Advice needed on fixing a humped stock

M

mjohn787

Member
I bought a '44 dot a while back that was fairly humped, but still had potential. It's missing a few things but everything is attainable (both barrel bands, handguard, sight hood, cleaning rod, and the band spring).

However, the real project is the stock. All holes were filled in with a sawdust putty and the entire stock sanded and coated with a heavy layer of red shellac. I managed to pick all of the wood filler out of the takedown hole and sling slot, but I'm far from done. The shellac is coming off very slowly with denatured alcohol and tons of elbow grease, but I'd like to speed up the process if possible.

Would it be wise to sand the shellac off? The stock appears to have been sanded before the shellac was applied, but the idea of sanding a k98 stock bothers me. I need some reassurance from more seasoned collectors.

Before and after (warning--low quality pictures):

IMAG05971.jpgIMAG13431.jpg
 
Get a sharp plastic putty knife, shellac is brittle and can be peeled off.
 
If denatured alcohol isn't taking it off easily, it might not be shellac. I de-shellaced a couple of ratty RCs and Mosins, and it came off very easily, shellac is typically alcohol based (kind of like using thinner on paint).

You sure bubba didn't use poly of some sort?
 
emcon5 said:
If denatured alcohol isn't taking it off easily, it might not be shellac. I de-shellaced a couple of ratty RCs and Mosins, and it came off very easily, shellac is typically alcohol based (kind of like using thinner on paint).

You sure bubba didn't use poly of some sort?
Click to expand...
That could be the case. After a lot of rubbing the finish loses its sheen but it retains the reddish look.

Should I try some sort of furniture stripper?
 
I'm definitely leaning toward poly of some type especially seeing the scratches where you cleared the wood filler. Way too hard for shellac or any of the older arsenal type finishes. FWIW I've taken off shellac with nothing more than household ammonia on a clean cloth.

It looks like there aren't any stampings to worry about and it seems your intent is just to make it more visually appealing and "correct". If that is the case you might try something on the less aggressive end of the stripper scale? Good luck.
 
Why not try a paint remover that's for use on wood? (Heck, it's not like the original finish is under there and you're trying to preserve it!)
 
yep I would not use sandpaper paint stripper maybe but I would dilute it and use steel wool or brass wool fine stuff and go slow never know whats underneath

denatured alcohol or acetone paint remover at the last resort. talk to the local paint shop ( not home depot/lowes) see what they have or local floor refinishers

good luck
 
Having read a bunch of threads on this issue, stripping off old finishes, chemical strippers are very hard on the wood fibers. If used very carefully that can be minimized. Simple answer is, IMO, there is no simple solution and no good answer. Noble effort on your part and well done on removing the filler.
 
Gentlest Stock Stripping

The gentlest and most effective method for stripping a wood stock, in my experience, is Soy-Gel followed by Emerge to clean any residual.

Citristrip is not as effective but also non halmful
Limit any wood exposure to water or risk, cracking, warping and de lamination.
Thank you!
moose
 
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