doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Scherell’s SCHAFTOL stock refinish - picture heavy

Howdy folks.
So, I have  restored a few stocks over the years and have always gone the Truoil route.  As of late, I have really enjoyed using the Ballistol products and while out shopping for some target loads I came across a stock oil by them called Scherell's Schaftol.  I did some research and it turns out they make it in multiple tints from a golden hue for light coloured stocks, a reddish hue, a dark for walnut and even an extra-dark.  
Anyway, I picked up this used Beretta 685 that was in pretty good condition.  The receiver looked like new, but decided that the barrels needed a re-blue as there was a little rust starting at the muzzle.  So, while I sent off the barrels to get slow rust blued by Ribstone Gunsmithing in Czar Alberta, I decided to strip off the lacquer finish on the stocks, smooth out some scratches and give it a whirl.  All I can say is that the Schaftol is an amazing product.  Here are the steps I took to get a better than factory finish that is smooth as glass and a lovely satin hand rubbed finish.

Day 1.  I taped off the checkering and drenched the stock with the Schaftol and sanded with 280 grit paper to create a slurry, not unlike using the Truoil and once the stock was fully sanded I wiped it cross grain with paper towel and then gave it another wet coat let it soak overnight.
Day 2. I wiped off the oil that remained on the surface and wet it with fresh oil and sanded with 400 grit paper, again wiping cross grain.  This time I let it sit for half a day to dry.  Then I wet it again and wet sanded with 600 grit paper, and dried cross grain and let it sit overnight.
Day 3. I took off the masking tape and coated the stock in oil again and worked it all in by hand, really warming it up.  I took a soft bristle toothbrush to the checkering to make sure it got in there but didn't build up and let it sit for half a day to dry.  By this time it was absorbing far less oil as it had deeply soaked into the stock.  More on this later.  I then wet sanded with the Schaftol and 1000 grit paper wiping the slurry (very little by this time) across the grain.  Four hours later I wet sanded with 1500 grit paper, wiped and let it sit overnight.
Day 4. In the morning I wet sanded with the Schaftol and 2000 grit and removed the tape again and at lunch hand rubbed in another coat of oil again into the checkering repeating the brushing out with the toothbrush.  By evening it had dried so I re-taped and hit it with 2500 grit, wiped it cross grain and let it sit overnight again.
Day 5.  Morning was wet sanded with a 5000 grit sanding sponge and Shaftol and then hand rubbed with two coats of oil with two hours in between.  At this point the oil was just staying on the surface as I think the stock absorbed all it could.  The tape was removed and I let it sit over night.
Day 6. I put the stock back on the receiver and the forend iron back onto the wood and just gave it a final coat of oil. 

All in there are 12 coats on the stock.  When I squared off the butt you can see that the absorption was about 6 or 7 mm deep into the wood.  

The other work I did to the stock was to remove the sling swivel and make a stock oval out of a Canadian quarter from the same year as the gun.  The receiver is a really nice satin nickle finish and the quarter is 99.9% nickle so it seemed fitting.  I also picked up an original Beretta trap pad which I ground to fit.

I really think that the Schaftol was far easier to use in order to get a nice satin finish on the stock.

First few pictures are of the original finish.

Thoughts?











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Interesting product. It is more of a wood protectant than an actual finish, based on what I found upon doing a little research on the web. It has no dry film thickness, so it cannot form a layer on top of the wood, just into the wood. A bit too matte for my taste. I like a little gloss…
JR

It feels like there is a top layer. But you could always put a coat of wax on it

You can buy that in Canada. Made in Germany. I've used it for years, but I do see it more as a top coat.

I bought it at Canadian Tire. There are instructions online as to how to refinish a new or old stock. Really quality stuff.

Well done Pete. Far better than the factory finish.