Tallinar
Member
I recently picked up a new Rossi 92 in .45 Colt. I put about 80 rounds through it at the range and decided it was a keeper. Thought I'd share my amateur refinish project with you.
The original factory finish on these guns is very hit or miss. This one overall had a fairly consistent finish, but it was an ugly red varnish. One guy made the comment at my FFL when I picked it up that it looked like a toy. I couldn't disagree. Ugly.
I'm also not a big fan of the buckhorn sights on these things. I prefer the old flat-top iron sights on the older Rossi's, but alas, what can you do.
After struggling to get the gun taken apart (had to recruit the help of a local gunsmith to help me get the rear barrel band screw out), I set out to make some changes.
I replaced the rear sight with a Skinner barrel-mounted peep sight. I was a bit apprehensive about how a sight like this would work on such a short-barreled gun, but figured it couldn't be much different than the stock ghost ring on a Ruger PC9, which I had enjoyed. I was not disappointed. Really liking the sight picture.
Next, I set out to refinish the stock. I have only had a little experience with stock refinishes; I know just enough to be dangerous. Last time I had worked on a Rossi 92, the factory finish was very thin and uneven, and I removed it all with light sanding only. This time, I decided to try using a stripper -- which I hadn't done before. I chose to use Citristrip gel.
Here's the stock before stripping:
Here's the stock after 2 hour soak in Citristrip gel, and scraped clean with an old credit card. That got most of it off, but decided to do a second run with the gel, which got a bit more. Here's how it turned out:
I then gave it a good rinse and cleaning with Purple Power cut 50/50 with water. I also took this opportunity to iron out a dent on the forearm (not pictured). Worked great. Here it is after drying:
I then moved on to sanding, starting with 220, and ending on 320. The forearm on this particular Rossi is a bit less beefy than other Rossi's I've had in the past, so I wanted to be careful not to take too much material off. Looking pretty good:
After cleaning it off with a tack cloth and canned air, I proceeded to apply my first Tru Oil coat. I've only had a tiny bit of experience with it. Most of my experience has been just using boiled linseed oil. I applied one thin coat and let it dry for a couple hours. I then sanded again gently with 220 grit paper. I then left the dust on and applied a second coat -- trying to use the dust to help fill out the grain (a method suggested by my gunsmith) I believe this picture was after that second coat:
After the second coat dried, I proceeded to buff with 0000 steel wool. Then I'd clean it again with canned air and a tack cloth before applying another coat. After about six coats, I was pretty happy with what I was seeing. I could definitely see some dust particles in the finish, and the grain pores weren't filled out super well, but it was good enough for me. I'm too impatient to be the guy who does 20-30 coats. Here's after six coats:
I then gave it a final buff with 0000 steel wool, and proceeded to do two coats of Tom's 1/3 military stock wax. I figured this would help protect, while also hiding some of my poor grain filling. It would also knock down the gloss a bit. I let the second coat dry overnight. Came out about like this in the morning. Still a little tacky, but looking good to my eyes.
Here we are all back together. Ready to hit the range.
The original factory finish on these guns is very hit or miss. This one overall had a fairly consistent finish, but it was an ugly red varnish. One guy made the comment at my FFL when I picked it up that it looked like a toy. I couldn't disagree. Ugly.
I'm also not a big fan of the buckhorn sights on these things. I prefer the old flat-top iron sights on the older Rossi's, but alas, what can you do.
After struggling to get the gun taken apart (had to recruit the help of a local gunsmith to help me get the rear barrel band screw out), I set out to make some changes.
I replaced the rear sight with a Skinner barrel-mounted peep sight. I was a bit apprehensive about how a sight like this would work on such a short-barreled gun, but figured it couldn't be much different than the stock ghost ring on a Ruger PC9, which I had enjoyed. I was not disappointed. Really liking the sight picture.
Next, I set out to refinish the stock. I have only had a little experience with stock refinishes; I know just enough to be dangerous. Last time I had worked on a Rossi 92, the factory finish was very thin and uneven, and I removed it all with light sanding only. This time, I decided to try using a stripper -- which I hadn't done before. I chose to use Citristrip gel.
Here's the stock before stripping:
Here's the stock after 2 hour soak in Citristrip gel, and scraped clean with an old credit card. That got most of it off, but decided to do a second run with the gel, which got a bit more. Here's how it turned out:
I then gave it a good rinse and cleaning with Purple Power cut 50/50 with water. I also took this opportunity to iron out a dent on the forearm (not pictured). Worked great. Here it is after drying:
I then moved on to sanding, starting with 220, and ending on 320. The forearm on this particular Rossi is a bit less beefy than other Rossi's I've had in the past, so I wanted to be careful not to take too much material off. Looking pretty good:
After cleaning it off with a tack cloth and canned air, I proceeded to apply my first Tru Oil coat. I've only had a tiny bit of experience with it. Most of my experience has been just using boiled linseed oil. I applied one thin coat and let it dry for a couple hours. I then sanded again gently with 220 grit paper. I then left the dust on and applied a second coat -- trying to use the dust to help fill out the grain (a method suggested by my gunsmith) I believe this picture was after that second coat:
After the second coat dried, I proceeded to buff with 0000 steel wool. Then I'd clean it again with canned air and a tack cloth before applying another coat. After about six coats, I was pretty happy with what I was seeing. I could definitely see some dust particles in the finish, and the grain pores weren't filled out super well, but it was good enough for me. I'm too impatient to be the guy who does 20-30 coats. Here's after six coats:
I then gave it a final buff with 0000 steel wool, and proceeded to do two coats of Tom's 1/3 military stock wax. I figured this would help protect, while also hiding some of my poor grain filling. It would also knock down the gloss a bit. I let the second coat dry overnight. Came out about like this in the morning. Still a little tacky, but looking good to my eyes.
Here we are all back together. Ready to hit the range.
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