Help - Refinishing/Restoration Advice Needed

[samudj01]

I plan to take down my Winchester 74 and refinish (strike: restore) it myself. I have read through many threads on this subject and it seems like something I can do myself. If the Bluing doesn't look perfect (streaks) I will live with it as it will look better than the rust spots on the barrel now or I'll pay the $85 to blue it at my gunsmith.

The advice I need are the materials to do the stock and the metal. After reading, I plan to do the stock with the Birchwood Casey tru Oil stock refinish kit (am am questioning the walnut stain, it is a dark stock now...anyone know what wood was on the 74's?). I am having a tougher decision on the bluing. I have heard that the Brownell's Oxy-Pho blue is the best however I've also heard good things about Blue Wonder and Birchwood-Casey's (both which have kits for cleaning and bluing) and this gun could use to be cleaned.

Advice? I plan to pick up my materials tomorrow evening.

Thanks, David

PS - I'm picking my gun up at the smith tomorrow as well so no pics yet.

 

[rcmodel]

and restore it myself.

Restore is too strong a word.
What you are going to do is refinish it!

Tru-Oil is very good.
Oxy-Pho blue is very good as far as cold blues go.

Keep in mind that Winchester used a red stain varnish, and once it is gone due to sanding or stripper, you will never be able to make it look like a real Winchester finish again.

(Well, you can, but that's what restorers do)

Unless the gun is in really bad shape, I might just clean it up and leave the finish alone.

rc

 

[samudj01]

Thanks for the tips. I don't mind changing the finish on the stock. I would like to make it look a little newer, the red (looks like a bland dark brown) stain is a little tired looking (I understand that this is an old gun and it is supposed to look old, I just want to freshen it up). This is a family gun that I plan to keep and pass down as it was passed to me. What I want to do is much like what is shown in a recent thread by Tractorshaft on a Remington 33.

 

[rcmodel]

Before you do anything else, try cleaning the stock with Lemon-Oil furniture polish and 0000 Extra-Fine steel wool.

Just removing 50+ years of dirt & dried oil might surprise you!

rc

 

[Mac's]

What rcmodel said! We get long guns in the shop for refinishing work on the metal parts. As part of the job, I use a wood cleaner/polish on the stocks. The amount of crud that comes off of the wood is amazing and I often get asked if I refinished the wood along with the metal. Try that before refinishing the furniture. Clean and polish it a couple of times. Keep yer powder dry, Mac.

Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons
http://www.shootiniron.com

 

[samudj01]

I tried cleaning the stock and it was still looking ragged. The finish was worn off most everywhere. So I started my project. I bought the birchwood-casey tru-oil kit and sanded the stock, put on a thin coat of walnut stain and am on my 6th coat of tru-oil. I think I'm going to do my last coat tonight and then the stock sheen. With just the tru-oil, the stock looks amazing! Very happy thus far.

I am more nervous about the metal. I bought the birch-wood casey bluing kit and think I'm going to try the trigger guard first and see how it goes.