doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Remove poly finish?

I was looking at some information about painting boats and cars with polyurethane coatings. In the Q&A about prepping, it was mentioned that Easy Off oven cleaner can be used to remove paint from wood. I don't know if the paint it works on is poly, it just said "remove paint from wood." I wonder if this would be a useful technique for stripping the poly from gunstocks. Worth a try for those refinishing Browning (and probably other makes). Nothing to lose by trying.

If I'm not mistaken, Easy Off oven cleaner contains sodium hydroxide, or lye. And lye is a strong alkaline chemical that is damaging to wood. I'm even cautious when using household ammonia to clean gunk and oil from stocks. It needs to be neutralized and thoroughly rinsed. For that reason, I've avoided using Easy Off on gunstocks.

Several years ago, I lucked into a close-out sale on good old Methylene Chloride paint stripper, and laid in a good supply. It does a good job of removing polyurethane and just about any finish but a baked on powder coat on metal.

It works well. IDK vs say an old remington bowling ball finish though

I stripped an old Remmy 1100 finish many, many years ago. Can't remember for certain what I used, but it may have been Kutzit.

i have used MEK successfully for years on poly type finishes....use it outside, take a small metal pan and a cheap chip brush and simply brush it on the finish. it will dissolve any finish i have ever encountered (including the doublebased stuff that browning used to use)- and because of it's high volatility will leave the wood as dry as an ancient piece of driftwood.

most sherwin-williams stores keep it in stock in both gallons and fives - bought a fresh gallon last year for $37.99....nowadays, it's the only stripper that i bother to keep around.

best regards,

tom