That natural beauty is beginning to peek through.

 

 

Looky there, beginning to see some great natural grain under that mud finish... looking forward to seeing it finished...

 

I’m anxiously following this post. How are you protecting the butt pad?

 

2-1/2 hours later.
It looks better when wet, but I want to give a honest result as dry.
MEK does work as you can see.
Although expect some work too.
I used natural brushes to apply the MEK.
I cut one brush short to scrub in the checkering. It worked.
I used a "Lodge" skillet scraper (Hard plastic) to scrape off the loosened mud finish.
The scraper breaks down too, but got through the job.

On the butt pad question.
I used a T20 bit, and Ballistol to make it easy to remove the pad assembly. Ballistol was to get the rubber slick so the bit would not damage it.
It was (varnished on) slightly so I had to score one edge at the wood/plastic plate, and pull it off at 90 degrees to release.
Not too hard to accomplish.

 

2-1/2 hours later.
It looks better when wet, but I want to give a honest result as dry.
MEK does work as you can see.
Although expect some work too.
I used natural brushes to apply the MEK.
I cut one brush short to scrub in the checkering. It worked.
I used a "Lodge" skillet scraper (Hard plastic) to scrape off the loosened mud finish.
The scraper breaks down too, but got through the job.

On the butt pad question.
I used a T20 bit, and Ballistol to make it easy to remove the pad assembly. Ballistol was to get the rubber slick so the bit would not damage it.
It was (varnished on) slightly so I had to score one edge at the wood/plastic plate, and pull it off at 90 degrees to release.
Not too hard to accomplish. View attachment 337175 View attachment 337176 View attachment 337177 View attachment 337179

Good job fish... I'm giving serious thought to also doing this to my LUX. I'm following your progress. Thx
.

 

Here are the tools I used.
No sanding needed.

I'll keep y'all posted on the next steps.
I plan to give it at least one day to dry out before I apply a wet sanding finish.

 

It already looks much prettier. Well done sir!

 

Thank you.
I am excited to see the end result, and there is no regret.

 

Wow, that will look amazing once the top coats start getting layered on

 

You're going to love the results. It takes the gun to a whole new level of appreciation and pride of ownership IMHO. BTW it will shoot tighter groups too!

 

Dont know if your joking or not about shooting better groups, hope your joking.

 

Got an old 1992 Toyota truck thats not much to look at but still going with over 3000,000 miles. Doubt these pretty new models will outlast that.😊

 

Put the CZ into the back of the Toyota for another 3000,000 miles and I'm sure the CZ will last.

 

Three million miles?

 

That's got to be some kind of record.., or close to it. Wonder how often he changed to oil?

 

That wood looks amazing, I look forward to the finished product.

 

Welcome to the Mud Be Gone club! Its fun, you must admit.

That stock is a winner!

I should post pics again of my latest American stock too, but this is your show

 

"Mud Be Gone" club.... hahahahaha

 

So where are you now with this? Have you finished stripping and prep? Started refinish? Inquiring minds want to know the details!

 

Good question.
Stripping is done, not much prep involved beyond "whisker " removal.
I let it rest today. Too much going on, and I wanted any potential moisture to escape before I began to seal it up.
I plan on using Waterlox diluted with mineral spirits, and progressively sanding from 220 to 600 grit in multiple steps. Maybe 8 or ten wet sanding sessions with about 24 hours between each application. It's a bit tedious, but worth it.
I did this with good results on my Henry H001. It was the test subject.
I hope to begin the process before the end of this weekend. Kids birthday party, Halloween party, and another birthday party all in two days. We'll see how much opportunity I have.
I will absolutely post my progress here. It may take a week or two to complete.
I have high hopes!

 

I must add.
Thanks to @FrankW for offering his generous and very detailed guidance for the refinishing process that I plan to follow as well as I can.
I'd post a link if I knew how. Technology is not my strong point.
I'll see if he can attach it in this thread.

 

I'll see if he can attach it in this thread.

Would appreciate that. I just finished stripping my American stock.

 

That's some nice wood that they buried under all that way too dark toner. CZ needs to go way lighter on their finish color.

