Removing some clear varnish from trapdoor wood

[evilbunny]

So I have a trapdoor rifle that shoots great, at some point, someone slathered the wood in some super slick/shiney coating. Its not really terrible, but on the left side of the stock there was a hole worn into the finish. I had been kicking around weather to removing this finish or not. I think I have decided I would like too, I got some advice earlier that I followed:

"Put some warm water on it and see if it turns white - that's shellac, comes off pretty easy. If it doesn't turn white, try a solvent like MEK. If that takes it off it's probably BLO or spar varnish. If that doesn't dent it, maybe it's a synthetic resin, paint remover will probably do the trick"

For my test area, I applied a small amount of each to the spot on the stock that was lacking the finish (whoever applied the finish did a lazy job, there was a cheap cheek rest here Velcroed on, and there was no shinny finish below it where the velcro adhesive was). After some trial and error, it seems that goof off worked the best, and did not visibly damage the stain below it. The "coating" sorta thickens up and can be wiped/scrapped away easily. Hot water, paint thinner, mineral spirits seemed to have no effect.

So, with that figured out, I have a few questions.

1- I can disassemble the rifle down to the wood no problem. Only the exterior wood was coated, is it really just a matter of applying goof off and wiping away? is this even actually safe? It did not seem to damage the wood or stain at all in my test location. I did clean the area afterward with isopropyl alcohol.
2- The wood after goof off feels very "dry". If i see this project through to the end, is there any post treatment I should consider? I rubbed a bit of ballistol on the location which seemed to have no effect.
3- Should I just leave well enough alone and get a leather check rest and cover the spot like it was originally? (sorry, but I wont be velcoring one back on :eusa_wall: )


Photo attached of the area. 51182

[Dick Hosmer]

I'd keep using the goof-off if it works. Some people have used oven cleaner. As a last resort there is always sandpaper (almost always with a block so as to avoid making dips) and or scraping. If there is any cartouche left, don't sand there - stick to chemicals for that part. Remember that SA themselves sanded stocks when refurbing a gun! When you get all the crap off, staining and oiling will restore it to almost as good as new.

[evilbunny]

Well it went very well. Feels much better than the old gummy finish, plan to go shooting some in a few days and cant wait! This rifle has really turned around, bought it for $600, was covered in rust and not functioning. Shoots great and doesn't look half bad now either.

51183 51184

[Merc]

My Trapdoor stock had also been varnished at some point in its existence and the varnish was lifting and peeling in spots. I used a dull knife to peel off the rest of it and 0000 steel wool rubbed lightly followed by stain to get the finish I was looking for.

Milsurp rifle stocks have absorbed a lot of oil over time which is nearly impossible to remove. I have no doubt that the oil in my stock was responsible for the lifting and peeling varnish.