Rifle stock refinish

[Ryan81]

I had an old Remington 788 laying around that I’ve been planning to refinish the stock on. It had its fair share of dents and dings all over and I finally started. I forgot to take a before picture, unfortunately.

I’ve never done this but thought that it couldn’t be that hard to do. The first step was putting some citristrip on the stock to remove the old finish. I had to do two coats and I’m not sure I quite used it right. It seemed harder to remove than I expected. I used a flathead screwdriver and sandpaper to remove.

I’ve applied two coats of stain but think I want it a tad darker. Then I will be applying the tru oil and finish everything up. Maybe I’ll have time to finish it this weekend and can post up more pics.


This is after the first coat and then after stain. I ordered the Birchwood Casey try oil stock refinishing kit.





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[MtnMike]

Tru Oil is good if you are wanting a Satin Finish. But, when I refinished one of my Marlin .22's, I added the Burchwood Casey Polyurethane spray on finish in the spray can and I liked it much better with a Glossy Finish. Just depends on what you like. It is coming along nicely!!!

[twosixteens]

The 788’s have a birch stock I have found if you are going to use Tru Oil it works better warmed up on birch and an old T shirt works good to mop it on love them old 788’s

[Ryan81]

Originally Posted by MtnMike

Tru Oil is good if you are wanting a Satin Finish. But, when I refinished one of my Marlin .22's, I added the Burchwood Casey Polyurethane spray on finish in the spray can and I liked it much better with a Glossy Finish. Just depends on what you like. It is coming along nicely!!!

I don’t have the polyurethane. Just the finish that came with the kit. I was wanting more of a glossy finish but not too picky. Do you think if I put a few applications of the finish I have it would come out more glossy?

Originally Posted by twosixteens

The 788’s have a birch stock I have found if you are going to use Tru Oil it works better warmed up on birch and an old T shirt works good to mop it on love them old 788’s

I like this 788. It’s got a smooth action and I killed my largest buck with it in 2017. It’s a .243.

Thanks for the advice. I plan on refinishing a few more if this turns out nice.


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[xman59]

Originally Posted by twosixteens

The 788’s have a birch stock I have found if you are going to use Tru Oil it works better warmed up on birch and an old T shirt works good to mop it on love them old 788’s

this is correct and birch does not stain well,,,,

[Ryan81]

Just finished the first coat of tru oil. It said to let dry 12-24 hours but seems like it was drying/soaking in within the first 10 minutes. Is this normal?

It’s turning out pretty good though.


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[dustoffer]

I use a sanded-in technique and Tru-Oil to refinish stocks---lots of steps to it but it makes a wonderful satin finish with all the wood's pores filled.

[Puggy625]

Originally Posted by Ryan81

Just finished the first coat of tru oil. It said to let dry 12-24 hours but seems like it was drying/soaking in within the first 10 minutes. Is this normal?

It’s turning out pretty good though.


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It will feel dry to the touch but does completely cure for several hours. I've used it on knife handles. What I did after it dried over night and then sand it lightly, the reapply. Did that 3 times and they turned out pretty nice looking. You basically have to build up the oil finish with several applications.

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[Ryan81]

Forgot to post pics of the outcome but I’m pleased with the results. There were a couple spots where I applied the coats a little too thick and you can see where it started to run slightly. hardly noticeable unless you’re holding it.


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[J Loves Huntin]

Looks sharp!

[Big pig]

Originally Posted by Puggy625

It will feel dry to the touch but does completely cure for several hours. I've used it on knife handles. What I did after it dried over night and then sand it lightly, the reapply. Did that 3 times and they turned out pretty nice looking. You basically have to build up the oil finish with several applications.

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I have done several stocks with Tru Oil with numerous coats.
First was a 788 lefty 6mm !

[Drycreek3189]

Looks good !

[Trophy7]

Nice work, looks good!

[texan16]

Turned out pretty nice !

[3ChordTruth]

Looks great, a very nice project.