sanding down my sks stock?

[chuck83]

Just got a russian sks. I dont know a ton about it, it has 1951 stamped on the top of it but other than that i dont know how to desifer the different or better ones.
The stock and gas cover are in not bad shape but I was thinking about sanding them both down and refinishing( laquering) has anyone else done this and how did i work out?
tks guys and girls

 

[kwhunter]

Just got a russian sks. I dont know a ton about it, it has 1951 stamped on the top of it but other than that i dont know how to desifer the different or better ones.
The stock and gas cover are in not bad shape but I was thinking about sanding them both down and refinishing( laquering) has anyone else done this and how did i work out?
tks guys and girls

Like any piece of wood you can sand it down and put any finish of your choice on it. Being russian wood does not make it any different than canadian wood.
You can even do checkering on the pistol grip and the forearm, I bet it will be a unique SKS.

 

[gommee]

Rather than sanding, try using Circa 1850 to strip it and then lightly sand.

 

[zimmineee]

I bought a couple of SKS's. One is a non-refurbished one and I want to keep it original. The other one was a refurb and that one I refinished the stock. It looks great in my opinion and don't regret it for a second. With the refinished stock the gun looks brand new.

I washed the stock first using soap and water, I than used poly stripper to get the varnish and stain off. I than put it in the dishwasher and this cleaned most of the cosmoline out. After doing this I ran the dishwasher on one empty cycle to clean it out (not that it needed it). I let it dry thoroughly for a few days than stained it. I used Tru-oil but lacquer would probably be just as good.

 

[swift5337]

After a good sanding I have used truck box liner spray from UAP\NAPA and it works great, leaves a synthetic type finish, tough and durable too.

 

[ki11ercane]

Depends on the SKS and the finish.

If it is a Chinese SKS with that crappy reddish finish, off it comes. I use Heirloom Stripper to get the finish off then sand down where necessary. The wood under it is surprisingly nice. I either use BLO or BTO when I am done, or I stain it to look like a Russian SKS.

Some Chinese SKS stocks come with a real nice deep wood grain finish I would never touch. I have a few like that.

If it's a Russian refurb, go for it. Sky's the limit to what you can do.

If it's an un-issued Russian, I'd keep it as is.

I know a lot of people are not SKS collectors like me, and it entirely depends on the owner. If you adopt the same rules as an Enfield, there will be times when you do and DON'T sand or re-finish. That's just me.

 

[gommee]

After a good sanding I have used truck box liner spray from UAP\NAPA and it works great, leaves a synthetic type finish, tough and durable too.

The only problem with bedliner...

If your hands get sweaty or the bedliner gets wet/damp, it gets sticky.

Some "Professional Bubba" did this to a gun before it became mine. Needles to say, it now has a new stock on it. I must say it looks neat, but bedliner is meant to be used in the box of a truck, not on a gun.

No offense, just IMHO.

 

[Norton]

I did a quick stock refinish on the SKS refurb I got from Frontier this last weekend.
It had a wear marks behind the trigger guard and from shipping the rifle with the accessories rolling around loose in the box, the silly heathens.

I happened to be in Canadian Tire and noticed they sell a clear and an orange shellac in a little can for $10. I bought the orange shellac, a liter of methyl hydrate, a bag of 0000 steel wool and a few throw away foam paint brushes.

I refinished a Russian double barrel shotgun I have first to see how it was going to work out.
That methyl hydrate removes the old varnish instantly and I ended up with a stock a bit lighter colored than I prefer. No problem, I’ll redo it again later with a bit of stain on the wood before applying the shellac.

So now the SKS stock.
I did not strip the existing shellac off or sand it, I like that red color.
All I did was very LIGHTLY buff it with the 0000 steel wool and cleaned off the dust.
I poured some well stirred shellac in a glass and added a tiny bit of methyl hydrate to thin it a bit.
The shellac dries very fast so thinning it slightly helped to avoid leaving brush strokes.

I hung the stock from a wire and painted fairly quickly, paying a bit more attention to the locations that had rub marks, brushing back and forth there a couple times to mix the color of the old shellac with the new shellac, and done.

Waited an hour or so and gave the stock another light 0000 steel wool buffing and applied a second coat.

All the shipping scuff marks are pretty much gone and the rifle looks great.
I’m no longer concerned about scuffing up the stock on these things, I’ll buy another can of shellac and refinish it whenever the urge hits me.
It left me thinking, damn that was easy.

 

[gommee]

I did a quick stock refinish on the SKS refurb I got from Frontier this last weekend.
It had a wear marks behind the trigger guard and from shipping the rifle with the accessories rolling around loose in the box, the silly heathens.

I happened to be in Canadian Tire and noticed they sell a clear and an orange shellac in a little can for $10. I bought the orange shellac, a liter of methyl hydrate, a bag of 0000 steel wool and a few throw away foam paint brushes.

I refinished a Russian double barrel shotgun I have first to see how it was going to work out.
That methyl hydrate removes the old varnish instantly and I ended up with a stock a bit lighter colored than I prefer. No problem, I’ll redo it again later with a bit of stain on the wood before applying the shellac.

So now the SKS stock.
I did not strip the existing shellac off or sand it, I like that red color.
All I did was very LIGHTLY buff it with the 0000 steel wool and cleaned off the dust.
I poured some well stirred shellac in a glass and added a tiny bit of methyl hydrate to thin it a bit.
The shellac dries very fast so thinning it slightly helped to avoid leaving brush strokes.

I hung the stock from a wire and painted fairly quickly, paying a bit more attention to the locations that had rub marks, brushing back and forth there a couple times to mix the color of the old shellac with the new shellac, and done.

Waited an hour or so and gave the stock another light 0000 steel wool buffing and applied a second coat.

All the shipping scuff marks are pretty much gone and the rifle looks great.
I’m no longer concerned about scuffing up the stock on these things, I’ll buy another can of shellac and refinish it whenever the urge hits me.
It left me thinking, damn that was easy.

Show us some pics of what the stock looks like now.

 

[Gramreaper]

Crap, I thought I was the only one who did this. I stripped it, sanded it, stained it and laquered it. It looked good, but the stain didn't take totaly as there were a few dull spots at certain angles. Once done, I proped it against my desk, turned around, heard a sliding sound and missed catching it as it smacked into my chair. I redid the procedure, sanding what I dared on the dent and everywhere else lightly. The second time round brought out some more poop and it took the stain better. Looks great, but seems like the wood is easier to dent now almost like it went soft. Perhaps the cosmoline lends a filler to the wood making it sturdier.
Well , have fun; I'll post it when I get a chance, we all should!

 

[kwhunter]

The shellac dries very fast so thinning it slightly helped to avoid leaving brush strokes.

I hung the stock from a wire and painted fairly quickly, paying a bit more attention to the locations that had rub marks, brushing back and forth there a couple times to mix the color of the old shellac with the new shellac, and done.

I prepare my own shellac, the one in the can is generally old and has some preservatives.
I buy flakes or buttons and dissolve in denaturated alcohol; if you want it to dry slowlier use isopropyl alcohol instead (rubbing alcohol) and it won't leave brush marks.
The problem with the old shellac on the rifles is that it is contaminated with the creosote they used to preserve the wood and with cosmoline used to preserve the gun; age is another issue, and it won't mix well with the fresh shellac.
Therefore my advice is: either strip it completely and redo the finish from scratch or leave it as it is.

 

[Norton]

Kwhunter and gommee, it was your posts in other threads that provided me with a basic knowledge about the shellac finish on our SKS’s.

Before your posts I didn’t know anything about how to deal with shellac.
When I was in Canadian Tire staring at their paint cans I asked the kid if they have shellac, it should be in buttons or flakes I have to mix.
He looked at me like I was an alien and said "I don’t know about buttons but we have some in cans, they’re right there", as he poked them with his finger.

The amber shellac I bought is in a 473ml can made by Zinsser for Bulls Eye Shellac, Can Tire # 47719 00718.

It worked great, and I have you two guys to thank for it.
This is after all, just a fun stump shooting SKS, not a Weatherby.
This refurb is a free gift for one of my younger brothers.

And besides, Playing with the shellac on this refurb is minor.
curtton and some of you are going to freak out when I post my experiences with drilling and tapping the receiver of my Moving Target unissued to install the Choate mount I bought from sksman.
As you are no doubt aware I have to cut and file the stock a bit to make it fit.
Hence the experimentation with the shellac.

Today I ordered three 8-40 UNS taps and four #28 drill bits from Brownells to put that Choate on with a Bushnell 4 interchange reticle red dot I have sitting here new in the box.

I have no interest in safe queens of any sort, I shoot everything I own.

 

[kwhunter]

I have no interest in safe queens of any sort, I shoot everything I own.

True, a gun is made and purchased to be shot.
Besides, the SKS is not one of the rarest guns on earth, neither is it (yet) very valuable and collectable; a former combat rifle that didn't see any major action during its lifespan, made in the millions and spread around the globe.
It has value just for whoever owns it, and I personally like to have one in it's original condition and configuration, should I fire it or not.

 

[ki11ercane]

True, a gun is made and purchased to be shot.
Besides, the SKS is not one of the rarest guns on earth, neither is it (yet) very valuable and collectable; a former combat rifle that didn't see any major action during its lifespan, made in the millions and spread around the globe.
It has value just for whoever owns it, and I personally like to have one in it's original condition and configuration, should I fire it or not.

I guess like hockey cards, the value is in the market that wants it. I want a 1949 Tula SKS to finish off my Tula arsenal date collection from 1949 to 1955/56. I also want SKS's from Germany, Vietnam, and Albania arsenals. (I'lkl pay $1000.00 for a true Albanian SKS) If anyone had one and they considered it their "shooter" I guess for them it's only worth under $200.00 and I'd be more than excited to take it off their hands for that value.

The Chinese SKS's are a great example of a shooter with great potential. Too many of them were horribly finished, and some of them were amazingly finished. I have SKS D's I'd never touch the finishes on and some Chinese ones with finishes so bad they hurt the eyes to look at. I have bought and rescued some horrible SKS's and rebuilt them back to some sense of glory and respect with only a little elbow grease and some bore cleaner.

 

[gommee]

I have a shooter that has a light laminate stock. I really do not want to remove any of the stamps from the factory. I am going to strip the finish with Circa 1850, lightly sand the rough edges, use a cherry stain, and finish it off with linspeed oil. The linspeed oil will give it a duller finish, but when it is completely dry, it leaves the surface of the wood hard enough to take some abuse.

For those looking for info on shellac flakes and buttons: htt p://www.shellac.net/

 

[BWEST]

I prepare my own shellac, the one in the can is generally old and has some preservatives.
I buy flakes or buttons and dissolve in denaturated alcohol; if you want it to dry slowlier use isopropyl alcohol instead (rubbing alcohol) and it won't leave brush marks.
The problem with the old shellac on the rifles is that it is contaminated with the creosote they used to preserve the wood and with cosmoline used to preserve the gun; age is another issue, and it won't mix well with the fresh shellac.
Therefore my advice is: either strip it completely and redo the finish from scratch or leave it as it is.

----Thanks, kwhunter, for all this info, this Shellac business, is a new one for me, used to dealing with Walnut and Oil, -- Very Much appreciated !!!!

 

[BWEST]

Kwhunter and gommee, it was your posts in other threads that provided me with a basic knowledge about the shellac finish on our SKS’s.

Before your posts I didn’t know anything about how to deal with shellac.
When I was in Canadian Tire staring at their paint cans I asked the kid if they have shellac, it should be in buttons or flakes I have to mix.
He looked at me like I was an alien and said "I don’t know about buttons but we have some in cans, they’re right there", as he poked them with his finger.

The amber shellac I bought is in a 473ml can made by Zinsser for Bulls Eye Shellac, Can Tire # 47719 00718.

It worked great, and I have you two guys to thank for it.
This is after all, just a fun stump shooting SKS, not a Weatherby.
This refurb is a free gift for one of my younger brothers.

And besides, Playing with the shellac on this refurb is minor.
curtton and some of you are going to freak out when I post my experiences with drilling and tapping the receiver of my Moving Target unissued to install the Choate mount I bought from sksman.
As you are no doubt aware I have to cut and file the stock a bit to make it fit.
Hence the experimentation with the shellac.

Today I ordered three 8-40 UNS taps and four #28 drill bits from Brownells to put that Choate on with a Bushnell 4 interchange reticle red dot I have sitting here new in the box.

I have no interest in safe queens of any sort, I shoot everything I own.

X 2, Norton, -----I,m glad that it wasn,t just me, I went into town looking for buttons and flakes, and the guy that run a large paint store, looked at me the same way, like I needed a Home, after I told him about a site called, shellac.com , he was truly amazed !!! and Thank,s for the info on Can- Tire , and that stock number, much appreciated !! Gota love all this !!!

 

[Fenix.NZ]

ive just got myself a chinese SKS carbine, its still in its grease bag bathing in sweet cosmoline.
i want to refinish the stock, either in a deep dark red so it looks like its from the Motherland.. or else i want to try and go for the pepper laminate route.

a grey and black kind of finish.. anyone tried this before? how would i go about it ? bleach the wood out and then use a grey stain ? if such a thing exists

 

[ki11ercane]

ive just got myself a chinese SKS carbine, its still in its grease bag bathing in sweet cosmoline.
i want to refinish the stock, either in a deep dark red so it looks like its from the Motherland.. or else i want to try and go for the pepper laminate route.

a grey and black kind of finish.. anyone tried this before? how would i go about it ? bleach the wood out and then use a grey stain ? if such a thing exists

There is a specific Minwax stain that a dead ringer to Russian Red, however the color evades me right now.

For grey stain you should wipe off all the cosmo, wash with paint thinner, dry, sand, then stain. Use a stain with a urethane finish.

If you want the wood to be bleached the "medium" method is regular non-ordorized household bleach. It does work.

So far I have only done BLO after sanding and staining to create "blonde" stocks. But you should really do BTO for water protection.

 

[Mr. Cam]

I have a Yugo M59, I believe the wood is birch, and I stripped and sanded and refinished the stock with Tung oil, came out great, a true blonde.