Chinese SKS Stock refinish
- Thread starter big_e
- Start date
I don't know exactly what type of wood these Chinese sks has but mine is quite soft, I'm sure someone will be along to say exactly what variety it is. I am planning on doing the same to mine and either hitting it with a mahogany minwax or linseed oil haven't decided yet. Will be checking in on yours for sure.
As mentioned, this is catalpa wood. It's quite soft, like alder. You never mentioned what you'd like in the way of finishing and what kind of use this will see. Did you want to change the colour? Did you want to take this in the rain a lot? Will it be bumped around (a finish can only do so much - which may not be a lot)?
Changing the colour may require spending some time to get the oil out of the stock. A durable colour change will want the colour to get INTO the wood, not just laying on top, so that's why you want the packing oil (cosmoline) to get out of the wood so there is room for any dyes.
Some wood finishes lay on top of the wood and others get inside it and can help strengthen the wood fibres to some extent. If the wood will see constant moisture, you really want it to breathe and that rules out some finishes like poly which form a non-breathable layer on top. I'd opt for a non-drying oil like pure linseed oil in that case. It will repel some moisture but will allow any moisture to eventually get out without promoting wood rot.
I've refinished two SKS's so far and used polymerized tung oil in both cases to match their intended use. Strengthen the wood a bit and give decent protection against moisture, but these won't be living in the rain. Very different colouring jobs on those too. I chose polymerized tung oil from Lee Valley to speed the drying process.
Changing the colour may require spending some time to get the oil out of the stock. A durable colour change will want the colour to get INTO the wood, not just laying on top, so that's why you want the packing oil (cosmoline) to get out of the wood so there is room for any dyes.
Some wood finishes lay on top of the wood and others get inside it and can help strengthen the wood fibres to some extent. If the wood will see constant moisture, you really want it to breathe and that rules out some finishes like poly which form a non-breathable layer on top. I'd opt for a non-drying oil like pure linseed oil in that case. It will repel some moisture but will allow any moisture to eventually get out without promoting wood rot.
I've refinished two SKS's so far and used polymerized tung oil in both cases to match their intended use. Strengthen the wood a bit and give decent protection against moisture, but these won't be living in the rain. Very different colouring jobs on those too. I chose polymerized tung oil from Lee Valley to speed the drying process.
I find the hardest part with the soft wood Chinese SKS's are that getting the oil out makes it a huge PITA. I have an old stock laying around that I waned to refinish but you can actually squeeze the stock and see oil drip out.. I figure I will get back to that once I have nothing at all left to do anymore.
I looking for a light amber/hints of redwood, gloss type of finish, which will also have to be hard wearing.
I don't mind spending the time and having to apply a lot of coats to get the finishes I am looking for.
My main concern is how to manage any dark spots on the rifle and if this will show with a light finish.
I am a strong believer in regularly shooting all the rifles and handguns I have.
That being said it will only be used at the range and transported in a case so it shouldn't get knocked around to much.
IF you don't bake it in the oven at 500 at least 30 times to get all the oil out,..it will never look like much. There is WAY more oil in china stocks than Russian. After baking and rubbing all the dripping oil off..you have to rub the stock down with LOTS of laquer thinner. If you done every thing right,..the stock should look white evenly all over....this means all the oil is off the surface.If you use oil base stain, you will never get a WET finish, must be water base. It takes along time to get good results. My stocks take 5 to 7 days. here is a pic of 1 I just finished for a customer.They all have 10 coats of clear. The red and blue ones are for sale."they fit Chinese sks's. I wont do any more,..they are way to much work. if your interested in one or both PM me, or try your luck.
The lighter the finish, the more the underlying condition of the wood will show through. As Lone Ranger mentioned, you need to get all that oil out and it will take a long time. I did the garbage bag in the sun trick for 10 days and spent a long time with a heat gun, slowly, painfully, weeping the oil out. My wife vetoed the oven method.
This is good and will allow you to use a wider variety of finishes.
To add to this, if using a heat gun you will see the oil come out of the stock and go on the surface, ready to wipe off. If you heat a spot and the oil flows back into the wood immediately after removing the heat, you are getting real close to where you want to be. Keep at it.
My experience with woodworking has been different. A stain is a stain, the carrier of the pigment doesn't matter. What matters is wood surface prep and the top coat you use if you want a high gloss. Then you have to be careful because the wood can look a bit like plastic. Starting to get into the realm of personal taste here where there is no single right answer.
+10000
The amount of time spent doing this can really add up. Also, purchasing the materials can add up if you don't have anything around the house already and often it can be cheaper to buy a stock already done. If Lone Ranger's stocks appeal to you, then consider buying them.
Wow- I had the guys at Gun City swap stocks for my SKS as the one they sent had a crack in it. The replacement has a decent finish, some sort of waxy feeling product(shellac?). I was planning on doing a refurb job on it, but after reading this article....no friggin' way do I have the patience, time or expertise to do a good job. I reckon it is far easier for me to have a custom wooden stock made, then I can have fun finishing it myself.
If you want to learn about this, it's a great stock to play with because the wood is easy to work. Strip the finish and clean up the cosmoline. Take your time. Then you'll have a nice canvas to play with. It will take time though. You'll need to take more time if you want a really light stock with no discolourations. If you think of those blotchy areas as "character", then don't worry about it so much.
In the example pics I posted above, when I got that stock it was so full of oil after stripping it that a pure black stain only turned the stock a beige colour. So it needed lots of cleaning so it would absorb any colour.
Check out this thread I created a couple years ago when I did my first SKS stock. Maybe it'll get you thinking about this....or maybe it'll get you to hire someone.
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...wly-updated-SKS-wood-stock-refinishing-thread
some great advice from lone ranger and jimbo
one thing i learned is that fiebing leather dye (ebay) is a nice stain to work with
i used oxblood on a stock im refinishing and i like it a lot
i did put a light stain of minwax as a base so the red is not too much
they have tons of colors
im working with circa 1850 tung oil... one stock looks close to perfect and the other i had to redo because of spots where it didnt stick (probably cosmoline)
take you time with wood prep and post pics when youre done
and note that its expensive to refinish a stock the right way but once your equiped you can do a couple without needing to buy stuff
one thing i learned is that fiebing leather dye (ebay) is a nice stain to work with
i used oxblood on a stock im refinishing and i like it a lot
i did put a light stain of minwax as a base so the red is not too much
they have tons of colors
im working with circa 1850 tung oil... one stock looks close to perfect and the other i had to redo because of spots where it didnt stick (probably cosmoline)
take you time with wood prep and post pics when youre done
and note that its expensive to refinish a stock the right way but once your equiped you can do a couple without needing to buy stuff
My biggest concern is how to remove the shellac or finish- would the best product be methylated spirits? Easy-off oven cleaner? I want to use the Birchwood Casey products to refinish, so I reckon using their wood filler/sealer (after removing shellac) followed by Tru-oil spray might look good? Or at least better!
i removed the shellac of my russian sks with acetone... was working good. still needed some sanding
the laminate russian i had a kind of poly/varnish finish... acetone or mineral spirits didnt do anything so i used furniture stripper
i would do the easy-off thing
the laminate russian i had a kind of poly/varnish finish... acetone or mineral spirits didnt do anything so i used furniture stripper
i would do the easy-off thing
