Re finished the stock of a mosin sniper? Worth it or not

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LedZepLen

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I love my mosin sniper along with all my Mosins, the barrel, action, scope and mount all have matching serial numbers. Butt plate and mag base don't. The metal finish all over looks beauty and the rifle shoots awesome. My issue is the almost un dinged wood stock looks like sh&t with the finish coming off.
Would I be damaging this great rifle by touching it? If not what wood finish would best represent how it should look?
 
Some will say leave it be, others will say refinish it. I'd have to say refinishing it how it would've been before it was arsenal refurbished would be what I'd do as its refurbished state may not have been its wartime state. I'd do some research and see if I could find out what level of finish it was and try and replicate it. Especially if it's a keeper and you plan on never selling it, otherwise I'd just leave it original.
 
I refinished 2 of mine - gasp!!! Like the OP's mine are semi-matching. The whole point of a sniper rifle is shooting and the purpose of the finish is to protect the wood from the environment. I also don't like the "fell off a truck yesterday" look. I'm not "preserving" either the dumb ass packaging job, or the sloppy, bored efforts of some 1960's industrial worker. Strip the shellac with alcohol and re-apply garnet shellac. It looks like the original minus the dropped from the UPS truck "history".

Sanding is up to you but I won't bother. Most stocks won't benefit from light to moderate general sanding and even heavy sanding won't restore the virgin look (if there is such a thing).

Loss of value - maybe but who cares? You car lost value when you drove it off the lot and your IPOD, CD player, VCR, cell phone, projection TV etc. are all worth nothing. My estate can figure it out; I will be busy being dead (which is hear is a full time job).

If you have a rifle that has a finish that appears to be original with some wartime history, that is a different story.
 
Do it.
I refinished every Mosin I ever got.
I took my time and did a great job using boiled linseed oil. They all come out looking very good.
Brings out the rifle in a whole new way. And if your finish is chipped and shot, then the wood isn't being protected anyway.
Plus it's just damned fun to do! Great project
 
OP, I would buy spare mosin stock - $50-$60. Very easy to find. Refinish it, paint it, carve it... use and abuse it. Keep original stock untouched. You may decide to sell this rifle later and it will make you big $ with untouched original stock.
 
I kind of like the doner stock idea, I might try the linseed oil look on my 160$ Std Mosin and decide from their if I wanna switch and notch out that one out or order annother stock. If the original ugly ness retains or adds value then it's probably best to avoid touching it.
 
I did a refinish job on both of mine, and I'm happy with them.

Some people think that the rifles should be left, just as you get them, to preserve their history, and historic value. I'm not entirely sure what the value is on a rifle that's beat up to all hell, but in 'origional' condition, but some people like them that way, and I see no problem with that.

Myself, if I get ahold of an old milsurp that's been sporterized, or beat up to all hell (missing shellack, dents, scrapes, grease, "Nigel" written on the receiver) I go through efforts to clean it up, and to restore it somewhat to a more presentable condition. I do this by either replacing chopped down, or messed up or missing parts, rebluing when the original (the one I got it with) finish is just black paint, and the like.

However, I take my time and research, to figure out what the most period-accurate way of doing so would be. Enfield parts get linseed oil. My garand got tung. Mosins get a pine-tar and shellack, or boiled linseed. I like to think of it as less... destroying the rifle, and more like cleaning up an old artifact that's surface from some point in history.

EGKPVKc.jpg


At the end of the day, they're your guns, and you can do what you want with them... only please, for the love of all that is sacred, don't BUBBA 'em!



EDIT: Shameless Plug of my Mosin
 
What did you use for that finish? I wouldn't mind doing that at all, it doesn't look out of place at all. My search of good looking proper enfields, which I did find one made me start this thread over the scare of being 'one of thoes guys' effecting the war relics we're caretakers of
 
LedZepLen said:
What did you use for that finish? I wouldn't mind doing that at all, it doesn't look out of place at all. My search of good looking proper enfields, which I did find one made me start this thread over the scare of being 'one of thoes guys' effecting the war relics we're caretakers of
Click to expand...

I stripped the finish with furnature stripper. Gave it a light sanding with steel wool, ONLY to make sure I got off all the little bits the stripper may have missed in the nooks & crannies.

Sprayed it with degreaser, and wiped down with hot, hot water. Left it to dry out for a week or so, or, however long you think you need. Longer is better in the end run.

Created a 50/50 mixture of turpentine and pine tar (best done outside) and gave it two coats. Left it to dry for a week or so again. Should be slightly tacky feeling, but not sticky or gummy.

Finally about 6-10 coats, of Red Garnet shellack. Let it hang for the better part of a week, then, sanded it down to get all the bumps and smears and run-lines out. Finished by buffing hard with a microfibre cloth. Then let the whole thing sit for another week or so until I was sure it was rock hard. Then took it shooting.
 
This debate will never end , the question I have does a Rembrandt painting that has been cleaned and restored still priceless as it was before it was cleaned and restored or is the dirt and grime and cracks and flacks of missing paint make it more valuable than after the cleaning and restoration ? The same question can be asked about antique cars that are completely restored to new , are the only worth 50 % the value of an original rust ridden , faded paint and rotten seats antique car ... ??

I think the quality of the restoration and the original condition of the piece is the true deciding factor on " If " a restoration is in order or not ... the resulting Value will be based on supply and demand and quality of a given item weather it is completely original or has been restored to a high level of quality and authenticity .

In the end it will be the buyer who will decide the value and the merits of why the buyer believes that value is warranted .

I hold only the idea that if a firearm is in excellent condition the restoration is not required nor recommended but if the condition is so poor that the stock or metal work needs to be restored to protect it from further deterioration
then it should be restored with care and hold to as close as the original processes in the restoration when possible .

The above restorations are Great !!

Best regards !
 
I read something before that goes like this........

this is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine.........

do whatever your preference is, if you plan to keep it, make it just the way you want it, and enjoy it
 
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