Need some tips

[PryorDaniel]

I want to refinish the stock on my Storm XT, but I'm not too sure how I should do it. I've never done anything like this before but I'm not really thrilled with the factory finish. Should I sand off the original finish and then stain it? What type of stain do I use? Can it be the stains you get from Home Depot as long as I put a good sealer, or are there special stains? If anyone could give me any tips I would really appreciate it.

[melloroadman]

I'm no pro but I used dark walnut stain on my RB grips for my 1377 and I have had complements on them. I'm about to tear down my storm and tune it and re due the stock as well with the same stain I purchased at OHC. I prefer no clear over my stained stocks but I really think it is all a personal choice . There are others here with more experience than me in this and they will probably speak up as well. Also on some of the wood on the cheaper stocks like crosman guns there is not a lot of beauty in the grain of the wood so you might want to consider this in making your choices. That is one reason I'm going with the dark stain again. Good luck. And yes you need to sand it Marvin

[yel01z06]

you may want to check out the library there is an article on how to refinish a stock on a qb

[PryorDaniel]

Thanks for the tips, and I read the article in the library just for extra info. I think I'm all set to make my stock look somewhat nice instead of the ugly toy-ish look it has from the factory.

While I was browsing articles in the library there was one on oiling springers. It had some stuff on detonation, and I think my Storm might be having a problem. "There is a difference between dieseling and detonation, and detonation is dangerous condition. It's usually seen when highly combustible lubes are used in a gun. The gun produces a very loud crack when fired and may or may not exhibit smoke coming from the bore--the amount of smoke depends on how fully the lube was burned, they type of lube, etc. Detonation can occur even when NO smoke is visible afterwards." That's from the article and my Storm does have smoke come from the bore, but there isn't any loud crack. Is that normal?

[melloroadman]

If your rifle in almost new it is just burning the lubs the factory put in the rifle during assembly and it will stop after a few 100 shoots . If it is not barking at you don't worry. Also if you are using crosman pellets it is not uncommon for there to be a little smoke as well . They some times have a lot of oil or grafite on them. Marvin

[gamo2hammerli]

The first three shots from my Storm XT sounded like a .22 long rifle bullet going off....it really shocked me.  It's the loudest air rifle...out of all my new ones so far.  After the fifth shot...it quieted down....guess whatever oil in the barrel burnt away abit (I never run a patch in the barrels of my new air guns...lazy dude that I am...).

[Splash]

Daniel, you will need to remove the old finish first, by sanding, or chem stripper, I prefer to sand. I usually start with 120-220gt on a random orbit sander, then by hand 320-600gt. Any oil based stain should be fine, water based has a muddy look to it, to me. For a sealer I prefer to use either Teak oil, Tru-oil, or a spray on poly. HTH and if you have anymore ?'s just ask. Also be sure to post a pic when your through.
Mike

[PryorDaniel]

Well, my project is complete. I used a Minwax stain and sealed it with Tru-oil.  Then I decided to get creative...

I had been told not to drill holes to mount a sling because it could crack the wood. Well, I had some guitar straps laying around so I took one and studied it a bit. For those of you that don't know, guitar straps have 1 hole at each end to slip over the mounting points on the guitar. I figured the barrel of my Storm could fit through one hole. For the other side, I just put it right over the hole in the stock for the buttplate's screw and used that as the mount. It works wonderfully and looks pretty cool. The very final part of my project was some type of a pellet holder that just slips on the stock. That part isn't 100% done, but I do have the little slip on coveralready on the gun. I just have to figure out how to make the shotgun shell holder on it work for pellets. I'm thinking that maybe some type of little bottles might work. Or cut out the thread that seperates each holder to turn it in to just one big holder and use it for entire tins. I'll figure that part out later though. Pics will be up soon.

[melloroadman]

Well it sounds like you have been busy and having fun . Do send some pictures of your rifle when you can. I have my storm a part now and I have put about 8 coats of ebony stain on it now and waiting for it to dry. Also giving it a new seal and spring as well. Marvin

[PryorDaniel]

What kind of spring are you putting in? That's the next project I'm going to be working on. I think the stain on mine turned out like an old M1 Garand finish. Around the grip where it's a little hard to get in to, some of the original stain was left over (no sealer, just stain) and I think it added a very nice accent to the gun. It almost looks like it has a shadow/light effect to it, but only where it should. It's hard to explain it. I should have pics up later tonight or tomorrow. I think it would look nicer if I used sunlight rather than a lamp so I might wait until morning.

[melloroadman]

I went with crosman stock parts and a home made spring spacer . I don't know that I will be using the rifle much any more since I have bought several sense the storm . I might even sale it but I wanted it to be right if I did decide to sale it. Marvin

[PryorDaniel]

Did you just buy something from a hardware store as the spacer or did you machine one out of something? I would really like to get my Storm to hit a little, or a lot, harder than it does. I have some squirrels terrorizing my yard but I don't want to take a shot at them with my Storm. I'm not sure if it has the strength to kill a squirrel unless I get them right in the head and I think I still need more getting used to my rifle before I try for a headshot.

[PryorDaniel]

Ignore my knee, boot, and the mess around the tree :)

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Died2Soon/IMAG0057.jpg


I figured I should show off the tip of the barrel. I basically just cut off the front sight, but kept the little plastic so it wouldn't look ugly. If you notice in the other pic, I modified the rear sight too.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Died2Soon/IMAG0058.jpg


In this pic you can see the ligh/shadow effect I mentioned. The pic didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but it stills shows what I was talking about.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Died2Soon/IMAG0059.jpg

[Splash]

Turned out nice, Daniel.
Mike

[melloroadman]

Dan the rifle looks good and it looks a lot like the tint mine is starting to take on . What color stain did you use? And before I comment on the spacer I want to make sure it is going to work . I do not want to get you started down the wrong path. Marvin