When do you freshen up a dark stock and when do you leave it alone

[King Cobb]

I realize this has been discussed off and on over the years, but it is something I am currently considering on one of my darker guns and seeing as the forum is moving a little slowly and searching through old posts the past 4 days hasn't given me the results I was hoping for, I thought I would see what kind of discussion we could get going.

Basically for me it comes in to two seperate areas- If the stock head is significantly oil soaked than it is time to fix that. This one I feel pretty certain on. If the oil is threatening the integrity of the wood it needs to be dealt with.

the second one is a little murkier for me. If a gun still shows it's grain and character that is great, but at what point of that original finish becoming mostly dirt and oil from being handled, does it become detrimental to your enjoyment of the gun? Do you believe that an original finish no matter how dark and worn away should be left untouched even if you can't really make out the character of the wood anymore? Or do you believe that a vintage classic parker needs to have the wood in an enjoyable state to be appreciated and thereby restored or refinished?

Pics below of some stock variations I am talking about:

The 1st and 4th stock pictured are in good shape. The 1st one is a little dark but grain is still present.

The 2nd pic is more a comparison of a refinished stock and one I think is borderline on needing to be cleaned up.

The 3rd pic is another one that I think has the potential to have a lot of grain and character under it if it was cleaned up a bit.

Anyway, looking forward to the discussion!

[OH Osthaus]

i redo a stock when there is damage requiring it- I just did one because it was broken at the wrist - so de-oiled repaired refinshed

i posted one a week or two ago that had a split repaired - the rest of the finish waas pretty good - so i just blended the repaired area into the old finish

I am doing one now that had a chunk of the toe missing - that graft is done- it will get a refinish but i am trying not to make it look new - - because the rest of the gun isn't, I'll leave the dings and dents

so- number 3 - looks good to me - if you refinish - are you going to have the checkering recut? the drop points freshened? then what about old metal against new wood?

in the end- your gun - your choice

[wayne goerres]

I personally would not touch any of the guns you have pictured.

[King Cobb]

I would just be cleaning up the wood not messing with the checkering or anything else. It is more a debate between originality and seeing the grain beneath the finish. The darker stock in the 2nd pic is more what I am talking about feeling like needs it.

[Daniel G Rainey]

Purchased my first Parker in 2014 so i am kind of new, but a fool for fine wood. on 2 my guns the stocks are outstanding to my eyes, but the forearms much darker the quality of wood being the same. I think this is because of sweat from hands.A gun held from by the forearm more than by the stock. Would you clean up the forearm to try to match the stock and if so how?

[Craig Budgeon]

I'm not offering an opinion here, however, if you want to lighten dark wood laundry bleach will do it. My advice is to experiment first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Craig Larter]

If it's original finish-------never in my opinion. If you want a gun that looks new buy a Parker repro. The charm of a 100 year old gun is it looks a 100 years old not like it just came out of the factory. Just my opinion.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Craig Budgeon

I'm not offering an opinion here, however, if you want to lighten dark wood laundry bleach will do it. My advice is to experiment first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't do it

Wood bleach is oxalic acid

And still don't do it.

[John Powers]

I received a Grade Three lifter that was damaged in shipping, thanks UPS. Before and after and I removed only the damaged area and tried to keep the patina of the wood.

[Mills]

One thing I consider is whether any of the rest of the gun needs restoration. I recently acquired a GH 12 gauge that is in good shape but well worn for its age. The checkering is very worn and it is a borderline case. The barrels, however, have some dents and will need to have the dents removed which probably means the barrels will need to be refinished. I will probably have the wood refinished and checkering picked up, since the barrels are being restored.