Tips on refinishing a mosin stock

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gfercaks33

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Well i was cleaning all the fire arms tonight and I go to clean my 91/30 mosin, well I guess hopped number 9 blast and shine did not go to we'll with the wood. First time using the stuff and some dribbled out of the barrel onto the stock. Needless to say I was mad as all get up and said some very in pg13 like words. So I guess my project is to refinish the stock. What would be a good way to strip the stock down and what would some good finishes I can get at Home Depot or lowes be?
I'm also looking for some low odor quicker drying stuff as I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and don't want the wife killing me!

Here's the damage tonight.
i229.photobucket.com_albums_ee16_gfercaks33_5A1DF218_49A9_44F9555a9fcfa7f767ea06f6f22522c86606.jpg

i229.photobucket.com_albums_ee16_gfercaks33_AE29DE86_A2D3_4F95c0350b5aeb23a2eb60c208fb5c7b88f3.jpg
 

ByrdC130

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been

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ha!!! The same thing happened with the same stuff on one of my mosins! It was in a spot that dosnt get much attention so imma just forget about it at the moment.

Not really funny, but im glad to know im not the only one this happened to :P
 

gfercaks33

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I was thinking about stripping my stock down and using amber shellac and iodine to give it a red tint. Any "safe" stripper I can use so I don't have to sand the hole thing down? I heard use denatured alcohol will strip it down.

And been I'm glad I'm not the only member of this club! After the cursing calmed down I can laugh at it, maybe I should zebra stripe it with the cleaner haha
 

excat

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I've been thinking about going with a redwood deck sealer (no gloss) on my mosin. I've done a lot of stuff with it, and I think it would look pretty sharp.
 

ronny

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Easiest way, but not for the purist, is to use denatured alcohol to strip it and then use Tung Oil Finish to redo it. TOF is a brand which you can get at Lowes. It is a mixture of varnish and oils, is easy to apply with just a cloth or paper towel. Several light coats with easy steel wool rubs will produce a very good looking and serviceable finish.

For a more purist approach, do the refinish with shellac. You can dye it to your tastes. I actually used Rit dye (black and maroon) in TOF on one once and it turned out great. It took a lot of experimenting, though. This is not a good pic, but this stock was stripped clean and was a mono color before the treatment. The mottled looked was achieved by pulling some of the finish off with a rag.

red shellac.jpg

Edit - my memory is getting bad. Actually, that pic above is of a handguard on which I used that process to get a match with the rest of the stock.
 

coolhandluke

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You can always simply touch up the damage with denatured alcohol and Bullseye amber shellac from Home Depot. The DA and shellac mixture will melt and blend into the existing finish. The easiest way to blend the finish is by using a French polish technique.


If you prefer to do a full blown refinish, Ronny is spot on about using DA to strip the stock and using a dye (not oil based stain) like RIT or Feibing's to add color to the stock. Your stock is made of Artic Birch and does not accept oil based stains well and will leave you with a blotchy uneven finish. I prefer to finish with BLO and wax, but I have used the tung oil finish (not pure tung oil) and it is easy to work with and leaves you with a nice looking, durable finish.

Below are pics of three birch stocks to give you a couple examples of different finishes. I refinished all three with Feibing's alcohol based dye. The shotgun stock has been finished with BLO and wax, the AK stock was finished with Minwax tung oil finish and the Mosin was refinished with BLO and Tom's 1/3 mix using an aged oil technique (check out surplusrifleforum.com for tips on how to do an aged oil finish). The aged oil technique is my favorite finish on a Mosin stock. It looks more like a typical military type oil finish. The AK stock is not nearly as glossy as it appears in the pic...it is mostly due to the angle of the shot and the lights directly overhead.













 
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ronny

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Pay attention to coolhandluke. He's only 21 (well, seems that young to someone like me), but he's been messing with these old firesticks for about 40 years. He's learned his stuff.
 

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