Trojan finish problem

[Phil Yearout]

I've owned this Trojan for quite a few years; I always assumed the wood had been refinished but I never thought about what the finish might be. On a recent trip I hunted in the rain and now the stock finish is very splotchy - almost looks like bare wood in places. Forearm is fine. I've never had anything like this happen before and it seems very weird to me. I don't know if you can tell from the photos but it really looks pretty bad. Any ideas as to what might have happened, what the finish is, what I ought to do about it, etc.? Thanks...

[J. A. EARLY]

I took a 16 ga VH rabbit hunting in the rain. Did the same thing. Wood was dry with no finish, even though out of the safe it was not apparent. While some will say not correct, it was a hunting gun after all, I used a small cotton patch and put Tru-oil on it, several times. Enough to protect the wood. No problems since.

[Harold Pickens]

I have had the same issues hunting in the rain with a VH 16, was wearing gloves which seemed to make it even worse. Interested to see the responses here, thinking Timberluxe would be a good solution.

[Jeff K.]

I had the same problem with my 20 vh grouse gun and 12 vh duck gun. Timberlux solved the problem. The finish was gone in places and when wet it showed up white.

[Phil Yearout]

Timberluxe sounds like a possible solution. A chum also recommended a couple of products: Watco Danish Oil and Finish Feeder. Anyone have any experience with either?

[B. Dudley]

The issue stems from lack of finish and bare wood. Really the wood should be refinished.

[Phil Yearout]

Weird. It looked just fine before it got wet; would never have thought finish was missing anywhere.

[Andy]

My 16 VH does that and under a good light source (specular) I can see the finish is missing. So this brings up the question do I refinish it or not? I happen to love this particular gun on an 0 frame and it has substantial field wear but is solid, so if I did tend to refinish it, I'd probably have Brian do it correct because the checkering needs to be recut. I have large swatches that show up in wet conditions and I think if I just apply Timberlux it will look like I just applied Timberlux in problematic areas. I tend to think a field gun that is in that condition and not particularly valuable doesn't lose a whole lot being refinished as my guess is that it was refinished in the distant past anyways. Just my thoughts. My understanding is that restoring is very very different than refinishing.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Andy, just have it refinished or do it yourself. If the gun isn't some high end collector piece then you're really not devaluing it and it will make you happy. Funny thing (peculiar, not ha-ha) is I've seen that same type of finish blotching on modern field guns. We're talking new European guns that are $2000 and up when hunted in the rain or humid conditions tend to show white blotches or bare wood. I can understand guns that are 100 years old with finish wear, but modern guns that exhibit that same problem is inexcusable. Just another reason to avoid Eurotrash.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Mike Koneski

Andy, just have it refinished or do it yourself. If the gun isn't some high end collector piece then you're really not devaluing it and it will make you happy. Funny thing (peculiar, not ha-ha) is I've seen that same type of finish blotching on modern field guns. We're talking new European guns that are $2000 and up when hunted in the rain or humid conditions tend to show white blotches or bare wood. I can understand guns that are 100 years old with finish wear, but modern guns that exhibit that same problem is inexcusable. Just another reason to avoid Eurotrash.

Thank you Mike. I did a Citori with Timberlux and it turned out quite nice. Maybe I'll just do it myself to protect the wood. Hey...aren't you supposed to be in Vegas right now doing stuff that stays in Vegas?