Posted by Richard Thomas on December 29, 2014, 6:36 pm
I inherited a Field Grade 12 ga. made in 1946. I used it for all types of bird hunting 40 years ago. The stock needs refinishing. The finish started to slightly degrade. There appears to be very small areas where the finish started to wear off.
My only experience is refinishing an old broken stock. I started with stripping the old finish and applying Boiled Linseed Oil once per day for a week and once a week for a month. Thereafter, apply BLO once a month for a year. It turned out pretty well.
It must not be acceptable practice to do the same with an Elsie because I haven't seen it suggested. I reviewed the 2 procedures suggested by Dr. Hause in the FAQ section of this website, but they seem awfully complicated.
How much would it harm the wood to strip & apply BLO? How much would it degrade the value of the gun? Perhaps I should have this done by a gunsmith. Please give me all of your thoughts.