Scratched stock fix

Mufflets

Hi all,
I can't believe what i did to my favorite gun this morning, (My cz452 American .22lr) scratched the hell out of the stock crossing wire. Before i start crying or sanding has anyone any suggestions on how best to fix this. thanks.

Umiq88

Tbh the one thing to do really is strip it down sand it and refinish and id sujest an oil finish as a varnish/gloss shows up scratchs.

For small ones to varnish you can normall get them out with an iron by melting it dont know what you'd do with that though.

Citizen_Erased

There is a really cheap method using a brown crayon :rolleyes: but for the most part the result is far from appealing. As it looks , the scratches are shallow and in the laquer so it is nothing serious , any professional could carry out and easy repair but I think they look a wee bit too heavy for the iron method which requires quite a few conditions to work . Although I have it seen it work many wonders on guitars and if you can't find a smith in your area doing stocks then , strange as it sounds , turn to the guitar guys for a professional job.
Sanding down and reworking can be a real head ache and needs 100% dedication and determination to complete well and from my experience with guitars I would say that the benefits of a professional job would be infinite.

johngalway

Yhpm

Traumadoc

I have used the iron method to get dents in the stock out it works pretty well. That said I did it on a surplus mauser that only cost me a hundred euro I would be a bit more careful with a "pride and joy"

Clare gunner

Get rid of that cruddy varnish finish.Go an oil finish,they are by far the better finish and more robust.Otherwise you are into stripping down the laquer and re laquering the stock,it is a PITA,and never seems to go to a proper factory finish.

Dvs

Hello Mufflets,
this is just on of those things,
If you use a firearm for hunting,
it will get scratched and dinged a little bit.

I take it, you intend to continue using it for hunting,
so forget about it, try not to abuse it intentionally,
but accept that it will get some wear and tear.

Dvs.

Mufflets

Thanks for the replys folks. The dents are deeper than they look in the picture but id still like to try to raise them if i can. Now i have an idea but could someone just run by me what the iron method is. Cheers.

maglite

try rubbing tea paste into the scratches it might conceal them alot

Double Barrel

Mufflets,
Are the scratches on / in the polyurethane finish.... OR..... do the scratches continue through the finish and form "dents" in the wood ? Two very different problems.
A close up photo might help.

Clare gunner

The Iron method ASFIK is;to take dents and bruises out of wood.Get a clothes iron,heat it up ,put a damp cloth multi layerd over the wood scratch or dent.Put the iron on the damp cloth and hold there appx 3mins,remove the cloth and see if the dent has lifted.The steam is pressed into the wood,which swells the fibres and pushes out the dent.You need to do this a few times depending on the dent size.Trouble is with laquer finishes the steam/moisture gets under the laquer and makes it lift further.Hence the preferability of oil stock finishes.

civdef

I'm with DVS on this one, if you try to keep a working gun pristine, you'll need to just leave it in the cabinet. A few minor scratches are no harm.

Citizen_Erased

The method clare gunner gave is spot on but I wouldn't hold the iron on for 3 minutes straight away because it is very possible to actually burn the wood/finish. Do it for a shorter while then just gently lift the cloth and look and if is all is clear continue as before . Another thing is that is recommended to use only very pure , even de-ionised water to prevent stains being formed and don't forget the cloth itself must be clean too. If after a few attempts nothing seems to be happening , chances are it is to much for this method to cure and you should stop before any further damaged could be inflicted to the surrounding stock.

/edit

I'm with DVS on this one, if you try to keep a working gun pristine, you'll need to just leave it in the cabinet. A few minor scratches are no harm.

Lol , slightly ironic that the first scratch I put on my sako was lifting it out of the gun cabinet

Mufflets

Thanks for the information lads.

Quote:Clare gunner
"Get rid of that cruddy varnish finish."

Everyone who has seen my gun would disagree with you on that one.
Anyway its not varnish its Colron wood oil , I rub into the stock when cleaning
and you should know better than talking like that about someones gun.