Benjamin Marauder Wood Stock Finish?

[MikeyJ]

Hi all,
I just purchased a new Benjamin Marauder standard rifle with a Turkish walnut stock. I’m not thrilled with the stock- it’s pretty bland, and it looks like there’s just a light stain on it. I’d like to refinish it. I don’t know what the factory finish is, so I don’t know what to use to “strip” it before I refinish it. Do any of you know what the finish is? Thanks!
Mike

 

[JimD]

I don't know but I think it's polyurethane. You would need to sand it off.

 

[3Crows]

I did mine with Citrus strip. Then I sprayed some black Krylon on a shop rag and wiped the stock all over. Then I wiped the black off leaving only that which highlighted the grain and stippling. Then I shot it with spray poly and then followed with Birchwood-Casey gun wax:





If I were to do it again I would do some sanding of the forestock areas to trim it down, route out the barrel channel and probably use Birchwood-Casey Truoil. I might also cut about two inches from the forestock and do a reverse cut like the original M-Rod. I would probably still use the black spray paint trick since the Turkish walnut has little figure to the wood. The secret to Truoil is not building a huge number of coats to make it super deep gloss and then to knock it down with fine OOOO steel wool and follow with the Gunstock Wax product:



I worked several times as an A&P mechanic. My hands are like sandpaper , I will often take a new rifle with a wooden stock and just rub it with my hands to give it that carried patina.

This M-Rod .25 is a side lever with a Tim Hill valve and a AGR SSG and hybrid aluminum/steel tube, ported barrel and poly TP. It is a powerful and accurate rifle, currently tuned for a nice long string averaging 54 fpe but can top 60 with fewer shots when needed.

 

[Airgun-hobbyist]

Anything beats the painted stock finish. I stripped my Benjamin Marauder Semi Auto with paint stripper from the hardware store. The thing was cut, blended curves, sanded, and then stained and sealed. Here's the write-up I did on it.

Marauder stock redesign and refinish

This project has been on the table since I got this Marauder Semi-auto. As with all Marauder's with steel tubes it is a shooter but had a front heavy feel to it and did not have a good balance. Also, as with all wood stocked gun's, it had generic 14" length of pull to the butt pad. One size...

www.airgunnation.com

 

[MikeyJ]

I don't know but I think it's polyurethane. You would need to sand it off.

Thanks!
If there’s any poly on it, you wouldn’t know it. It really just looks like stain. But, yes, I’ll probably put on a layer of stripper, then sand it down.

 

[MikeyJ]

I did mine with Citrus strip. Then I sprayed some black Krylon on a shop rag and wiped the stock all over. Then I wiped the black off leaving only that which highlighted the grain and stippling. Then I shot it with spray poly and then followed with Birchwood-Casey gun wax:





If I were to do it again I would do some sanding of the forestock areas to trim it down, route out the barrel channel and probably use Birchwood-Casey Truoil. I might also cut about two inches from the forestock and do a reverse cut like the original M-Rod. I would probably still use the black spray paint trick since the Turkish walnut has little figure to the wood. The secret to Truoil is not building a huge number of coats to make it super deep gloss and then to knock it down with fine OOOO steel wool and follow with the Gunstock Wax product:



I worked several times as an A&P mechanic. My hands are like sandpaper , I will often take a new rifle with a wooden stock and just rub it with my hands to give it that carried patina.

This M-Rod .25 is a side lever with a Tim Hill valve and a AGR SSG and hybrid aluminum/steel tube, ported barrel and poly TP. It is a powerful and accurate rifle, currently tuned for a nice long string averaging 54 fpe but can top 60 with fewer shots when needed.

Thanks, that looks really good!
I’ll likely do a coating if stripper, then sand it, and go from there once I see what the grain/figuring looks like. a nice patina is what I’d be looking for. Can I boorr your hands?

 

[MikeyJ]

Anything beats the painted stock finish. I stripped my Benjamin Marauder Semi Auto with paint stripper from the hardware store. The thing was cut, blended curves, sanded, and then stained and sealed. Here's the write-up I did on it.

Marauder stock redesign and refinish

This project has been on the table since I got this Marauder Semi-auto. As with all Marauder's with steel tubes it is a shooter but had a front heavy feel to it and did not have a good balance. Also, as with all wood stocked gun's, it had generic 14" length of pull to the butt pad. One size...

www.airgunnation.com

View attachment 536642View attachment 536643

That looks great! Thanks. I’ll check out your write up

 

[JimD]

Poly can be satin or even matte. They put material into it to make it less shiny.

 

[Airgun-Revisions]

There is no actual protective hard coating like poly or oil to the Turkish stocks so there truly isn’t nothing to strip. Just sand and coat is all you need. For the lighter colored stocks you can brown it down a little with stain.

