I've done a very small amount of wood finishing and refinishing over the years, so I'm not completely ignorant, but pretty close. There are two rifles with okay wood but terrible finishes that I would like to refinish. So I have four questions:
1. What's the best way to remove the existing finish? One of the existing finishes sems "varnishy," and the other seems "polyurethaney," but I don't know for sure. I've used a couple commercial products in the past (not on guns) and they seemed okay, and I've read about Easy-Off oven cleaner, but I don't know what to use.
2. Once you get the old finish off, I assume you want to do some sanding and maybe some steaming to try to take out the dents, but is there anything else?
3. I don't think I want to stain the wood, but if I change my mind is there a good brand of all-purpose stains? I have no idea what kind of wood is on the guns.
4. What is the recommended finish if your criteria are: (a) durable, (b) waterproof, and (c) not shiny. Understand, these are relatively inexpensive rifles, and I'm not expecting miracles. I'm leaning toward a satin polyurethane, but I'd prefer something less shiny.
Thanks in advance for any help.
1. What's the best way to remove the existing finish? One of the existing finishes sems "varnishy," and the other seems "polyurethaney," but I don't know for sure. I've used a couple commercial products in the past (not on guns) and they seemed okay, and I've read about Easy-Off oven cleaner, but I don't know what to use.
2. Once you get the old finish off, I assume you want to do some sanding and maybe some steaming to try to take out the dents, but is there anything else?
3. I don't think I want to stain the wood, but if I change my mind is there a good brand of all-purpose stains? I have no idea what kind of wood is on the guns.
4. What is the recommended finish if your criteria are: (a) durable, (b) waterproof, and (c) not shiny. Understand, these are relatively inexpensive rifles, and I'm not expecting miracles. I'm leaning toward a satin polyurethane, but I'd prefer something less shiny.
Thanks in advance for any help.