Would refinishing "ruin" a Kimber?

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bushmaster1313

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I like my Kimber, the lower gun in the picture,but the finsh is not the deep rich finish I could achieve with Tru-oil.

cimg0919q.jpg


Do you think a refinished Kimber would be more or less desirable?
 
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Picture?

If you feel the wood is of the sort of quality that the present finish does not show it off well and provided you can do a "factory" or "pro" job on the refinishing then it should certainly not go down in value. Some will be put off by the idea that it's not the original factory finish while others that like the Kimber rifle reputation but felt that the finish is a little "cheap" looking or not what they like might even see it as a selling point. But again it assumes that you can make it look like something from a big name shop should look like.
 
refinish? sure!

I have a 1951 Savage model 99; I hunted several years ago in a torrential downpour, and some of the original finish (flat sheen) rubbed off on my gloves (you could see my hand prints in the finish). I was told to rub Tru Oil on it, to restore it, by one of my buddies. Well after 3 coats of Tru Oil rubbed in by hand (without adding any stain) the stain was uniform again, but it had a satin sheen to it, with a nice luster. So I probably devalued it,(shame) but it looks awesome! I have hunted in the rain since then, and the finish is holding up just fine. I usually add another coat of oil every year or so, but only if it needs it.
 
I like the rich glossy finish, and have refinished many of my stocks. On my firearms with parkerized metal, I usually go with a satin finish. But I think the most important part of refinishing, is how well the wood is finished prior to laying on the product. It really brings out the grain of the wood, providing that Weathby look, in my opinion.

GS
 
I'd go for it, but I'd use Minwax Antique Oil instead of Tru-Oil - it provides a superior finish in both hardness and luster. See the "worlds best oil finish" thread here stickied in the gunsmithing section.
 
Do you think a refinished Kimber would be more or less desirable?
Click to expand...
Less desirable.

Hi-Gloss stocks went out of fashion about 40 years ago.

Your Kimber has a hand rubbed finish in accordance with the old classic rifles & stock makers of the past.

It looks just like it should look.

rc
 
I refinished my Kimber .22 Hunter because it had a lot of dings and scratches from use. I removed the old finish with Acetone, steamed out the dings hit it with a green scrubbie to smooth take off the whiskers the steam raised, masked off the checkering and refinished it with a few light applications tung oil, then diluted tung oils 50/50 with mineral spirits and brushed a light coat over the checkering. It looks like new again. I used the same process for the Winchester in the background.

kim-win3.jpg

kim-win5.jpg

kim-win1.jpg
 
nothing lowers a gun stocks resale value more than a refinish job with a high gloss or spray on high gloss/gloss polyurethane finish. what you want is a nice hand rubbed "satin" finish looking like it just came out the factory
 
Your Kimber looks fine. I can see the wood grain and some of that will disappear with a darker finish.
 
not trying to hijack but here's a refinish i did on a vintage rossi .22 pump

before and afters the wood was dull, plain walnut I rubbed in black stain in the beginning to sink into the grains, than sanded down and applied a few red colors and looks nice completed as satin then he had me put a semi gloss finish on the wood at the end that's how the guy wanted it done so it's what i gave him:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e219/StealthCaliber/Rossi22/12.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e219/StealthCaliber/Rossi22/Stock1-after.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e219/StealthCaliber/Duracoatin/IMG_0880.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e219/StealthCaliber/Duracoatin/IMG_0676.jpg
 
just take your time with it and it'll come out far better than you think. whatever you do don't use minwax stains they are the worst you can use.......
 
also using ateast 2 color stains a few shades light/darker from another always gives you a nice effect it looks like the wood on the stock is a higher grade than it actually is
 
nothing lowers a gun stocks resale value more than a refinish job with a high gloss or spray on high gloss/gloss polyurethane finish.
Click to expand...
My father bought a Model 88 in the first year of production. Serial # 73XX. After a couple of years he decided to try some of the 'new' Varathane stuff on the stock. 50 years later it is still on there alright. :(
 
mostly stuff like spray on poly finish from say minwax give it a couple years and it turns yellow tinted. don't get me wrong some people like the gloss finish but most production rifles no adays come with a satin look it's more popular atm
 
Just to clarify - I didn't recommend minwax STAIN in my post earlier in the thread - the product I recommended is NOT a stain, and it is NOT a spray on - it does NOT yellow over time (at least it hasn't on my grandfather's shotgun in the past ~20 years or on my father in law's muzzleloader stock that got left out in the Florida summer sun for nearly a week accidentally)

If dfariswheel could respond it'd be great - He's the one that posted the original thread that I mentioned, linked here: LINK

It also doesn't result in a glossy finish, it results in a proper satin finish - it's hand rubbed oil finish, and the finish is in the wood. There isn't really any "coating" to discolor or peel or flake off.

If my camera wasn't so cruddy, you'd be able to see better, but I refinished the stock in this picture using the method in that thread - as you can see it's not stained at all - I stripped down to bare wood before applying the minwax antique oil as per the linked thread:

Before:
l.jpg

After:
l.jpg
 
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sorry to original poster, not trying to hijack, just giving you some idea's/options you might want to consider. refinishing yourself is always the best way to go A. you learn alot doing it. B much like paint if it does turn out bad you can just take it off and start over. and C. you can say look what I did with a smile when it turns out all nice n purrrdy

here's a refinish job i did on my dads vintage 60's colt courier .22 "no thats not gloss, it's satin finish with 3 coats of gun stock wax"

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e219/StealthCaliber/IMG_0697.jpg
 
@rail driver that's what I'm trying to get across aswell hand rubbed finish is the way to go, avoid cheap stains and spray on's the best way to go is a hand rubbed finish. and if the wood has pints, or dents in it you can fill them with a little sawdust from the stock and mix it with the finish to make like a paste and problem solved
 
that rossi i restored above was stored for 40+ years in a zippered rifle case and left in an attic the finish on wood and metal was REALLLLLY bad but with some elbow grease and alot of sanding anything is fixable. used a few mohawk stains for the red color change and finished it with miles gilbert stock refinishing kit "i think thats what i used" i bought it at brownells . "tru-oil" is good but kinda glossy and has inconsistent dry times
 
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