Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

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Old No7
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Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by Old No7 »

Browning shotguns and rifles are infamous for having a hard, clear finish that is too shiny for many tastes, but very difficult to strip and start over if one doesn't like it (yup, I tried that on a BLR once and after a few months and many attempts, I ended up replacing the wood...).

Those Browning finishes are also notorious for leaving "white marks or scratches" if the finish ever gets dinged, scraped or dented. So it was only a matter of time before I put a tiny scratch on the forearm of my Citori CX and it just bugged me whenever I'd remove it from the case. Of the 2 dozen plus Browning owners I'd asked, nobody knew of an "easy repair" and many of them said "the whole gun would need to be stripped" in order to fix it.

Wait up -- there's got to be a better way.........

And I think I've found it -- at least it looks WAY better than it did the other day!

Brwng Citori - Finish Repair.jpg
In this image you can see the darker brown scratch that is outlined-- and it was almost "pure white" and very visible before I started. I used a Scratch & Dent Marker made for covering up nicks and scratches in furniture; using the brown color that was the closest to my stock (if anything, I did want it to be a little darker rather than lighter). Then after that dried, I put on 2 thin coats of my bride's high-gloss clear nail polish. I think it looks as good as I'll get it and I'm happy with the outcome.

I sure don't want to use this tip too often, but I just thought I'd pass this along for others if they need it.

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GunnyMack
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by GunnyMack »

Have you just tried a clear coat on the scratches? Polyurethane on an artist brush and just fill the scratch and it might disappear easier than you think. Yes the browning finish is a bit much for most. If it's highly figured I prefer high gloss so the wood pops!
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Blaine
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by Blaine »

I've had "some" success with Pledge on my 1968 Browning .22 Auto...but, that's a European finish...YMMV.
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Old No7
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by Old No7 »

GunnyMack wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2019 3:23 pm Have you just tried a clear coat on the scratches?
Yes -- I had tried that first -- all you get is a glossy "white scratch".............

You DO need to add some brown stain, in my experience.

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octagon
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by octagon »

Old no7 my GO to method for shallow scratches is micromesh. Been using this for 20+ years, it is inexpensive an an excellent product, a lifesaver and moneymaker in my repair shop. I generally use it wet backed by a fairly hard foam rubber pad. IT comes in very fine grits easily buffed to gloss when desired.
Your nice repair on the Browning is called the Steinway repair in the string instrument world.
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GunnyMack
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by GunnyMack »

Well that answers that question. I haven't tried a fix and was just thinking out loud. I doubt it's a laquer, probably a plastic of some sort...
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vancelw
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by vancelw »

That Browning finish is actually quite easy to take off.
Problem is, it I'd also tinted to hide the low quality wood.
I take it off anyway and go back with a satin finish
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claybob86
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by claybob86 »

I used Jasco finish remover to get the Browning glossy finish off, worked very well. The wood looks much better (IMO) with an oil finish.
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JB
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by JB »

vancelw wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2019 9:39 pm That Browning finish is actually quite easy to take off.
Problem is, it I'd also tinted to hide the low quality wood.
I take it off anyway and go back with a satin finish
I've always found that the Texacryl finish used by Browning to be a bear to remove with most strippers.
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marlinman93
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by marlinman93 »

Since the Browning has a polyurethane coating, it should be touched up using poly based finishes. Although most require a complete refinish, there's one that doesn't. Minn Wax WIpe On Poly. WOP can be applied with a rag, or in the case of small touch ups, a tiny paint brush, or a Q Tip. It comes in Satin, or Gloss and I use Gloss on shiny wood. It may take several applications to get it soaked in and built up as it's very thin. But once it's got enough coats it can be left as is, or buffed to blend in with surrounding surfaces.
WOP also is one of the most forgiving finishes made. Unlike some others, it goes over almost every other finish made, and I've used it for dozens of restoration and new stock jobs with great results.
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vancelw
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Re: Browning Hard Finish -- "White Scratch" Home Repair

Post by vancelw »

JB wrote: Wed Aug 28, 2019 1:48 pm
vancelw wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2019 9:39 pm That Browning finish is actually quite easy to take off.
Problem is, it I'd also tinted to hide the low quality wood.
I take it off anyway and go back with a satin finish
I've always found that the Texacryl finish used by Browning to be a bear to remove with most strippers.

The Jasco that claybob mentioned is what I use.
Works great
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