Stock Refinish Question from 1st Time Poster
 

Greetings all. This is my first post but I have been reading the forum for several months now. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of the forum. I have been given an old Parker 12 ga shot gun that has been in my family for 125 years (SN 93301). It was either my great grandfather's or grandfather's. My dad may have shot it once in the last 50 yrs. They were simple farmers in middle Tennessee and the gun is very field worn. The gun is likely a low value gun but it is a family piece so I will be keeping it. I will not do any significant restoration work but the stock is heavily worn. After some light cleaning, a fair amount of the finish is not present. So I want to refinish the existing stock to protect it....warts and all. I plan on using Brian Dudley's info on removing the stock and performing an acetone/alcohol soak. My question is : prior to performing the soaks should I remove the bird dog butt plate and pistol grip cap or do I run the risk of any swelling occurring which will make reinstall of the plate/cap difficult? Is swelling of the wood using acetone/alcohol likely or only a concern with water exposure? Thanks for your help.

I’ve had excellent results using TimberLuxe. It’s about the closest thing available in a one step retail product to the original Parker finish… but it’s not quick & easy. It takes a lot of hand rubbing and drying times between applications.





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If you acetone soak, the wood will swell. Depending on how long you soak it. You will want to let it sit for a week or so to let it go back to size. Check the buttplate fitment to verify that it has shrunk back down.

Timberluxe is very good for freshening back or refinishing.

Dean and Brian, thanks much for the prompt reply and the Timberluxe product recommendations. Very helpful. Regards.

Definitely TimberLuxe

I have a question about, what did Parker use as a finish. Was it a shellac? or some other concoction of linseed oil and waxes.

Parker used shellac. You can use Bullseye amber shellac. Takes a little practice to put it. It dries quickly so when your done putting it on the stock, you can immediately start again. Multiple applications can be done in 1 day. I've done many stocks without taking the action off the stock. Do a google search for applying shellac to guitars. If there is shellac currently on the stock, alcohol will take it off.

Thanks for the info. Much appriciated

Appreciated

Sorry I missed this first time around. Shellac is right, but that's only part of the story. Parker used what has become known as "French Polish" which is Shellac thinned with alcohol and mixed with boiled linseed oil, and a tiny bit of Japon drier. There are several threads in the forum archives going back 20 years on the process, TPS mentions it in Chapter 10, and googling "french polish" will give you a trove of results also. All this from before Timberluxe came on the scene. I have refinished several Parker stocks with french polish and touched up many more. It takes a little practice to find what works best for you in terms of pad construction, polish mix, and application technique, but the best part is that you can strip it all off with alcohol and start again without harm to the wood.