N/A Walther restored

[Gunnertrones]

A glance of my inside-and-out restored Walthers. (LGR RT/2 LGR universals/LG90/LGV. And a Walther mod 55 that soon will be finished.
As you notice they are all scoped, since I prefer plinking at different distances. 10 m target shooting with diopters is not my thing, and these 40-60 years old rifles are capable for a lot more than 10m.

 

[wildcj5]

Those looks amazing. What do you use and what’s your process. I enjoy refinishing stocks and always looking for new ways.

 

[crowski]

Man, you drip with talent. Crow

 

[Gunnertrones]

Those looks amazing. What do you use and what’s your process. I enjoy refinishing stocks and always looking for new ways.

Many ways, but I do this;
Sanding, sanding, sanding….. From 80 grit, and step by step up to 400. Now the oiling process starts combined with wet/oil-sanding (800 grit or 000 steel wool) and drying between layers. Minimum 2-3 layers with “oilsandingpolish”. Then 2-3 layers with thorough wiping between layers.
A last layer after a week or two doesn’t hurt.

If necessary before the sanding process, and if there is room for it (!), one can trim and cut parts of the stock for a personal design and better lines. (look at one of my lgr, the dark one, and what I did to the lines under the cheek peace).
Oil? A lot of options. I often use Junkers benchoil.

 

[Gunnertrones]

Something to note:
When you sand down a stock, the wood may disappoint you. It may occur that the maker had lifted the grains with some coloring techniques, or the sanding takes away the nice ferniss after years of aging and handling. That may be a gamble in some cases.
Personally I don’t like adding colors to the stock, just let the oil do its magic. But if I have to, I use leather paint (goes deep into the grains), or Herdins (not so deep in my experience), before any oil touches the wood.
An example:
This was my first Wildcat stock. Flame birch. I used a strong coffee blend at the end of the sanding process, and worked it into the wood before the oiling process. Gave me the wildcat stains I was looking for.

 

[Ievgen721]

Please do not be offended, as I understand you wanted to hear independent opinions. The stock of the Walther LG 55 is originally covered with several layers of varnish, each of which is polished to a mirror shine, it looks like a Stradivarius violin. It was very painstaking work. Ten out of ten collectors I know will never buy these rifles. The original parquet varnish that was originally on other match Walthers conveyed the breath and mood of that era, when you take such a rifle in your hands, you seem to fall into the past. The original sights were also magnificent. I just wanted to warn others against such mistakes. My heart ached when I saw this.

 

[Gunnertrones]

Please do not be offended, as I understand you wanted to hear independent opinions. The stock of the Walther LG 55 is originally covered with several layers of varnish, each of which is polished to a mirror shine, it looks like a Stradivarius violin. It was very painstaking work. Ten out of ten collectors I know will never buy these rifles. The original parquet varnish that was originally on other match Walthers conveyed the breath and mood of that era, when you take such a rifle in your hands, you seem to fall into the past. The original sights were also magnificent. I just wanted to warn others against such mistakes. My heart ached when I saw this.

No offend at all! I know exactly what you mean, and most of my collection are original to the bone so to say. (100+ rifles and pistols). But some of the guns I buy are badly treated, and full of scratches and dents, but still in working condition (with some help…).
These guns I just have to “rescue”, and for some of them a totally makeover is needed. The value is already significant reduced. For the mentioned 55 for instance, this was one of several dents/scratches: