Thorough wood prep that prepares the wood for a new finish 
Selection of finishing oils, hardeners, and drying components to maximize a handcrafted result
Determining the best application technique to achieve the desired finish and high-end outcome
Time. It’s not a quick process. 

I Communicate with You:
Usually the very day I receive your stock I’ll contact you so you’ll know it’s arrived safely. During the work process I may contact you, keeping you up to date on progress or with any questions that could arise. Bottom line ~ you won’t feel alienated as your valued gunstock is being refinished.                     

 
Please read the following so you’ll have good grasp on the process your gunstock will undergo during refinishing. This will help us best communicate what you’d like done and the details of the process.
How I Perform Your Restoration & Refinishing Process
Before Gunstock Refinishing 7
Remove Entire Old Finish —
 

Finishes on gunstocks vary— and there are many! Home-finishes, varnish, polyurethane, even shellac, and factory epoxy are common. Removal time and technique involved varies by the chemical nature of the finish and how strongly it’s bonded to the wood. Polyurethane seems to be the most common and can be the slowest to remove, depending on the manufacturer.

Wood Preparation —
 

Remove surface scratches and dents.

Judicious sanding to remove old wood stain and create the crucial uniform wood surface.

Note: gouges, deep scratches, chips out of the wood, and cracked wood are more complicated issues that need to be handled separately. 

More complicated refinishing issues need to be discussed before we both commit to your gunstock restoration. The usual issues are as follows:

Gouges and scratches: that are deep can usually be filled to exactly match the feel and surface level of your stock. There are many occasions, however, when a perfect visual blend to surrounding wood is difficult to achieve. In other words, the final finish may not exactly match the surrounding wood, being visible even though the surface feel is smooth. Direction and width of the gouge in relation to grain, can be factors that prevent a perfect visual repair.
 
How visually ‘perfect’ you desire results to be on these difficult issues needs to be addressed in our preliminary evaluation. On occasion, a stock can be so scarred that 100% perfection is impossible. I may then suggest we don’t refinish, unless you can live with some visual imperfection. Let’s discuss… 
 
Cracks in wood: Repair is dependent on severity and location.
 
Gun oil stains in wood: These are difficult to remove. Many can be removed completely, but not always. The severity and depth of the stain, type of oil that created it, and how long it’s been there are crucial factors. Some oil stain residue simply can’t be completely removed. Gun oil woodstock stains need to be discussed before work can begin. My success rate in oil removal is very high. Don’t hesitate having me do it for you.
Staining of the Wood Prior to Refinishing (pros & cons) —
Oft times, better than staining is to simply allow the wood’s inherent color to remain by letting the application of my proprietary finish do its magic of creating the lovely handmade sheen we all admire. This occurs as the quality, hand-rubbed oil blend penetrates below the wood’s surface. In so doing, it reveals the true grain inherent in the wood. Rubbing oil penetrates, making the grain ‘pop!’. The penetrating oil also deepens contrast between light and dark wood fibers (grain), revealing the full beauty of the pattern. (And therein lies the ‘rub’ of hand-finishing