Underwood Dilemma

[captain_bob_badfish]

I purchased an Underwood Carbine recently with hopes of bringing it back to glory.
The bonus that caught my eye is that it has a lot of early features. The downside is somewhere in it's past bubba got ahold of it. It has been 'polished' and blued and had the front site ears ground off etc.

My first thought was to have it parkerized and make this little mouse gun proud.
I'm a little hesitant as I might lose the manufacturer name and serial number stamps since they are now so shallow from the polishing.

My second thought is maybe I should go have it re-blued and dress it up like a presentation piece. But this goes against the reason for purchasing it.

The stock is stamped RSG and is a highwood. It has been lacquered and has several repairs. I think I'm going to try sanding it down this weekend and staining it to see if it is salvageable.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[redheep]

You should get it reparked, change the front sight, strip the laquer off the stock and oil it and enjoy it.

[Cal30M1]

What he said. Don't sand the stock. Strip it.

[jak]

Reparking should not fill in the name and serial#.
Tim would be better qualified to answer that question though.

[paid4c4]

I've had rifles parkerized with engraving as light or lighter than your rifle and they turned out well. A skilled parker will make that look like USGI issue. I would strip the wood and go over it with Military oX followed by hand rubbed tung oil. I've heard that guy named Tim Shufflin might be able to park your rifle and make it look nice.
Bill

[captain_bob_badfish]

Thanks for the replies. I'm leaning towards sending to Tim but have to find a front sight first. Hopefully he'll chime in.

Any recommendations for stripping lacquer? I've got some Military Ox and Toms 1/3 mix ready to go.

[jjones]

I use plain paint stripper, and a soft tooth brush, usually works good, but you have to lightly sand it after you wash the stripper off.

[LEAD POISON]

Some soldiers ground the ears off there sights.I have seen a few like that.

[redheep]

A green scrub pad and acetone. It will take you some work, but once the laquer is off it will be much easier to use some alcohol to finish the cleanup. If you use something really harsh, it will save you elbow grease, but probably damage the wood.

[melloman]

Find the right front sight - make sure that the blade height is the same as the one you are replacing (assuming that it currently shoots ok) and send the carbine to Tim. He parked a carbine for me a few months ago and it came out beautiful. Like the others said, strip don't sand the stock. I like to use denatured alcohol and a lint free cloth, scrubbing gently to remove the old finish. Go easy or you will permanently alter the contours of the old wood and risk ruining your stock. If you find cracks repair them from the inside with CA glue. Be careful with the CA as it is difficult to remove when cured.