Can varnish dents be buffed out?

[Galloway]

Considering picking up a uberti 1873 sporter in good condition but the stock had some dents and chatter marks in it. Was just wondering if these could be smoothed out? Thanks

[Major 2]

The short answer is yes but the caveat, is that the process is not as simple as that.

I have raised and repaired many dents and a pressure dings in stocks.
Steaming out a Dent and scraping a linseed oil finish is relatively straight forward.

 The issue with Uberti is that Polyurethane finish they use.
 I have not tried it with that finish, though I have removed the finish and steamed out the dent and re- finished the stock, but without the poly.

[Coffinmaker]

Galloway

The short answer to your short question is No.  Steaming dents doesn’t work well thru Varnish.  Also, Uberti also applies a “filler” which further tends to seal out moisture.  You will need to strip the stock, steam out the dents, refinish.

Forgot.  If you are just dealing with dents in the varnish only, varnish needs sanded down then reapplied.  If you go past the clear coat, you will need to completely strip and refinish as matching Uberti filler and color will be near impossible.

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[Major 2]

I suppose that's another way to put it   

[DeaconKC]

Citristrip works well on the Rossi and Uberti finishes.

[Abilene]

I'm not sure what you mean by "chatter marks".  Is it possibly a series of vertical lines across one side of the stock?  I've seen some like that (including one of mine) which I believe was caused by the corrugation of the cardboard box pressing against the wood through the plastic sleeve, perhaps aided by shipping vibration.  You can sort of clean them off but they show up again quickly.  A buffing wheel with very fine compound will get rid of those.  It will also get rid of minor scratches and really tiny dings.  But you have to be very careful because if you go through the polyurethane it will look bad. 

[Reverend P. Babcock Chase]

Howdy Galloway,

Since you don't own the gun and are just considering purchase, this may sound like a bit much. I believe your best bet would be to strip and refinish the stock & forend, raising dents as needed. All the refinished Uberti stocks that I have seen look to have been well worth the effort and much better looking that the original finish.

Maybe you can negotiate a better price by pointing out the defects and the difficulty to fix.

Rev. Chase

[Professor Marvel]

"It'll buff right out"

that phrase that ought to be banned from all language, and the speaker
should be horsewhipped until his (her) attitude improves.
almost always uttered by a con artist.

one can occaisonally "steam out " dents. But buffing is merely a mild form of
abrasion that is done until that which offends you is no longer visible.

yhs
prf grumpy

[cpt dan blodgett]

Much like a beautiful woman that has a few years on her guns deserve to be loved as they are.  Just say'n  mine get dinged in the cart or on stages.