If you have refinished a sks or Mosin, please share.

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Mosin Nagant

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I would like to refinish a sks and a Mosin. If you have done one or a few please share your ideas and pics. I have been watching YouTube on the different processes of removing the shellac some use chemicals and some soak them but can cause some warping and some just sand and some use a knife and kinda peal it off. What is your process and what stain or oilno you use.
 
I hit mine with furniture stripper, removed the gunk with fine steel wool, and steamed it with a kettle until cosmo stopped leaking out of it. Then several light coatings of boiled linseed oil and a few coats of outdoor shellac (varnish? Whatever was semi-gloss, clear, and cheap.)
 
I refinished a 91/30 1928 hex "five liner" with dark garnet dewaxed shellac (woodessence.com) which matched exactly like my other mosins. Stripped the shellac off with Circa 1850 Furniture Stripper. Don't use a metal knife, scrap off with old plastic credit cards etc. and take your time. Getting a nice finish with shellac is the hard part. Using a thin shellac cut and patience is the key. I can't remember the cut, but on later coats I cut the shellac even more. I only refinished this rifle since it will never be sold by me.
 
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EZ-Strip from Home Depot works pretty good. It's all natural so it's pretty safe. No fumes either.

I did my mosin in boiled linseed oil and it turned out great and a laminate stock sks in tru-oil. The tru-oil is way more durable and required much fewer coats (which is what I wanted for the sks)

It's a pretty simple process. Don't be intimidated but don't rush. Take your time and it'll turn out great!
 
Mosin Nagant said:
I would like to refinish a sks and a Mosin. If you have done one or a few please share your ideas and pics. I have been watching YouTube on the different processes of removing the shellac some use chemicals and some soak them but can cause some warping and some just sand and some use a knife and kinda peal it off. What is your process and what stain or oilno you use.
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Just wondering if you got my reply to your post in my thread, eventhough I sanded the finish off mine, it's allot easier to use a stripper like some posters said here. I just don't like the mess so I'd rather sand, but that's just me. Good luck, don't over do it with the stain.
 
Use Easy Off low odor oven cleaner to remove the finish on the stocks. Spray on let sit for a while and use a scraper and it comes off quite nice. Sometimes you will have to use a second treatment to get some stubborn areas.
 
I used easy off oven cleaner, then lightly sanded (do not want to remove any markings). A few coats of linseed oil with adequate drying time between applications, and then my last three coats I used Tru-Oil to give it a bit of shine. Came out looking nice, i'd pull it out of the safe and post a pic but my phone wouldn't do it justice.
 
ShootSavage said:
Just wondering if you got my reply to your post in my thread, eventhough I sanded the finish off mine, it's allot easier to use a stripper like some posters said here. I just don't like the mess so I'd rather sand, but that's just me. Good luck, don't over do it with the stain.
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What grit sand paper do you use?
 
I have done lots. Their are a millions combos of stain, oil, varnish, polly, shellac you can use.

Best think to do is use a store bought stripper, gel base ( antique furniture stripper, from homedepo ) is great... but wear cloths cause it burns like a ##### if you get it on your junk on a hot summer day.

Also, Keep pure white vinegar around because it may be a good last resort to help neutralize some acid, If your sloppy and have an emergency.

Save clean up time and sand and strip outside. IMO you need to strip AND sand with around 200-300 grit to start... Let dry over night...
 
Stripping and proper prepping is good but trying to match the old red varnish finish is the difficult part. An old Mosin just doesn't look right to me with a modern hunting rifle finish. What are you guys using to get the original appearance?
 
I like using citristrip, but it is near impossible to find in Canada anymore.
Paint it on, let is sit, use a rag to wipe it off. Depending on what coating you are stripping, it may take a second coat.
Damp towel and an iron to suck out the majority of any colour bleed into the wood. Fine sandpaper to remove any additional colour bleed if desired.
I haven't tried the process on the SKS stock yet, but it has worked great on standard 10/22 stocks and a Mauser.
 
Baking soda is a good acid neutralizer, so is windex as it contains ammonia, which is basic (opposite of acidic).

Buy for furniture stripper, which is just acetone in a gel, same stuff your wife uses to strip polish from her fingernails, tap water works great.
 
bush1 said:
Stripping and proper prepping is good but trying to match the old red varnish finish is the difficult part. An old Mosin just doesn't look right to me with a modern hunting rifle finish. What are you guys using to get the original appearance?
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This?
I got overzealous pouring boiling water down the pipe on my SVT40, and the shellac bloomed:(. Tried the hot iron trick, but the white cloud is still there. I've read that I can wipe on denatured alcohol to soften the finish and this should take care of the milky look, but I don't know what to recover it with?
 
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