I have a BLR in .308 Win. that I really like. I would like to dull up the shiny finish. I heard of using 0000 steel wool.



What other options do I have or should I strip it and put an oil finish on it?

Stripping a Browning finish is notoriously hard to do; I'd stick with the steel wool and then if you really can't live with it, sell the rifle or restock.

Stay away from the steel wool. It will leave metal in the finish. I'd try rottenstone first. Should be able to get it down to a nice matte finish with rottenstone.

Automotive Rubbing compound.....mild abrasive, use as little or as much as you want to achieve desired results...


Ingwe

Would 1200 or 1500 wet-dry sandpaper work???

A fella posted pics of an A-Bolt that he took the shiny off of on here a couple days ago. Looked really good.

I've got a Rem 700 that the previous owner did the same thing, looks veddy nice.

Use a rubbing compound like those from Midway or Brownell, then finish up with Rottenstone.

http://www.lonewolfriflestocks.com/index.html

I used steel wool on my BLR. It worked well.

Jeff could you please post a good closeup pic???

I think it is best to start with about 280 grit wet or dry paper with a sanding block used lightly. Then quickly graduate up to 400 through 600 grit. When the shine and orange peel look have been removed start using a circular motion for sanding rather than the customary with the grain. Keep checking and might want to stop at 400 grit. Then rub with a felt pad and pumice, if it starts looking too shiny then use the circular rubbing pattern. If it looks too glossy go back to the courser compounds. Flush off and check, if it looks good then I wax but do not buff for protection.

I've found that Rotten Stone and most commercial rubbing compounds are too fine and produce a satin gloss.

Azzhat....

God, its gonna be a long ride to Saratoga.......


Ingwe

Call Brownells. Ask for tech support. Brownell's makes a whole bunch of stock "polishing" compounds. What you take off you can't put back. NEVER use steel wool on wood unless you like rusty wood.
Go to a marine place and get Bronze wool if you need to use any metal wool on wood. (Yes, I have restored quite a few wooden boats)

Only you would know about "Rusty Wood" Guess you haven't ever heard of a tack rag? or a air compressor?

Bear-Tex pads are lightyears better than steel wool and rottenstone is all that anyone needs to rub out a stock. Use it on a piece of felt with mineral oil as a carrier. Work in large areas wih long strokes. If you try to use small circles you will never get the small areas to blend together. With the long strokes the eggshell luster will sneak up on you a bit...

Sanding with 280 grit paper when working on the sheen is way out of line.
art

+1
IME.. rottenstone is like brylcream...a dab will do ya and use enough carrier so that its a lubricant and doesn't become a thick black muddy mess, you don't need to bear down on the felt pad either, do it with feeling. I've also used G-B Lin-Speed with rottenstone and when it's rubbed out evenly, I use the palm of my hand and rub some more until the stock feels dry to the touch. Has a soft satin, egg shell,hand rubbed oil finish look then.

i'm not saying to use wet/dry paper but if you were to try to use it and on a stock that already had a factory glass like finish i would not use anything under 800-1000 to start. because of the /radiused/curve profile on most stocks, backing it up with a 1/4" thick dense sponge will help to keep the abrasive uniformaly applied to the surface. i would finish with 2000 grit and pumice stone.
i have also heard of people useing 0000 steel wool and good old fashion floor paste wax as the carrier and achieving good results but i have never done that myself and is posed here more as a question for others to comment on if they have used it or have seen it done.

Black Dog, if your stupidity ONLY affected your crap work, I'd let it go BUT I'd hate to see someone go to all the effort to refinsh a piece of wood that goes out in the rain and have it end up with little orange rust spots where the steel wood ended up embedded in the wood grain. There is a reason Bronze wool is made and it is not because it looks nice. Perhaps a Subscription to Wooden Boat magazine might teach your dumb azz why steel wool is NEVER used on ANY wood that is subject to getting wet. Futher if you are so dense as to think a tack rag pulls embedded steel wool out of wood, you apparently have never subscribed to Fine Woodworking. You better stick with building decks with PT wood and synthetic stocks.

Well... Its obvious that among your other talents you can't read and comprehension isn't your forte' either
1. I didn't suggest steel wool on a raw wood stock.
2. On a already finished wood product steel wool is fine provided you use a tack rag/air compressor to remove all the fibers.You are knocking the shine off the finish, not raw wood. Its also a common industry practice.
3. If you had taken the time to comprehend the above post you would have noted that I plussed one and added a few suggestions that I use with rottenstone.

Since the OP is about knocking the high gloss shine off a Browning and not about a total refinish maybe you had better go back an re-read your Fine Woodworking Mags. Dumbazz

rahtreelimbs, Just grab a handfull of old newspapers and rub it down with that it will dull it down, the ink and clay in the low grade paper will take the shine off. Don

I have a wingmaster that I wanted to use for turkey hunting. I dulled the stock with a pumice/oil mixture and rubbed it in with a felt pad. It worked beautifully and looks almost as if it came from the factory with this finish.

