning and re-sizing 50 .303 sporting cases.





Most probable that Alain will finish the wood tomorrow afternoon and we will let it dry for 24 house before re-mounting the metalwork. more photographs later tomorrow I hope.

Be sure to read the can. Most oils require 24 hour cure time between coats.

It's looking good,

Does the finish feel smooth to the touch now? Hand rubbing ought to leave it that way. Just wondering.

Niner wrote:Does the finish feel smooth to the touch now? Hand rubbing ought to leave it that way. Just wondering.

So far, yes. It is now going to dry until tomorrow afternoon, that's about 24 hours. The stain is almost instant dry, 30 mins between coats.
Probably one more coat of oil will see the job finished. It then needs a week to harden in properly it says in the instructions.