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

I think I may try refinishing my Mosin since yours looks so good. Where so you get pine tar, and the red garnet shellac? I don't recall seeing them in any shops around my area.
 
Magellann said:
I think I may try refinishing my Mosin since yours looks so good. Where so you get pine tar, and the red garnet shellac? I don't recall seeing them in any shops around my area.
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Pine Tar can be gotten from TSC. It's in the veterinary section, of all places. It's apparently used to paint horse hooves to protect them from things like fungal growth and the like.
If you phone around you might be able to find it from veterinary suppliers or from places that deal with boat repair or such. Mixed in thirds with linseed oil, turpentine, and the pine tar, and heated, it's used for sealing and protecting boat wood. The Russians used a 50/50 mix of turpentine and pine tar on some of their rifles.

I go the shellack from the USA. shellac.net It comes dried, and it will need to be mixed with alcohol (details on the site). If you just buy the shellac it will be shipped to you USPS. If you buy the alcohol too from them, then it goes UPS with higher shipping charges. You may be able to find it elsewhere but this is what I used.
 
Refinish a real Mosin Nagant sniper ???

Hard call to make !!!

I have a '34 with the shellac falling off and looking all around crappy. That one I will definitely refinish... whereas the finish on my '40 is looking great so no need to touch that one.

However, these are "run of the mill" Mosins... not snipers.
 
its peeling off my matching sniper. stock will not be touched get a doner because in 10 years you may want to sell it and it will be just another bubba. it doesn't need a lot of protection at the range or in a safe. survived the eastern front so "restoring" it because if chipped shallac might be useful if you live in a damp cave. I see alot of people trying to pass off restored,reblued, coated Mosins now for double the price,they were Finnish capture rifles that are ruined now because the notion of making them look better. and if i recall the Russians just used shellac. the Finnish used pinetar/turpentine 50/50 on there rifles. just my opinion Russian Mosin Nagants are not supposed to look pretty. they were thrown out of the factory as fast as possible to put rounds on target. nothing sticks out like a shiny new Mosin stock
 
I refinished mine, I have no plans of ever selling it. If you think it's ugly it probably is. I bought mine to shoot and would have paid more if the stock was already refinished or in better shape. I wouldn't worry about value so much

 
lalunette said:
Refinish a real Mosin Nagant sniper ???

Hard call to make !!!

I have a '34 with the shellac falling off and looking all around crappy. That one I will definitely refinish... whereas the finish on my '40 is looking great so no need to touch that one.

However, these are "run of the mill" Mosins... not snipers.
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I wouldn't have done it, if it hadn't been in such rough shape, when I got ahold of it. It had several coats of shellac on it that had been roughly painted on, on top of everything. Wood. Metal. The barrel and bolt. Really nasty mess.

I don't intend to ever sell it, but I like the way it looks now. This would have been the sort of finish it would have come out of the factory with, which was what I was trying for. Clean up and restore to period correct standards, best as possible.

If this thing had come in near-mint I'd have never touched it...

EDIT: Apparently the Russians DID use pine tar, as well as the Finns. The difference is the Finns left it at that, and the Russians applied shellac over the pine-tar. Don't ask me to quote the source, I've forgotten where I learned this, but by referenced accounts this was how it was done.
 
Frost Cracked said:
I wouldn't have done it, if it hadn't been in such rough shape, when I got ahold of it. It had several coats of shellac on it that had been roughly painted on, on top of everything. Wood. Metal. The barrel and bolt. Really nasty mess.

I don't intend to ever sell it, but I like the way it looks now. This would have been the sort of finish it would have come out of the factory with, which was what I was trying for. Clean up and restore to period correct standards, best as possible.

If this thing had come in near-mint I'd have never touched it...

EDIT: Apparently the Russians DID use pine tar, as well as the Finns. The difference is the Finns left it at that, and the Russians applied shellac over the pine-tar. Don't ask me to quote the source, I've forgotten where I learned this, but by referenced accounts this was how it was done.
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That just makes sense to me if it's restorable to a nice condition, if mint or near leave it alone
 
I think after careful consideration I think I'm going to keep my sniper how it is and do a very nice resto mod on my std 91/30 to make it a beauty range rifle. The sniper has got lacquer missing but it doesn't fall off in your hands like some peoples so it probably is best to keep it original at this time and battle rifle looking. If in the future it starts deteriorating badly I'll defiantly do the no expense spared factory route of 'Frost Cracked'. Thanks for everyone's input and I learned a great deal on how a mosin could be done right.
 
I highly recommend reading "flexnor on finishing" - a great primer for these projects.

flexner_on_finishing_500.jpg


google found me a similar book in pdf @ woodtools.nov.ru/books/Understanding_Wood_Finishes.pdf
 
Dwag said:
Re-finish it ! Absolutely. Why would you want the old peeling off the stock shelack in your hands every time you hold or shoot it? Its your rifle to do what you want with it.
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If I dont see that old peeling shellac, I know its not original. I love it!
 
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