Poor (Lazy) Man's Stock "Refinishing"

[Coal Creek Griff]

Like many here, one thing that really bugs me about my Uberti guns is the finish they used on the stocks and grips.  I don't mind the reddish color, but the final high gloss finish is far too shiny for my tastes.  It makes the stocks/grips look like they're made out of plastic.  I'm not much of a woodworker and I have put off tackling the stripping/staining/refinishing project .

Rowdy Fulcher had written about using rubbing alcohol on some revolver grips to improve the appearance.  This week, I modified that idea and I think it has turned out very well.  I took 0000 steel wool and soaked it down with rubbing alcohol, then went over the grips of one of my revolvers.  I kept the steel wool damp and used a circular motion to remove some of the glossy finish, roughing up what was left.  I then rubbed the grips down with oil (I just used gun oil because it was next to me when I was trying this out) and I think it improved those grips by 100%.  Of course I forgot to take “before” pictures, but I think most of us know what Uberti  high-gloss grips look like.

Since I liked the look so much, I then turned to my other guns.  I’ve done the same thing with three rifles and three revolvers and it’s almost like having new guns.  I think they look great and I’m not jarred by the high-gloss finish.  Aside from removing the wood from the gun and reinstalling it, the handgun grips took less under 20 minutes and the butt stock/forearms took about 45 minutes each.  I just turned on a western movie, draped my lap with rags to catch the drips and to wipe off the residue, then went to work.

I’m attaching a couple of photos to give you the idea of how the finished product looks, but the photos don’t really catch the dramatic difference.  Of course any dents or flaws in the wood remained and those are visible in the photos.  There are also tiny scratches from the steel wool, but you have to look very close to see them.

CC Griff

[Scattered Thumbs]

They did turn up very well. (where's a thumbs up icon when it's needed?  ).

[Abilene]

Good deal.  Changed the shiny to satin.

[Advertising]

[Coal Creek Griff]

I did try to take "before" and "after" pictures of one of my revolvers, but they didn't come out that great.  They do give an idea of the difference, but again, they don't really capture the improvement.

CC Griff

[Popa Kapoff]

Nice work I sanded mine down and found out I had some really nice looking wood under there.

[Fox Creek Kid]

NEVER put petroleum gun oil on wood as it will ruin it pronto by soaking in and then turning those areas into veritable "driftwood". You see this on many old antiques that were over oiled and then stood up thereby allowing the oil to leech into the buttstock. As well, it's damn near impossible to get out of wood short of using gunsmith 'whiting' to soak it out.

[Coal Creek Griff]

Thanks. I "knew" that, I just forgot. In this case, it was a pretty small amount and I know that at least some of the plastic-like finish remains on the stock.   I doubt that much oil made it past that into the wood, but I'll be more careful in the future.  I appreciate the comment.

CC Griff