Dried cosmo?

[MattE93]

Is the reddish and yellowish dried gunk in the photo of my sks stock dried cosmoline? I tried hitting it with a heat gun and it wouldn’t budge. Any other ideas?

 

[FreedomIsn'tFree]

It almost looks like it's cooked on there and the finish is toasted a bit. Did it look like that before the heat gun? I'd sand it down and refinish it.

 

[Kosmonument]

Toss it in the oven for a bit at 200F. It'll wipe off. Or if you're afraid of that, I'm sure a few courses of Hoppes bore solvent will take it off.

 

[bearhunter]

IMHO, that looks more like the original finish wasn't dry before the cosmoline was applied and caused it to congeal

Wipe it down with acetone to remove and reapply whatever was originally there. What you have there isn't at all unusual.

 

[7ECA]

I'll agree with bearhunter, that looks more like a botched job on the original finish rather than cosmoline.

 

[MattE93]

Strip it then? It almost has the textured of crystallized sugar or something

 

[7ECA]

Sure, if you want to refinish the stock anyway you could strip it down to bare wood and start again.

If you just want to get rid of that area of rough finish, try progressing through the chemical lineup. Mineral Spirits, Turpentine, etc... Or just jump to what ever strong stuff you have laying around and see what happens.

 

[MattE93]

I tried mineral spirits on it and the stiff didn’t budge. It was only a $200 rifle so might be a good one to experiment on

 

[enefgee]

Try furniture stripper, that stuff removes everything.

 

[MattE93]

What is the best thing to refinish SKS stocks with to make them looks original?

 

[gewehr76]

Leave it alone

 

[MattE93]

Acetone didnt touch it either. Whatever this crud is it is tough. I think someone before me tried to strip the cosmoline and gummed things up. It’s almost like a hard resin. Might try steel wool with acetone next any thoughts?

 

[Magellann]

I think that the original finish is a red shellach, it shouldn't be too hard to replicate.

 

[bearhunter]

The military rifles used red shellac and that could be softened with a mix of shellac and acetone. Norinco SKS rifles used something similar to or maybe is thin varnish.

The finish shown in the OP's pics isn't only found on SKS rifles. I've encountered it on refurb M91/30 rifles and some refurb K98s. I had a No4 Lee Enfield stock with the same effect on one side. It had been left out in bright mid August sunlight for most of the day.

This finish can be hard as glass. The best way to remove it is to very carefully scrape it off with a razor blade type scraper. CAREFULLY is the byword. Then you can either apply a coat of shellac or a Boiled Linseed Oil finish, which I believe some of the Chinese milsurps have from the few refurbs I have.

 

[silverfoxdj]

Strip it then? It almost has the textured of crystallized sugar or something

It will be a good conversation starter leave it

 

[Bubba Yugga]

Try methyl hydrate.

 

[Ravage]

Lol is it even possible for cosmoline to dry out

 

[enefgee]

It will be a good conversation starter leave it

or an even better conversation ender

Guy at the range; "what's that on your SKS stock?"
You; "dried blood"
Him "Oh" moves to a different bench.

 

[MattE93]

Decided to strip the finish and re-apply since this finish was quite ugly and what I believe to be a refurb job anyway. Took the old finish off with a razor and methyl hydrate then applied an amber shellac finish.

 

[fiddler]

If you still have a few nice hot days left, wrap it in paper towel and newspaper, then wrap it again in a black garbage bag and let it sit on the dashboard of your old truck for a few days in the sun. It will soak out.

If it doesn't get off the dried gunk, then give it a light sand with medium sandpaper.