HW/Weihrauch Refinishing beech stocks...
- Thread starter bustachip
- Start date
Thanks to all that responded, I appreciate it.
Still haven't decided, but now I have a good idea of what to expect. I like the 97K stock shape and feel, but the finish is lacking..lol. Mine in particular has a think coat of what ever they use,
more so on the fore end than the butt, also fit around the butt pad and the butt sucks.
We'll see what pans out.
Still haven't decided, but now I have a good idea of what to expect. I like the 97K stock shape and feel, but the finish is lacking..lol. Mine in particular has a think coat of what ever they use,
more so on the fore end than the butt, also fit around the butt pad and the butt sucks.
We'll see what pans out.
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Just purchased a cheap PCP. (Went to the dark side). The ugly Beech stock was as bad as it gets. Cheap dark spray stain. Almost sent it back. But I saw a lot of figure buried under the mud. Started by removing the mud and few hours later. 
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Yeah, that looks way better. Did you stain it or is it a oil? I'll have to overlook the dark side thing..lol.
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I did this one as simple as it gets. Striped the dark spray stain. Lacquer thinner to the residue. Rub down the grain lift with synthetic wool. One coat of Minwax “Gun Stock” stain. Two coats of Watco spray lacquer “satin” and the last coat in “matte”. Besides the drying time, about 40 minutes of labor.
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Question, if you were to do it again would you add/delete any steps? I'm thinking I may follow your recipe. Did you apply the pre conditioner once on the whole stock or twice?
And would skipping the royal London oil and going right to the poly shades satin give a darker
finish?
Thanks, the stock looks amazing.
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Only advice I have in this, other than not to do it....
Use a block to sand the butt pad surface and edges. These need to be square and sharp or it will stick out like a sore thumb with the butt pad on it.
Use a block to sand the butt pad surface and edges. These need to be square and sharp or it will stick out like a sore thumb with the butt pad on it.
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OH WOW! as it happens, I have one just like that mud dweller. Thanks for the instructions! That is remarkable.
It beggars belief that someone would cover that wood up.
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I actually just changed the stain from Minwax GunStock to English Chestnut. More reddish. Both good choices.
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My Hatsan 135 supposedly has a beautiful Turkish walnut stock according to the online reviews I have read of it. From what I can see of it though it’s just covered with that same mud brown stain others have mentioned. There is no visible grain whatsoever. Maybe there is something nice underneath it, but I haven’t felt motivated enough to try and refinish it.
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You should have an idea but you never know exactly what your gonna get when you refinish something, @Bear-of-Grayling hit the nail on the head when he said he saw a lot of figure buried. That would be one of the main determining factors for me if I had a rifle in consideration. For my .02 figure is the beauty of the piece.
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If you have a stock that has been spray stained, there is a trick to see what is underneath. Take the gun out in natural light but slightly shaded. Like under a tree with the sun coming through. Take pictures with your phone. The camera will pickup the grain under the mud that your eyes can’t see.
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My Hatsans had a stain/sealer with clear lacquer over it. They have a lot of tool marks burned into the wood. If you plan on sanding them out you have a job on your hands.
Walnut has a lot of natural patina on the quarter grains. Even if there is no figuring in the grain or color changes they finish nicely and show good patina at certain angles.
I have a couple fairly nice walnut Hatsan stocks and a bunch of plain ones. Any of them would be better refinished. None are spectacular. All have cutter marks beneath the wood grain.
I just did one old school with linseed oil and shoe polish. It's just awesome. It feels great and looks great. And you don't scratch the finish. I wouldn't do that with a high end showpiece. But it can't be beat for a daily shooter. I like it much better than the lacquer for feel and handling. Unless you are trying to preserve beautiful grain patterns the oil finish makes a better rifle stock IMHO.
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The top picture is taken inside and is what the eye sees. The middle picture (taken immediately after I got it) is taken outside under a tree in bright natural light. The lower one is the finished stock. If you look closely you can see the matching figure in the last two pictures. 
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I refinished our HW97K beech stock last winter. It was a bear and a half to strip the finish off of it. It seemed like they sprayed it with a plastic coating. I had to put stripper on it, let it set for a while, and then take a putty knife and literally scrape it off.
After I finished stripping it, I sanded most of the dents out, and filled in the one dent I couldn't sand out. Then I treated the stock with Minwax Wood Hardener, because the beech was just way too soft for my liking.
The directions on the wood hardener said to apply it first, and then any stain or finish I wanted. That may have been a mistake, because it effectively sealed the wood so well the stain I applied simply would not penetrate the wood at all. Most of it came off on its own, so I ended up removing most of it to salvage a bad situation.
Then I put a coat of Birchwood Casey Sealer and Filler on it. Probably not necessary, as it was already well sealed with the wood hardener. Then approximately three coats of Birchwood Casey Tru Oil.
Except for the die Weihrauch put in the checkering to make it stand out more bleeding outside the checkering because of the stripper, and the color being a little off, I think it turned out well enough. It certainly is a great improvement over how it was when I started.
And I'd even say it looks better than when it was new, straight out of the box.
But like I said, stripping it is a bear and a half.
After I finished stripping it, I sanded most of the dents out, and filled in the one dent I couldn't sand out. Then I treated the stock with Minwax Wood Hardener, because the beech was just way too soft for my liking.
The directions on the wood hardener said to apply it first, and then any stain or finish I wanted. That may have been a mistake, because it effectively sealed the wood so well the stain I applied simply would not penetrate the wood at all. Most of it came off on its own, so I ended up removing most of it to salvage a bad situation.
Then I put a coat of Birchwood Casey Sealer and Filler on it. Probably not necessary, as it was already well sealed with the wood hardener. Then approximately three coats of Birchwood Casey Tru Oil.
Except for the die Weihrauch put in the checkering to make it stand out more bleeding outside the checkering because of the stripper, and the color being a little off, I think it turned out well enough. It certainly is a great improvement over how it was when I started.
And I'd even say it looks better than when it was new, straight out of the box.
But like I said, stripping it is a bear and a half.
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Thanks for sharing I think it looks way better. I think I want to go with a darker look like walnut.
I would like to find a piece of beech to experiment on, not sure that will happen. Mine is in perfect factory condition, I'm just tired of the bland finish, and everyone has the same with the factory stock..lol.
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I tried with that Minwax #231 Gunstock stain that @Bear-of-Grayling included in his photo above. That's my favorite color for most of my wood projects. It just wouldn't take on this. I've gotten to where I don't mind the blonde look so much now. I got used to it, I guess. I wish you well. Please post photos if you do refinish it.
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