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.
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