Stock Ouchie

[Big D]

I posted this note on the Double Gun Site. So far, 135 looks, no response. Must be the most stupid, or most difficult question ever posted. The gun in question is a modern, sporting clays gun.
Hopefully, someone here will be able to help.

"My son-in-law banged up the stock of his clays gun over the weekend. Top of the comb, probably some broken fibers. We will attempt to steam out most of the damage, but my question is about the finish. I assume the gun is Poly-finished. Will steaming work without blowing up the finish? What can I use to refinish after the wood repair? Tru-oil, or do I have to go with a poly of some sort?
Thanks in advance for your ideas."

[Kensal Rise]

I won't comment on the "other site." However, everything depends on the particular gun at hand and the finish that's on its stock. Most modern guns have some form of poly or poly combination finish. All you can do at first is clear down some of the finish in the damaged areas and try steaming up the dents. (NOTE: steaming will not repair torn out wood fibre, it will only expand crushed fibre. And there is no guarantee that any dent will raise up fully).

If you get fogging under the finish, you will have to strip it off and start from bare wood. If the dents don't come up, same thing.

If you are dealing with a Browning, good luck. Some of their finishes almost require power equipment to remove.

If you can sneak up the dents, replace with any good hardware poly. If you have to totally strip, then it's your choice.

Without knowing the type of gun and seriousness of the damage, there isn't much more to say.

[B. Dudley]

A thing to be very careful of with a poly finish is that it sits on top of the wood instead of penetrating the wood like an oil. So, if you have to remove any finish, you may be dealing with some difficulty getting the wood color to match in that spot when putting new finish on. And it also depends on if the gun has any stain or color under the poly. Many manufacturers use a heavy stain on the wood under the poly finish. This can really complicate things.

Sorry I couldn't lend more help on the matter.

[Big D]

Thanks. The gun in question is a Blaser F3, which I assume has a poly finish. The damage in to the top of the adjustable comb, so I would imagine at the worst, he would have to remove and refinish only the comb. At least that's better than the whole stock. He's an anal sort (you should have seen him taking care of his 1,000 HP Porsche!) so he's shattered that his gun now has a blem.

[C.O.B.]

Tell him to sell it and buy a new one Briley crushed the wood in the pistol grip of my Beretta 687EELL and I had the effected area raised and refinished with no problems. It was some sort of poly finish but only the effected area needed to be redone.