Subject: Shotgun Repair
Date: Thu, 05 Aug 1999

Hello

Quick hello, and to say that the repair of my stem is holding up fine. I have quite a bit of the quick penetrating epoxy left over, and I'm using it to recondition the stock of my old duck hunting shot gun, which over the last 12 years has started to show some deterioration and rot from being immersed, dumped, dropped, used as a walking stick, a push pole, left in the rain over night in the blind... Not good. I have removed all the finish (what was left, ha!) and plan on staining it black with water based "Rit" dye, then drying it out completely, and saturate it with the Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer. I'll probably finish it with a light sanding and some good polyurethane. What do you think?

Good on the stem repair, and thanks for letting us know.

Sounds like an excellent plan for the gun stock -- using the water-based stain is the key here, but you seem to know that. You might consider having a soft, clean rag handy and about 20-30 minutes after applying the penetrating epoxy (CPES) give the stock a gentle, soft wipe-down. This will smooth the epoxy finish and eliminate any *blotching* effects from the epoxy being absorbed at different rates by different parts of the wood. After a day or so then a light sanding with maybe a #220 grit paper would smooth it all out nicely. You could add another coat of the penetrating epoxy, another soft wipe down, another light sanding for even more protection.

A polyurethane final finish would be perfect. Polyurethane and the CPES seem to bond together especially well.

You'll have a happy shotgun.

Doc