How would you deal with checkering/stippling? Just interested, as there may be one of these in my future and I am not crazy about the finish . . .

 

Depends on the finish. If it is an oil finish as some models seem to be, sandpaper is your only option. Anything else can be stripped off with the right solvent. You can tape over the checkering wit painter's blue tape if you need to sand it.

 

And if it's a lacquer topcoat all you need is a few old socks and some lacquer thinner!

What could be easier?

 

What does the wood underneath look like? I would think if the wood is as plain as most of the CZ's I've seen, it would be better to spend your money on a new piece of wood and start from scratch.

However, if it is worth refinishing, I've removed old finish lots of different ways. I just stripped down a Pre 64 Model 70 stock with a cabinet scraper. Then sanded it the rest of the way and to remove blemishes in the wood. The finish was shot and the checkering was so worn down and poorly done from the factory it wasn't worth recutting. Waiting for the Truoil to finish curing a couple more weeks and I will try my hand at cutting checkering in the original pattern.

Just another option on top of sanding and stripping...

Bob

 

All walnut wood should look good if u don't get the color too dark, the checkering is what I'm concerned about the most. That is why I was thinking a stripping solvent like strypeeze but it is for paint and varnish not oil. O-Well just a thought. thanks

 

I would think it would be very easy. If it's an oil use lacquer thinner and then lightly sand to prep, mask off the checkering then give it a very light finish brushed in. If varnish then use stripper, checkering is fresh so you could pretty much just mask it off then clean . Prep similarly and finish the same way for the most part. Biggest thing is you have to take time to mask checkered or stippled areas off well, do not round your edges when sanding. Not quite as easy as all that but not a hard job.I think Gun Savr satin finish would look great on it with maybe a light stain if it lightens up when stripped, not as much to darken drastically but more to bring out the grain and character. A nice oil finish could also look great. I haven't seen one in person so just guessing.

Here is a Kimber stock I refinished, checkering looks original in person.

Ps, almost makes me cry to look at this one as I let one of my best friends have it. I don't think it was over 5.5lbs scoped and one of the most accurate sporters I have ever owned

 

grg, that's a great-looking gun! I don't think I have a good enough friend to let him have that gun if it were mine.

Regarding CZs, I've refinished several of mine and I find that I do not want to put any stain on them. I like to see the wood color and grain, regardless of how dark or light. They vary a lot once you get the factory finish off, even though they may look almost identical with the factory finish intact. Some of the best looking ones after the refinish are the ones that may look a lot like pallet wood (no figure) with the factory finish, and even one with essentially no feature still looks very interesting in person with the refinish.

Here are some that were very similar color and appearance with the factory finish in place, yet the underlying wood was very different once stripped. (The bottom gun in the first photo below hasn't been refinished. It was a CZ factory custom with a special factory finish that is fantastic in person.)

I just can't help myself from refinishing all of my CZs except the Americans (which have/had a different and much nicer finish from the factory - but I'm not sure if that's still the case with the 457s). I just took delivery of a 453 Varmint two days ago and I have it disassembled to strip it tomorrow or this weekend. :hide:

 

Citristrip will strip the finish but it takes a few hours. Smear the stripper on nice and thick and then wrap the whole stock in in plastic.

 

OK, turbo, those look really great! And they are CZs -- so what did you use to strip the original finish?

Doug

 

Sorry, just now got back to this thread...

I use gelled Methylene Chloride, sometimes called paste formula. It's getting very hard to find because MC has pretty much been phased out. This is the one that I have: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Aircraft-P...BnBCKfxwacJmmxv7iqZ9s%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

For the toughest jobs, there's no substitute for Methylene Chloride, but there may be other options for some jobs. I've HEARD that lacquer thinner will eventually work on the CZ walnut stock finish (the beech finish is reportedly almost impossible to remove chemically). Some people cut the toe out of some tube socks, slide them over the walnut stock, and keep the socks wet for a while with lacquer thinner, and are able to get the finish off that way.

 

Thanks for that, turbo. Wow, that Methylene Chloride on eBay is a quart-size can (and at $40 + shipping!) that I could never justify for the modest amount I might need. Too bad lesser sizes aren't available. Further research needed...

Doug

 

Yep, that's rough for a quart. Fortunately you can strip a lot of stocks with that much, but if you only expect to do one, it's rough. Furthermore, I don't see any of the old MC formula for sale at the moment, even if one were willing to pay the price.

If I wanted to strip a CZ stock and didn't have any MC, I'd probably try the lacquer-thinner-and-socks method.

Another thing I'd highly recommend (something I didn't start doing on my CZs and other guns until recently, and now I need to go back and do it to the earlier ones) is to recut the checkering. Actual cut checkering looks and feels so much better than the laser cut checkering. The ones that I recut now make me feel like I did something the equivalent of "painting over rust" on the ones that I didn't recut. Fortunately it'd be pretty easy to recut them and then reapply finish to the checkered areas.

 

I know I'm a little late to this discussion, but back in 2020 as Signalman was preparing to attend the last (in person) Shot Show, (as usual) he asked around if anyone wanted him to look into anything while he was there. I asked him to talk with the CZ guys about the finish on the 457's (other than the vastly different models) and they told him the 457's have a lacquer finish. Based on that, I'd go with the wet with lacquer-thinner sock method for removal. My 457 varmint (22lr) is still as it left the factory, but if things slow down enough in my life, I'll get around to stripping it. Then I'll likely add a "warm" red-mahogany stain, topped with a spray-on high gloss finish (for a "Weatherby like" high end appearance).

 

Citrastrip.

When you spray with clear gloss I tape over the checkering.

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Killerham, that makes a lot of sense. I'm still debating (myself) if I'll even strip the finish over the checkering? I like the idea of having some "contrast" with two different colors/shades...

 

Yea, citrastrip product all over stock. Wrap in plastic for a few hours. Take off and it should peel up or come off with a tooth brush. Scrub out the checkering. Repeat process if need be. Rinse stock with water.
Let dry.
Rub stock with neutral IMO danish oil and fine fine steel wool. Dry a day or so and repeat. After your satisfied with smooth ness let dry 72 hours.
Buff with steel wool again.
Then tape up checkering and razor blade off clean with sharp lines.

Rattle can clear automotive spray is the ticket. Light tack coat. Then lay it on. Let dry 72 hrs. Buff smooth with steel wool. Repeat clear coat.

Then after another 72hrs I buff it with wax like I'm shinning a car. Comes out like glass. Cheers

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