Beretta Stock Refinishing - DIY Project

SeaFields

Influenced by this thread I said I would throw up a few photos of the refinishing I did on my own gun recently. While the OP in the linked thread is asking about removing a gloss finish I suppose why I am putting this up is to show that it is nothing to be afraid of going at it DIY. I never did one before.

I only have the ultralight a few months and got it at a good price - probably influenced by the condition the stock was in with water damage and various wear and tare very evident.



Having been quoted some scary prices to do the job and with plenty of evenings free after the kids went to bed, I got cracking. I purchased a few bits of the beretta website:-

A Hunting Recoil Pad for the o/u for €25. The pad on the gun was well worn and would have taken away from the refinished stock.

Beretta Tru Oil Finish for €15

A packet of various steel wools and sandpaper selection for models came to about €15 on Amazon.

To remove the old finish I used a combination of fine steel wool and methylated spirits. Once off I spent a considerable amount of time with 600 working up to 1000 grit sandpaper. I actually budgeted myself 1 hour every evening and didn't stay at it any longer for fear I would just get sick of the project overall. Once the hour was up - I packed away everything until next time!



Little hands at home were very curious and wanted to help



Once I got near the checkering, some masking tape protected this and I used an old tooth brush to scrub the checkering clean as a final step.



I didn't have a stock removal tool and it wasn't worth purchasing one for this one off project so I was just very careful when it came to cleaning and finishing where the stock met the action.

For the tru oil I just rubbed it in to the grain with my finger tips for 6 coats and a final coat across the grain to gloss it up.

It mightn't be perfect and it might have a professional rolling his or her eyes at the result but it saved me a few hundred quid and I have the satisfaction of having done it myself :cool: I must do the fore-end next once the summer is over.

Vegeta

That looks like a great result.

Mississippi.

A very good looking job, fair play to you.

Did you keep a count how many hours you spent altogether on it?

SeaFields

Mississippi. wrote: »

A very good looking job, fair play to you.

Did you keep a count how many hours you spent altogether on it?

Roughly speaking I'd about ten evenings cleaning and sanding at an hour each time. The latter of that could have been shortened. That is, when i thought it was time to finish it, I'd say to myself another few nights sanding will do no harm...

Coating the finish took five minutes each time so another hour altogether or thereabouts.

Wadi14

Nice job, I have a rifle stock sanded waiting on tru oil locally here, Im not in any rush either so will wait till its back in stock, like yourself this will be my first stock, but the tru oil looks like its easy to work with.

SeaFields

Yes the tru oil was simple to work with - surprisingly easy to be honest.

Here's another pic which probably shows up better the finish I ended up with. I'd have no problem chancing this process again - nothing to be afraid of really. I am half thinking of asking my father in law does he want me to do his 30 year old single barrel baikal but I'd say he'd think I am mental :pac:

Mississippi.

11 hours at an hour a night doesn't seem bad at all.
I had a .22 stock I often ment to do but I sold it then a few years ago

Bogwoppit

I did the stock on my sbs a few years ago, I used boiled linseed oil and I’d say that was 15 hours over about 5 weeks. There was 20 coats on it by the time it was done with one coat a year since.