STOMP442

For those of you who have been disappointed with the new finishes on the 10/22's here is what I did to make them look a bit better. One of the things that I had that didn't come in the box was an old style metal trigger group to complete the look I was going for.

Here is what I started with, Typical Walmart special stainless carbine.


Here is the tools I used to do the mods, not pictured is wet dry sandpaper 220-800 grit. Sunflower seeds seen in the background are optional.



Step 1. Disassemble rifle

Step 2.

Spray receiver with the aircraft remover and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. The krinkle finish will start to bubble and will peel off with a little effort. Wear gloves if you got them as this stuff is pretty abrasive to the skin. Use a wire brush in a dremel tool remove the finish in the corners and hard to reach places of the receiver.

Step 3.

Once the finish is removed you will notice the receiver is a dull gray color and most likely covered in tooling marks. Sand down the receiver starting with the 220 grit paper and work your way up to the 800 grit stuff until you have a nice smooth receiver.

Step 4.

Get a soft cotton shop towel and some Mothers Aluminum Polish (or other metal polish) and begin polishing the receiver. Repeat this as many times as necessary until you get to a nice shiny finish. I usually top it off using the dremel tool and the polishing wheel to bring out a deep shine.

Steps 3 & 4 can also be done to the trigger group and bolt.

Step 5. (the barrel)

To strip the barrel of its coating I simply used the dremel tool and made a couple passes using an abrasive brush wheel. Once that was done I went back over it with the round wire brush a couple times and then followed the same polishing steps I did on the receiver. As far as the barrel band and scope mount is concerned I just gave it a couple coats of silver paint and clear coat.

Step 6.

Once everything is polished up nice and looking good I give it a quick coat of car wax to protect against corrosion and keep things looking shiny.

Step 7.

Reassemble and enjoy!

Here is what I ended up with after following the steps I outlined above. I had an old walnut carbine stock that I used since I prefer the wood over the plastic stock. The pics are not the best but as you can see it turned out pretty good. All it takes a little time and a little elbow grease.

Doc45

Very nice 'How To' and write-up. I like what you did looks good. Thank you.

bamajoey

The best improvement Ruger could do is go back to the walnut stocks on the carbine, and put a better finish on them

STOMP442

Totally agree Joey.

RMWHEELER

Man, you did a great job on this one! Looks really nice, I to like the walnut stock instead of the synthetic.

lhoard

Very, very nice.

I carried a S&W Model 66 .357 Magnum stainless for about 18 years and I used Blue Magic on it. Looked almost chrome.

el gavilan

Good job STOMP, I don't like that paint either. A little DIY goes a long ways on a new 10/22. Nice bench too!

Tracer

Excellent job and thanks for the information too!

Coldbeer449

Wow! I wanted to get one of thesee 10/22s but didn't like the finish after looking at one close up. I think you just handed me the answer to what I was looking for. Now I have another project on the list for my shooting renaissance! Thanks for the great write-up!

joshheat25

Looks good , spices it up a lil bit.

volpert

+1 nice job ! Thanks for sharing !

jholder

Nice Job!

While I really don't care for the spray on, bake on finishes they're putting on the new 10/22's mine does shoot far and away better on paper than any of the older ones I've owned back in the day ever did. I bought mine in order to put a heavy barrel and Hogue stock on but I think I may hold off for an older one, this one shoots too well to monkey with!

JRICKARD81

I have the exact same 10/22 now I know what I've got to do!!!!!