How to repair deep gouges in wood stocks?

[STUMPJMPR]

I'm back to working on my cheap Remington 1100.  There are a few deep gouges in the comb area of the stock.  They are about 1/8" -3/16" deep and a 1/2" wide.  I thought about replacing the stock, but am considering to try and refinish it.  So what is my options?

[tacklebury]

Well, hopefully if they are compression valleys you might be able to use a moist cotton towel and a steam iron to raise them.  It works best to use light sand paper to break any finish up some so the steam can get in.  Then if it gets good enough, you can finish over it with like a Minwax Stain & sealer in one.  I personally like the Polyacrylic Stains as they are very tough.  I use satin finish to give less reflectivity.  If it doesn't pull it all the way up, you might have to use some wood filler, but beware that filler doesn't take stain, so you have to stain the wood first and then pick a filler close to the color of the stain.  Then clearcoat separately.   

[gunnut69]

If the wood fibers are just compressed they come back to flush with just steaming, if there is damage to the fibers it may show a bit. The damage can be filled and finished over or one can attempt to hide them using chips raised under the damage which is supported with epoxy and after setting up the wood can be sanded down flush. One can also hide the filled holes with faux graining of  the wood..

[greenrivers]

If a remaining depression exists after the steaming, allow it to dry and then mix wood glue (Elmers) with sanding dust from the stock and apply it to the gouge. For a final touch up or less deep areas simply apply glue and sand over the area. It is quite effective. Good luck.

[saddlebum]

I use Brownell's AcraGlass Gel. Mainly because I have it on hand and it works good. It sands out good and doesn't shrink. I try to adjust the amount of coloring dye, light to dark, to the wood. Smaller gouges just look like little knots in the wood. After staining and such, they are hardly noticable. I think it would take some artistic work to hide a half inch wide gouge. I have seen guys use a knife and coarse sandpaper to simulate wood grain and stuff. But I have never tried it myself.

[Swampman]

I use clear epoxy as filler if the wood won't raise.  If the stock is stained and the the gouge is filled prior to final finish you can hardly tell it's there.

[STUMPJMPR]

Wood is actually missing in these areas.  The epoxy filler sounds like an option.  I repaired a small gouge years ago with with sawdust from the stock mixed with the finish. I think I was using tru-oil.  Does anyone have pictures of the epoxy repair method?

[RaySendero]

I'm back to working on my cheap Remington 1100.  There are a few deep gouges in the comb area of the stock.  They are about 1/8" -3/16" deep and a 1/2" wide.  I thought about replacing the stock, but am considering to try and refinish it.  So what is my options?

STUMPJMPR,
 
Can you post us a pic(s) of the stock?

[STUMPJMPR]

I'm back to working on my cheap Remington 1100.  There are a few deep gouges in the comb area of the stock.  They are about 1/8" -3/16" deep and a 1/2" wide.  I thought about replacing the stock, but am considering to try and refinish it.  So what is my options?

STUMPJMPR,
 
Can you post us a pic(s) of the stock?

I can, but it will probably be tonight sometime.

[gunnut69]

If ood is actually missing or the damage is very extensive you can also use epoxy to glue in wood chips. I typically use wood sawn from gun butts or old stocks that I've salvaged.. I have even take a chip from a thru bolt hole (that was a K80 Krieghauf (sp.)). Remember to keep all the grain running in the same direction. After sanding and staining the entire stock the repair will be almost gone.. luck on the restoration!!

[STUMPJMPR]

You can see the damage along the top and a little more at the butt plate.

[gunnut69]

how deep are the dents and have you tried steaming them out?  Some of those could be sanded out as thinning the comb of an 1100 is not a bad thing usually. With long stripps of damage an inlay can get really tricky to hide..

[mannyrock]

 
   I can tell you that I have had good luck doing something pretty simple.
 
   If there is a gouge or tear in the wood, then I take a dremel tool and gently round the side edges of the gouge, so it looks like a long, irregular oval. If the long edges are ripped or torn, then I gently dremel those so the edges are smooth.   If the gauge is real shallow, I actually deepen it a bit.
 
    I then mix the walnut stain color with accra-glass, and fill the area, letting it be somewhat proud.
 
   I let the accra-glass dry for a full week.  Then I sand the area (and the entire stock) really smooth,  down to 400 grit paper.
 
   It doesn't matter that the walnut colored accra-glass isn't the exact color of the rest of the walnut stock.  Since the filled area is rounded and smooth, or oblong, the end result is that the filled gouge looks just like a natural flowing grain in the wood.  Wood stocks with lots of grain always have areas that look like this.
 
   If the surrounding stock (after staining) is a little lighter than the repair area, then just put another coat of stain on it, letting it get darker until you get a closer match.
 
   Make sure that you put a very smooth clear finish on the stock, so that the whole thing flows.
 
   I have shown my work to other folks, and asked them to find the repair.  Very often, they can't!
 
   By the way, this is a great way to repair a stock which has been cut with a slot for a receiver sight, especially if the slot is does not protrude too far down along the side of the stock.  Round out the edges, and make the straight lines slightly waivy with your dremel tool.  The key is to make sure the area does not look like a rectangle or a square.  The end result, after repair, looks great.
 
   Hope this helps.
 
Mannyrock

[STUMPJMPR]

Thanks everyone.  All the advice sounds good.  I am going to experiment with epoxy and sawdust on an old stock first.  I don't plan on staining the wood since the stock is dark walnut underneath.  I am also going to experiment with gluing in wood.  I saw a post on another forum where someone used epoxy wood filler.  He then went back and colored it with stain, crayon, and a pencil to match the grain.  It was an almost invisible repair.  If it doesn't work out there is always synthetic stocks on the market for about $60.

[SHOOTALL]

if deep drill stock under the butt plate then mix water proof carpenters glue with the drill shavings and fill hole with mixture. Fill proud as it will srink and also you will have some to sand down for a smooth finish. Works well on holes also. Saw dust works much better if you have some wood the same color you can saw to get the dust.

[gunnut69]

The key to installing wood patches is to match the grain and color as closely as possible before installing the patch and be certain the patch has an irregular edge, even if you have to make it irregular. fit the patch dry and glue it dowwn with a good epoxy. Surgical tubing and quick clamps work great for this job and because its all wood staining will blend all to the same tint. I much prefer solvent based stains as they can be blended, overlaid to help hide damaged areas.. that certainly appears to be a pretty piece of wood, well worth the effort to repair and stainsed to highlight the grain...