 

I completely agree.
I can guess that CZ is going for a wide market. Things are changing in the firearms industry and its clientele. Maybe they are afraid of chasing off the black gun and plastic fans with beautiful stocks?
I think CZ is putting a rock in its shoe with this practice.
At least they are still hiding beautiful wood under that mud so that we have the option to refinish. Thats my glass half full approach.

 

You really found some very nice wood under the factory finish fish.
Great job!

 

They probably sell a lot of mediocre wood and the dark finish makes them all look uniform in appearance. Most furniture, that is real wood and not fake stuff anyway, is covered with darkly toned finishes. That way any grade of wood is passable.

 

Update.
I am applying my first Waterlox and Mineral spirits treatment. I will sand off the whiskers after this step.
I am letting the stock drink up as much as it can.
Also pondering a comb flute upgrade, and steel caps. It makes me nervous to take a file to this stock, but I haven't ruled it out yet.
I'll post again after my next step.

 

I am letting the stock drink up as much as it can.

Looks even better than I expected it to.

 

****… that look fantastic.

Is that your finish in the glass, or are you enjoying a nice bourbon while you do this?

 

****… that look fantastic.

Is that your finish in the glass, or are you enjoying a nice bourbon while you do this?

Haha
It's the finish, but a good Bourbon wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

@Lv2fish
I am not a huge wordworking man, but this thread and other has got me looking at a couple of my CZ stocks.!!!

I have never heard of this stuff "Waterlox" ??? what is it, and how do you put this reatment on.???

Thanks for any insight...

 

@Lv2fish
I am not a huge wordworking man, but this thread and other has got me looking at a couple of my CZ stocks.!!!

I have never heard of this stuff "Waterlox" ??? what is it, and how do you put this reatment on.???

Thanks for any insight...

Check out the link on #24
It touches on a few options.
Waterlox is great stuff, and its waterproof.
Follow the steps Frank covers, and your results should turn out nice.
I may not finish with rotten stone. We'll see.

 

I've been refinishing stocks from my collection for about 8 years. Doing so I've tried various finishes. BWC Tru Oil is tops in my book. It's an evolutionary process. My most recent finish is using a product called Tried & True [T & T] . I've used both the T & T "Original Wood Finish" blend [polymerized linseed oil & beeswax], and the T & T blend "Malange D'huile et Vernis" [polymerized linseed oil & natural resin].
The application is easy yet very specific. I'm very impressed with how it brings the depth of the grain up, seals the wood, is resilient, in either satin or gloss finish.
Completely natural food grade ingredients'.
I'm impressed.

 

I'd like to remove/replace the buttpad on my 457 lux WMR with a one-piece solid buttplate. Does anyone know of any that will fit this rifle... and where they are available?
Thx

 

@Lv2fish that's a beautiful rifle - much more so now that you are bringing out the pretty wood grain.
I don't have a CZ yet but the 457 American is the one I want
In looking at the CZ website it looks like it only comes in 22 mag. I would like the 22 mag but also want a 22 LR.
Am I correct in assuming you can buy the 22 LR barrel for the 457 and swap them out pretty easily?

 

@Lv2fish that's a beautiful rifle - much more so now that you are bringing out the pretty wood grain.
I don't have a CZ yet but the 457 American is the one I want
In looking at the CZ website it looks like it only comes in 22 mag. I would like the 22 mag but also want a 22 LR.
Am I correct in assuming you can buy the 22 LR barrel for the 457 and swap them out pretty easily?

The American is available in 22lr, 22WMR and 17HMR as far as I know.

Here's a link to several in 22lr listed on Gunbroker.

https://www.gunbroker.com/Bolt-Action-Rifles/search?PageSize=24&Sort=13&View=2&Ch-manufacturerName=CZ-USA&Ch-model=CZ%20457%20American&Ch-Caliber=.22%20LR

 

This is after the first wet standing, and wipe down with 320 grit.
I have a few more steps before the finish work will start showing progress. I am attempting a English hand rubbed finish effect.

I'll post more pics as I make progress.
It may be a few days.
Hopefully I'll do it justice!
I think its going to work out well. Luckily I'm in no hurry.