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 does fit all folks comfortably. So after figuring out the max length I needed to handle the foregrip and shoulder the gun, I went to sawing off needless material. Six inches came off the front and 1-1/4" with pad came off the back for about a pound or more of weight savings.
Chemically stripping the factory paint and poly sealer finally came out of the wood and checkering after three attempts. Time should be taken here to ensure that there isn't any sealer in the checkering or elsewhere, as it will show up upon staining and the process repeated.
It's been some time since I have done any woodworking project involving sanding, staining, and sealing so I did a lot of research first. The one thing that I keep hearing from gun stock refinishers is to get the wood sanded to a perfect scratch free surface before applying any stains or sealers. The more time that is taken here will determine the outcomes. I thought I had got it right, but did have to go over a couple of areas that scratches showed up at.
I oil-based stained it with walnut mixed with a little golden oak. Satisfied with the depth of color and contrast after multiple coats and a thurough drying, the sealer went on. There is a multitude of different types of finishes that can be used on stocks for a multitude of reasons. I finally chose Minwax polyurethane to seal the wood and keep hand and gun oils from soaking through. With poly finishes there is a coated plasticy/shiny look to it that I don't know if I like, only because the raw oil stained wood looked and felt really good.
Chemically stripping the factory paint and poly sealer finally came out of the wood and checkering after three attempts. Time should be taken here to ensure that there isn't any sealer in the checkering or elsewhere, as it will show up upon staining and the process repeated.
It's been some time since I have done any woodworking project involving sanding, staining, and sealing so I did a lot of research first. The one thing that I keep hearing from gun stock refinishers is to get the wood sanded to a perfect scratch free surface before applying any stains or sealers. The more time that is taken here will determine the outcomes. I thought I had got it right, but did have to go over a couple of areas that scratches showed up at.
I oil-based stained it with walnut mixed with a little golden oak. Satisfied with the depth of color and contrast after multiple coats and a thurough drying, the sealer went on. There is a multitude of different types of finishes that can be used on stocks for a multitude of reasons. I finally chose Minwax polyurethane to seal the wood and keep hand and gun oils from soaking through. With poly finishes there is a coated plasticy/shiny look to it that I don't know if I like, only because the raw oil stained wood looked and felt really good.
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