A friend picked up this 44 Tula Vintovka Mosina (Mosin Nagant) ex-sniper from WestRifle. The plan was to keep it as is, but use it both at the range and for hunting. There was no plan to reconvert it or anything like that. But when it arrived the dark shellac was terrible. On the muzzle end the shellac was worn badly. On the butt end, the shellac was so thick you could only see the wood grain in pictures where a flash was used. The seller wasn't even able to identify that it had a laminated stock. I only discovered the laminated stock after the shellac was removed. There were also some pretty bad dings, and breaks in the stock and I think the thickness and darkness of the shellac was due to trying to hide the damage when it went through Soviet refurb.
I refinished the stock, using a method that I hoped would preserve the old rifle's character but provide a nicer and more durable finish. Instead of sanding the rifle down, I kept all the marks and wear. I used 'Circa 1850' furniture stripper which isn't a harsh stripper, but it nicely removed the old shellac, leaving the wood's patina. I then used an old clothes iron and wet rags to 'steam' out any remaining gunk from the pores of the wood stock. I skipped the sanding step, and applied a cherry wood stain that was customized with an additional 21 shots of red. I finished with Tru-Oil. Birchwood Casey makes a conditioner that will change the glossy finish into a satin finish, but I decided to keep it glossy for awhile at least. The stock had a Tula star which could barely be seen before the refinish job. Now it shows up much better.
Before:
After:
Tula Star:
I refinished the stock, using a method that I hoped would preserve the old rifle's character but provide a nicer and more durable finish. Instead of sanding the rifle down, I kept all the marks and wear. I used 'Circa 1850' furniture stripper which isn't a harsh stripper, but it nicely removed the old shellac, leaving the wood's patina. I then used an old clothes iron and wet rags to 'steam' out any remaining gunk from the pores of the wood stock. I skipped the sanding step, and applied a cherry wood stain that was customized with an additional 21 shots of red. I finished with Tru-Oil. Birchwood Casey makes a conditioner that will change the glossy finish into a satin finish, but I decided to keep it glossy for awhile at least. The stock had a Tula star which could barely be seen before the refinish job. Now it shows up much better.
Before:
After:
Tula Star:
