Beretta wood - needs a feed

[westley]

I too have just bought a 'sleeper' from 1992. A Classic Doubles with 2 sets of woodwork, Sporting and Trap. Neither stocks had seen any oil since leaving the factory. I make my own Alkanet root oil, but use Trade Secrets grain sealer and rapid oil too. Those coupled with 0000 grade steel wool. AVOID the chequering and don't apply too much oil, or you will end up having to strip it back and start again.

 

[westley]

This is 'work in progress' and has just had another top coat. You can see how much oil is still soaking into the wood, even after a grain sealer has been applied. One THIN coat of Rapid oil daily, then left for 24 hours. It is long and slow process. I have been doing this stock for 5 weeks now, once that 'dull' patch goes, I will drop it to 1 coat a week. I have the other stock on the gun and once I have achieved a decent finish on the above, I will swap the stocks over and start on the other with the oil.

 

[westley]

This is 'work in progress' and has just had another top coat. You can see how much oil is still soaking into the wood, even after a grain sealer has been applied. One THIN coat of Rapid oil daily, then left for 24 hours. It is long and slow process. I have been doing this stock for 5 weeks now, once that 'dull' patch goes, I will drop it to 1 coat a week. I have the other stock on the gun and once I have achieved a decent finish on the above, I will swap the stocks over and start on the other with the oil.

You can see how old the Rapid oil is by the price. It should last you for years.

 

[Hermit]

Beautiful finish coming along there.

 

[AW13]

@westley - looking really good, worth the time investment.

@Hermit - hmm, apart from rubbing it down with 00 I have only oiled it twice and it is much better, not had time for a full refurb but it is much better.

 

[Iggy]

If your gun has a standard/factory finish, whatever you d, give it some oil before you risk taking it out in the rain. They have a reputation for suffering with water spots if it gets wet, and thats regardless of what gun in my experience….from Silver Pigeons to DT’s.

I normally use CCL too.

Ian.

 

[Iggy]

If your gun has a standard/factory finish, whatever you d, give it some oil before you risk taking it out in the rain. They have a reputation for suffering with water spots if it gets wet, and thats regardless of what gun in my experience….from Silver Pigeons to DT’s.

I normally use CCL too.

Ian.

 

[Iggy]

Don’t know why that posted twice sorry

 

[ScotMac]

I have a SP III which appears to have a matte lacquer finish. Frankly it looks a bit dull. Is there anything I can do to improve the finish?

 

[lh8611]

I have a SP III which appears to have a matte lacquer finish. Frankly it looks a bit dull. Is there anything I can do to improve the finish?

I would be interested in how to enhance a lacquer finish aswell. I've got an MK38 which I believe is a factory polyurethane finish. Currently I just use a bit of renaissance wax every now and again, but have wondered if there's a better way.

 

[Luke_(NL)]

I have a SP III which appears to have a matte lacquer finish. Frankly it looks a bit dull. Is there anything I can do to improve the finish?

It's likely that you have a Tru-Oil 'finish' there, that isnt finished to full effect. On the SP's Beretta don't go the extra mile (even mixing in a lot of dye to make the stocks more 'even').

If you like a gloss finish, Tru Oil works really well if you build very thin layers. At first, sand very (very) lightly between coats to really fill in the pores. Once it starts being shiny, polish in between the last layers and you can work it up to really glass like finish that shows grain and structure really well. The trick is using very thin layers and letting these dry fully before the next.

For just a bit of improvement over how it is now, apply a tiny amount and just rub until you can't spread it anymore. Oh, and use masking tape on the chequered bits. Trace the borders around the chequering with a hobby scalpel to leave tape in the right places and rub the rest.

 

[ScotMac]

It's likely that you have a Tru-Oil 'finish' there, that isnt finished to full effect. On the SP's Beretta don't go the extra mile (even mixing in a lot of dye to make the stocks more 'even').

If you like a gloss finish, Tru Oil works really well if you build very thin layers. At first, sand very (very) lightly between coats to really fill in the pores. Once it starts being shiny, polish in between the last layers and you can work it up to really glass like finish that shows grain and structure really well. The trick is using very thin layers and letting these dry fully before the next.

For just a bit of improvement over how it is now, apply a tiny amount and just rub until you can't spread it anymore. Oh, and use masking tape on the chequered bits. Trace the borders around the chequering with a hobby scalpel to leave tape in the right places and rub the rest.

Thanks Luke. Should I sand it before I start?

 

[Luke_(NL)]

Thanks Luke. Should I sand it before I start?

Depends on where you are starting from. If you are going to replace the top coating, it doesn't hurt - but a little goes a long way. If you use sandpaper that is too course, you'll spend more time on levelling the scratches. Buy wet&dries in various grit sizes: I tend not to go lower than 400 (maybe 280) for coatings, and work up in between coats to 600, 800, 1200 and 2000 for polishing. I always sand wet and let the wood dry well before applying anything. Feel free to P.M. me a couple of pictures, as it's hard to figure out where you should start from text alone.

Edit: Forgot to say that if the above sounds like a lot of work, that's because it IS time consuming. Skimping on prep and painstaking detail will show in the end result. As I have more on my mind than time on my hands I tend to do this stuff on winter evenings before the fireplace - sort of a mindless "wax on, wax off" zen thing

 

[ScotMac]

Depends on where you are starting from. If you are going to replace the top coating, it doesn't hurt - but a little goes a long way. If you use sandpaper that is too course, you'll spend more time on levelling the scratches. Buy wet&dries in various grit sizes: I tend not to go lower than 400 (maybe 280) for coatings, and work up in between coats to 600, 800, 1200 and 2000 for polishing. I always sand wet and let the wood dry well before applying anything. Feel free to P.M. me a couple of pictures, as it's hard to figure out where you should start from text alone.

Edit: Forgot to say that if the above sounds like a lot of work, that's because it IS time consuming. Skimping on prep and painstaking detail will show in the end result. As I have more on my mind than time on my hands I tend to do this stuff on winter evenings before the fireplace - sort of a mindless "wax on, wax off" zen thing

Thanks Luke. Very helpful.