Fox Collectors

Hello,
I have my brothers 1932 12ga SW that has a stock/forend which has had previous work performed on it. It looks as though a dowel and metal clip was used to secure the crack. The checkering on left side is worn flat some checkering is felt on the right side. The forend is completely smooth of checkering. The varnish is uneven and heavy at places. He paid 400.00 quite a few yrs ago and wants this as a collector/investment gun. Of course you should not touch an investment but i feel a little TLC could only enhance it.... Where to go from here???
With that out of the way, my question is what should i do with this stock?
1.) Nothing
2.) Use stripper or steel wool to remove the varnish only, re-checker then re-varnish the stock. ( I do not believe oil was on the orginal factory stock, but would love to know any details in this area ).

I recently redid my Elsie as the forend had split in half long ways, sanded down the blank, fit it to the iron, re-checkered, found info to match original color and varnish. But it seems finding this info on SW's is much more difficult. I'll have to research this further as i have not been exposed to Fox's as much as L.C.'s

I'm gonna try to upload some pics to better describe what i'm talking about........

Thanks for your assistance and time in helping me to better understand,,,,,,,,, Jim


https://photos.app.goo.gl/y28Igiog6nbf523q2

I think degreasing the wood and a refinish won't hurt a thing. After the refinish you could have the checkering recut.

vaturkey, thanks for the suggestions. I looked up degreasing and found several suggestions including using murphy soap, dial, to mineral spirit's and 0000 steel wool. Also found info to clean with whatever the finish is. ie: linseed oil = boiled linseed oil, tung oil = tung oil, varnish\laquer = WD40. I would prefer to do the minimal to get the results i need. Would it be best to start off light and work up to get where i need to be or to get right in there and do it in one shot ? I personally prefer to remove the old varnish completely (with stripper or mineral spirits) and apply a new finish. But I need to come up with a good plan before starting on this, any instruction in this endeavor is most appreciated !

Jim

Various methods for degreasing out there and I think all of them will work if one follows the directions on what folks do. For a shooter grade gun, I'd be temped to use Tung Oil and build up layers of finish a little at a time. That said, lots of folks are using Timberluxe these days and like it a lot for period stocks. Tru Oil is used by many as well, but I find it too thick and too glossy, although one can use 0000 steel wood to take off the sheen.

PS. You might find this useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfcUwMWxJ2U

I really enjoy Mr. Potterfield's videos. Always puts me in a better mood.