I tried wet sanding and steel wool but it scratches the finish moreso than dulls it. Pumice gave me a completely dull finish without any visible scratches.

Will

Birchwood Casey stock sheen and conditioner might do the trick. It cleans accumulated crud off stocks and will soften down the high gloss.

Pumice is a bit coarser than rottenstone and will leave some scratches in the finish. Of course the way my eyes have gone I need glasses to tell that. Some folks do indeed start with pumice and then move to rottenstone for gloss reducing.
art

And it is wax and rottenstone paste.

Brownell's tech support to rub the gloss off a finish???????????????????? Shame you cannot take on such a tough question yourself.

Steel wool is indeed the wrong thing to use on a stock.

So doggieboy, steel wool will not embed in a finish. Think you better learn something about wood finishing.
And save the "azz" for you playground 5th grade equals!

Maybe it does in your boat finishes, must be operator error or something? while you are waiting for your finish to dry get a copy of Professional Stockmaking by David Wesbrook, its a technical manual so it might take you some time to get through it. David was a stockmaker for Griffin an Howe,, you might have heard of them with all your worldly knowledge of everything. Some of his professional stockmaking friends also collaborated on the book especially on finishes and finishing.Try and pay careful attention to the mention and use of steel wool. Then you can come back and tell me how the Professionals are doing it wrong also.

Blackdog
There is no doubt steel wool has been used for a very long time on wood stocks. Unfortunately, it is no longer the best choice because better has been here for a very long time. It takes magnification to see it well, but little shards of steel remain in the finish, rust, expand, and create "freckles". In bad cases they are plainly visible. Any stock finished with steel wool will show freckles under magnification.

Certainly not trying to side against you, just need to state the reasons for disagreeing with steel wool.
art

Rich,

Here's my BLR. I dulled it with the dreaded steel wool. It has no visible spots, though I have not looked at it with a magnifying glass.

I don't feel your are taking sides against me at all, As I mentioned in an earlier post, I use rottenstone and GB to rub out a finish, I also use pumice and GB and/or boiled linseed oil with a little japan drier to achieve just the right sheen also. It depends on the rifle or shotgun and which is more appropriate for it and what were the clients expectations. I fully agree with you about steel wool embedding itself,I was actually trying to draw Oldman out(which he does with a certain Yosemite Sam style) a little further about embedding because bronze wool does so also, and at a significantly higher cost.It is also quite noticeable in the final finish as well. His remarks about "Rusty Wood" and his proclamation regarding his boat building prowess raised my eyebrows. From the arrogant, pompous way he conveyed himself, it became obvious that he lacks any proficiency in stock work as well.It's very apparent that his reading and comprehension skills are also suspect regarding the OP's post about knocking the shine off a high gloss Browning stock, when he suggested bronze wool or else you are going to have Rusty Wood and then contacting Brownell's for further assistance. I was arguing a steel wool position to draw him out and expose him for the blowhard he is. My comments regarding David Wesbrook and his wonderful book are true,some pros still use steel wool.I apologize to the forum and the OP for disrupting this thread to flush him out again, like what recently happened with his comments regarding Winchester no longer producing Silvertips. His obvious lack of knowledge and his arrogant, pompous attitude are dangerous to those that are seeking honest, unbiased, answers to a multitude of questions

You can always loan your shiney rifle to a friend or even worse, to an in-law. Almost guaranteed to come back dull.

Hey, I don't really give a durn if you want to use 36 grit paper on your stock to "dull it down". Just trying to save you the heartbreak of rust dots after a hunt in the rain.

You "experts" have yet to explain why is bronze wool even made, if steel wool is so great?

Suggested you call Brownells and get some real expert opinion. You don't want to fine. Your gun, do what you wish.

Brownell's tech staff includes a "real expert" stockmaker?

for those who have used any of the methods described here (whether you approve of them or not) my question is how do you go about protecting the checkering of any given stock from damage/rounding off as you work your magic on the stock?

If it is a tight multi-point pattern I sometimes use blue painters tape to mask out the adjacent areas of checkering while I'm repairing or rubbing out an area on the stock. I remove the tape immediately afterward to make sure that any finsh/rottenstone mixture didn't puddle up in the existing checkering and if it's there, remove it.
I use felt pads that I cut to different shapes to reach in and work around checkering and I go very slooowwww...and take my time. The felt pads are made in different densities and stiffness. limp pads are used on the round and curved areas, stiff pads on the flatter areas. They key is to take it easy and go slow,wipe the stock down frequently, checking your progress as you move along. You don't want to cut through the existing finish down to bare wood.Damage to checkering generally comes from being in to big of a hurry and not using the right materials for the job