Stock Refinishing question

[k9mike]

Hi all. What is the best way/ best product to use to strip a stock down without damaging any of proof markings etc...? Got a great gun, but the stock is heavily finnished with that ugly Russian red stain. Looks like I can see an L underneath with some proof marks...Can't believe the condition of this weapon, and what I paid for it. I will post some pics when I am done cleaing it up.
Regards,
MIke

[r.blue]

Mike,
One of the fastest ways to strip the stock is to use "EASY OFF" oven cleaner.
Start at the top and work your way down to the butt.
You have to be quick and have a hose at the ready to wash off the oven cleaner.
It will foam up and you will see the old color come off.
What you are left with is a fuzzy blonde stock. At that point let it dry.
After the wood is dry, you will have to bone it down. I use the round edge of a heavy screwdriver.
Once the wood is smooth again. Put "Johnson's" floor wax on the wood and buff it off with a soft cloth.
This should be the way the stock looked when it was issued or close to it.
One thing about the proof marks. The oven cleaner can raise them so be quick in the proof mark areas. Hit it with the oven cleaner and rinse it off fast.

What you should do is find an old stock somewhere for cheap and practice on it before you do the one you want to restore.
This is not a difficult process but you may want to practice once.

Somewhere on this forum I posted some photos of a Carcano with capture paper that I own. I refinished the stock on it the way I described above. You can see from the photos on the post the way it came out.
The proofs on the Carcano stock are light because "Bubba" had sanded the stock before he assed it up with some furniture stain. That is why my proofs look light.
Hope this helps.
R.Blue

[Harvey A]

It'll be slower than the oven cleaner method, but I'd use denatured alcohol applied gently, with the grain, using 0000 steel wool. That will eventually remove the finish but should leave any age patina. It should also prevent the 'fuzzyness' caused by the harsh caustic of the oven cleaner.

Once the finish is gone you can buff with dry 0000 steel wool, then apply light coats of boiled linseed oil or, as mentioned above, floor wax.

Harvey

[Matt Starr]

v

[k9mike]

Thanks alot!

Thanks guys. I will probably use a combination of Matt's idea and the denatured alcohol. I have some good proofs on here and really dont want to mess them up. Got an Luftwaffe L stamp...
Thanks,
MIke

[bratwurstdimsum]

Hey Blue, how long did you leave the easy off on for before washing it off? I looked on surplusrifles.com and they employ the same technique, 'cept they left it on for an hour and it appears to have stripped EVERYTHING off.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/refinish/hs.asp

I would like a nice light brown finish, not white pine

Also when you did it in sections did you get any splotching or overlapping textures?

Any advice would be good.

Jeff

Mike,
One of the fastest ways to strip the stock is to use "EASY OFF" oven cleaner.
Start at the top and work your way down to the butt.
You have to be quick and have a hose at the ready to wash off the oven cleaner.
It will foam up and you will see the old color come off.
What you are left with is a fuzzy blonde stock. At that point let it dry.
After the wood is dry, you will have to bone it down. I use the round edge of a heavy screwdriver.
Once the wood is smooth again. Put "Johnson's" floor wax on the wood and buff it off with a soft cloth.
This should be the way the stock looked when it was issued or close to it.
One thing about the proof marks. The oven cleaner can raise them so be quick in the proof mark areas. Hit it with the oven cleaner and rinse it off fast.

What you should do is find an old stock somewhere for cheap and practice on it before you do the one you want to restore.
This is not a difficult process but you may want to practice once.

Somewhere on this forum I posted some photos of a Carcano with capture paper that I own. I refinished the stock on it the way I described above. You can see from the photos on the post the way it came out.
The proofs on the Carcano stock are light because "Bubba" had sanded the stock before he assed it up with some furniture stain. That is why my proofs look light.
Hope this helps.
R.Blue

[phild]

Hey Blue, how long did you leave the easy off on for before washing it off? I looked on surplusrifles.com and they employ the same technique, 'cept they left it on for an hour and it appears to have stripped EVERYTHING off.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/refinish/hs.asp

I would like a nice light brown finish, not white pine

Also when you did it in sections did you get any splotching or overlapping textures?

Any advice would be good.

Jeff

Jeff, I'm not rblue, but I think that there are some other issues that you should consider before selectiing a finish removal method.

I assume that the rifle is a 98k? Is the stocl laminated wood or solid walnut?

It is always best but not always easy to know what type of finish that you are trying to remove. If it is shellac, varnish or linseed oil then I would recommend a commercial varnish stripper that can be found at any hardware store. If it is only shellac then the denatured alchol would be the easiest way to go but the stripper would work as well or better anyway.

Polyurethane type fiishes are very tough to remove and you will be in for a ride.

I would also suggest that you do NOT stain it after it is stripped, the natural color can be brought back with an application of boiled linseed oil or to some degree with one of the mineral oils sold to use on woods.

Less is best. Let the stripper do the work and essentially follow the directions on the can...

I offer you this because oven cleaner can be very hard on wood and even with commercial wood strippers I would neutralize with plenty clean water soaked cloths and allow to dry for a day ot 2 before putting anything on it.

[pitts duncan]

Linseed oil verses tung oil

I finished mine with tung oil and a good rub, instead of the linseed oil. i found the linseed oil stunk a bit when i used it as a kid . the tung oil looked great and looked original when i got done. this was on a new military stock cut and used to replace an old duffle cut stock. yes i still have the old duffle cut as is untouched and a nice new correct looking walnut stock to boot, with an original look and finish.

[bratwurstdimsum]

Oops,

Okay I've already started with the treatment thanks for your comments, there are plenty more comments from people who disagree here :

http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru....php?p=3042135

[gew98]

Go to the gunboards.com 98k forum... there's a load of guys that like to play and refinish the russianized 98's , and they go to great detail on messing with the wood.

[Greg Sebring]

I had a firearms guy work on a 1937 BSW my son was given. He gave the wood stock a very liberal coating of Vasoline and let it set in a warm environment for several hours. He then used clean white rags and wiped it down good. The crude came off and original finish wasn't harmed a bit. I'm sure the Russian red would require something different but for a "dirty" stock, this might work too.

Greg