The old Gen 2 stocks are high polished then painted with a transparent brown. This coating is very easily removed with brake cleaner. I would recommend that over any other stripper because the brake cleaner literally washes it away and leaves a nice glossy blonde stock.

 

[3Crows]

Thanks!
If there’s any poly on it, you wouldn’t know it. It really just looks like stain. But, yes, I’ll probably put on a layer of stripper, then sand it down.

As I said, I wiped mine with Citrus strip. Did not spend much time on that step because not much to remove. Something came off, probably dirt and dust . The poly I used was satin.

Even gloss poly can be knocked down with OOO or OOOO steel wool

The shortened stock looks good. I have long arms so find the standard LOP just fine. As I said, I might cut as much as two inches from the front but for myself, no more. More for aesthetics than weight reduction and balance but that too would help some. The hybrid tube is the real answer or the JSAR aluminum tube.

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

The Turkish stocks are just a simple stain finish. Just like Kral does them. Just be careful when sanding so you don't mess up the stipling. Those areas you can use a stripper to help lift the stain out, or leave it and they'll come out darker when you recoat and give it a two tone look.

 

[3Crows]

The Turkish stocks are just a simple stain finish. Just like Kral does them. Just be careful when sanding so you don't mess up the stipling. Those areas you can use a stripper to help lift the stain out, or leave it and they'll come out darker when you recoat and give it a two tone look.

Or just remove the stippling entirely. If I ever revisit that particular stock that will be my intention.

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

Or just remove the stippling entirely. If I ever revisit that particular stock that will be my intention.

Some guns look good with it, but in the case of the Mrod turk stock, I think it would give a less blocky look if it was smoothed off

 

[MikeyJ]

Or just remove the stippling entirely. If I ever revisit that particular stock that will be my intention.

Thanks!
I removed the factory finish today with a varnish stripper. There was no “sludge” to speak of, which confirms that the finish was primarily a stain, and a poorly applied one at that. I carefully taped off the stippling, sanded the stock down, and put a stain on it very similar to what I used a couple of years ago when I built one of my daughters a reproduction Stickley blanket chest. I’ll let that dry and finish it the same way I finished the chest because I still have the varnishes left from that project (photos attached). The result should be a pretty nice looking stock, even though the walnut Crosman used is not all that nice…
Mike

 

[3Crows]

Show us a picture when done.

 

[3Crows]

There is no actual protective hard coating like poly or oil to the Turkish stocks so there truly isn’t nothing to strip. Just sand and coat is all you need. For the lighter colored stocks you can brown it down a little with stain.

The old Gen 2 stocks are high polished then painted with a transparent brown. This coating is very easily removed with brake cleaner. I would recommend that over any other stripper because the brake cleaner literally washes it away and leaves a nice glossy blonde stock.

Does that apply to the Gen 1?

 

[MikeyJ]

Show us a picture when done.

Will do!

 

[Airgun-Revisions]

Does that apply to the Gen 1?

The gen1 and first design gen2 stocks were made by the same company. Similar process. Some of the coloring on different batches of the gen1 varied. Last batch of 1077W stocks came in a crazy dark brownish green. Not what they were supposed to be. 200+ plus stocks in the dumpster. Kinda added to them being discontinued. That and cut backs. The 1077 was actually totally discontinued for a couple months but then they brought it back.

 

[MikeyJ]

Hi all,
well here’s the refinished Marauder stock. It came out exactly the way I was hoping it would. It still needs a few hours to fully dry, and I won’t be able to take photos of it fully assembled for another week or so. Hopefully these pix (with the rubber shoulder pad re-installed) should give you a good idea of how it came out. Ive also included a pic of the finishing products I used. If I didn’t already have these from that Stickley project, I probably would not have purchased them just to do this stock. It’s overkill and too pricey! An appropriate Minwax stain and a poly varnish would have worked too. I don’t fancy light colored gunstocks, so I didn’t just poly it. I have to tell you, the satin varnish in the green can is an absolute pleasure to work with. It rubs in with a soft cloth, and results in a really nice finish.

Steps involved:

1. Remove factory finish (next time I’ll try brake cleaner!)
2. Carefully tape off all stippling, then sand the stock using 150 and 220 grit paper
3. Apply dye stain (a few drops mixed in water to get desired base color)
4. Apply a coat of sealer
5. Apply a coat of gel stain
6. Apply 3 coats of satin varnish

This is essentially the same process used to reproduce a Stickley “Onondaga“finish.

I realize not everyone likes a gun stock with this coloring, but I do, and I think the end result is so much better than the factory finish.

Enjoy!
Mike

 

[MikeyJ]

BTW, that first photo for the most part shows the contrast between the original stock coloring and the new finish.