Refinishing Laminated Stock

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Ok -- this may be blasphemy to some, but I want to strip off the crummy shellac finish on my Russian laminated SKS stock, and refinish with straight tung oil. I used this to finish a walnut stock on my M1A, and I really like the look, and the durability of the finish. What is the best way to remove the shellac from the stock?

Thanks,
 
I used "Circa 1850" paint stripper/remover on my laminated SKS. Worked great, easy and not smelly, but it does not get along well with bare skin or cheap disposable gloves. Eye protection, regular rubber gloves, old paint brush and lots of rags to wipe the mess off. Stuborn bits got the "Scotch Pad Scrubber" treatment soaked in remover. Light sanding with 220 or higher and your good to go. I rinsed mine off with water and dried quickly before sanding though. Have not used tung oil on a strpped stock though. Hopefully though will add their advise as well. Good Luck.
 
I've seen a Youtube video where Easy-off was used as a stripping agent. Be forewarned however, the chemicals in Circa 1850 and Easy-off may work on the laminate's glue and cause some delamination of the stock. Work quickly and rinse well. I'd like to see the final product. I'm not one for shiny stocks either.
 
I stripped mine with Circa 1850 as well.
Light sanding with 320 grit, steam some dents out and refinished with B.L.O.
Every time I have the rifle out, I dip a finger in B.L.O. and give the stock a bit of a rub. Lookin' good!
 
I was using Hoppe's Elite gun cleaner in the black 4oz spray bottle for the first time on the gas tube yesterday and some got on the upper handguard. It took part of the wood finish off fast! ): Read on Cabela's site later that the cleaner can be used to strip oil-based wood finishes too.. Grr.
 
Thanks for the replies. I bought a small can of Circa 1850 Furniture Finish Remover, which is a bit less aggressive that the paint remover. We'll see how it turns out. I'll post some pics when I am done.

Cheers
 
Update: I used the Circa 1850 Furniture Finish Remover and it worked really well. Apply generously, wait a few minutes, then scrub vigorously with fine steel wool, and the old finish comes right off. I had to re-apply for a few spots and repeat the process, but the entire procedure only took about 30 minutes.

After that, I applied my first coat of Circa 1850 Tung Oil. Brush on generously, wait 30 minutes, then wipe off. Wait 24 hours, buff lightly with steel wool and then re-apply. This is the process I used for the walnut stock for my M305 and it came out very nicely. Already, I can see that the SKS laminated stock is much lighter in color than before, the tung oil brings out the grain nicely. I am going to put on 4 coats and see what it looks like, and post some pics at that point.

Cheers
 
I saw tung oil used on a Chinese wood rifle and the results were outstanding. If I cared about looks, I would use tung oil.

On some of my heavy duty hunting rifles I used a satin finish urethane finish. Looks good, waterproof and very durable.
 
$3 can of lacquer thinner from can-tire and you can just wipe off the shellac... a good scrubbing with simple green and you can strip a stock in about 30 minutes.

I like linseed oil for my stocks, but that a preference I like the smell :) ]
 
What about the enviroment everyone?
IMG01265-20130122-0955.jpg

David Sazukki approves this measage :p
 
lockmancpl said:
I used "Circa 1850" paint stripper/remover on my laminated SKS. Worked great, easy and not smelly, but it does not get along well with bare skin or cheap disposable gloves. Eye protection, regular rubber gloves, old paint brush and lots of rags to wipe the mess off. Stuborn bits got the "Scotch Pad Scrubber" treatment soaked in remover. Light sanding with 220 or higher and your good to go. I rinsed mine off with water and dried quickly before sanding though. Have not used tung oil on a strpped stock though. Hopefully though will add their advise as well. Good Luck.
Click to expand...

Used the same stuff... redid it with Tru oil..... Looks damn good to me...
 
OK, I finally have some pics to post.

Here is s summary of the rifle:

Tula 1950 re-arsenaled, all matching numbers, with laminate stock

Choate scope mount with Weaver Classic 1 x 3 scope

Muzzle brake

Ejection port modified as per the DIY sticky to eject brass to the side.

Here are the pics!

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Rifle seems to shoot pretty well too -- I am able to get 2" groups at 100 yards with Norinco ammo.

Cheers,

Grey
 
Hi Grey,
A very nice matte finish on your stock and a great improvement over the original.
For my refinishing project, I also used Circa 1850 paint remover and Circa 1850 Tung oil on my laminate stock which was previously a pukey yellow mustard color. For added depth I used 5 coats of Tung oil but before doing so, I stained the laminate stock with 2 coats of Minwax ebony wood stain for about 7 minutes per coat before wiping down. Here is the result.
Keep this thread alive and post your refinished stocks........
IMG_3404_zpsab012188.jpg
IMG_3403_zps133ee7f0.jpg
IMG_3392_zps80162261.jpg
 
Linseed oil gets darker with age, it all depends on whether or not that matters to you on a stock.But its a great finish to use.
 
It was after the mod, but I don't think took out enough mterial the first time I did it -- there was still some radius in that corner. The pics were taken after I removed more material and made the corner a sharper right angle. Unfortunatelyh, I haven't had time to get to the range to try it out since modified for the 2nd time, and I'm on a ship until June!!! so I won't know for a while.
SoBored said:
Now you got a nice carbine, good work on the mods.

From the looks of it, your scope has taken a few hits from brass. Was that from before you modded the ejection port?
Click to expand...
 
I like the look -- well done. I will probably add a few more coats of tung oil, but I am away for a couple of months so I have to wait until then.

I notice that you have the Tapco mag in place of the original -- how do you like it? Did you have to modify the magazine area of the stock for it to fit? If so, can you still use the original magazine? I am thinking of getting the Tapco, because I can't use stripper clips to re-load with the scope in place.

Cheers,

Grey
TacticalFlash said:
Hi Grey,
A very nice matte finish on your stock and a great improvement over the original.
For my refinishing project, I also used Circa 1850 paint remover and Circa 1850 Tung oil on my laminate stock which was previously a pukey yellow mustard color. For added depth I used 5 coats of Tung oil but before doing so, I stained the laminate stock with 2 coats of Minwax ebony wood stain for about 7 minutes per coat before wiping down. Here is the result.
Keep this thread alive and post your refinished stocks........
IMG_3404_zpsab012188.jpg
IMG_3403_zps133ee7f0.jpg
IMG_3392_zps80162261.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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