SIR/Cabela SKS pics

louthepou said:
Yup, my stock begs for it, needs it. Will clean it first with Methyl Hydrate, then a fresh coat of shellac, that's all.

If there are parts that have excess shellac on your stock, light cleaning with methyl hydrate may be just what is required. the m.h. will disolve the shellac and "redistribute" it more evenly, even remove excess, depending how careful or lucky or skillful you are :)

Shellac is not the easiest finish to apply evenly on uneven surfaces though. But that's what goes on a Russian SKS, no matter how ugly it is...

Lou
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I was going to ask how to finish these stocks.

So Methyl Hydrate is the stuff to use? I was wondering what mineral spirits would do to the stock finish?

I want to strip one down completely and refinish with a lighter shade, because it is really dark and I can hardly see the wood grain. Not to mention, it is really rough to the touch with a sloppy shellac job.

Another, I would just like to have more evenness to the stain, rather than random blotchy patches.
 
Yup, methyl hydrate disolves the old shellac. If you don't like the first new coat you put on the stock, you just remove it again with shellac. Until you're satisfied. That's the cool thing about shellac.
 
louthepou said:
Yup, methyl hydrate disolves the old shellac. If you don't like the first new coat you put on the stock, you just remove it again with shellac. Until you're satisfied. That's the cool thing about shellac.
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Thanks, Lou!

I'll pick some up at Canadian Tire.
 
louthepou said:
Yup, methyl hydrate disolves the old shellac. If you don't like the first new coat you put on the stock, you just remove it again with shellac. Until you're satisfied. That's the cool thing about shellac.
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when removing the shellac , would it also remove the blotchy pattern on the wood?
 
curtton said:
when removing the shellac , would it also remove the blotchy pattern on the wood?
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Well, I suppose it's possible, if you mean simply evening out the shellac without removing too much, thus avoiding the need to recoat; in a way, just use methyl hydrate to "clean" the stock a bit. But I think it'd be difficult to gauge this as you're rubbing the stock with the methyl hydrate. In any case coating the stock with the shellac isn't easy either if you're aiming for perfection - and really, a prefect, super-even coat on the SKS would be slightly out of character in my opinion :)

Spcamno said:
What exactly is "Shellac"?

Is it like a stain?

Can I get color with shellac and how to apply?
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Shellac is a wood finish made from some bug secretion. in Asia, these bugs secrete a hard stuff to protect their eggs. That protective casing is harvested and turned into a wood finish... Cool stuff! Relatively easy to apply - follow the instructions on the bottle :) I use a lint-free cloth personally. Be advised that shellac has a short shelf life, from a few to several months once the bottle is opened.

Lou
 
Has anybody else here been delivered a rifle that has been poorly packaged and possibly received dents in the stock on account of it?

For the first time in ten years of dealing with SIR, they decided to ship the rifle via UPS. Calling UPS after their first delivery attempt, they were unable to redirect my package before being sent out for the second delivery attempt to my place, but still failed to deliver it to the secondary address the following day (a UPS store that charges to hold the package). Since I won't be able to pick it up on Friday, I may have to travel nearly an hour each direction to pick up and take home the two rifles on Saturday, which will basically upset my plans for half a day, I've called SIR, UPS several times, visited the UPS store and called them three times, and I'll still have to either go out of my way to pick up the rifles or wait until Monday to stop by the store on my way home!

I would have been willing to wait, or simply call SIR and tell them to take back the rifles and ship them again via Canada Post at their expense, but with the talk of poor packaging, I want to know asap whether these rifles are still in decent shape, especially after being bounced all over the city for the past week. And if they are beat up, I'd like to know whether SIR has a few cancellated orders from which they may be able to provide a suitable replacement......unfortunately they were closed by the time I found out that the rifles haven't arrived, not a very fun situation after a year's wait.

Okay, Rant Mode Off! If I weren't a gun owner complaining about mail service, this would be the place to insert a joke about going "postal," lol!

But seriously, is the packaging issue something to worry about in such a situation?

Frank
 
louthepou said:
Well, I suppose it's possible, if you mean simply evening out the shellac without removing too much, thus avoiding the need to recoat; in a way, just use methyl hydrate to "clean" the stock a bit. But I think it'd be difficult to gauge this as you're rubbing the stock with the methyl hydrate. In any case coating the stock with the shellac isn't easy either if you're aiming for perfection - and really, a prefect, super-even coat on the SKS would be slightly out of character in my opinion :)



Shellac is a wood finish made from some bug secretion. in Asia, these bugs secrete a hard stuff to protect their eggs. That protective casing is harvested and turned into a wood finish... Cool stuff! Relatively easy to apply - follow the instructions on the bottle :) I use a lint-free cloth personally. Be advised that shellac has a short shelf life, from a few to several months once the bottle is opened.

Lou
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Thanks for your info!

So can I use shellac on any wood finish?

What is the benefit to use it instead of the traditional way by staining the wood then apply finish?

Which is more durable?
 
The blotchy wood is caused by the creosote they treat the stock with. I think it adds 'character' to the rifle.

To remove it, you would have to get rid of all the shellac, and then find something that would remove creosote.

A treatment of alcohol, then a fresh thin coat of new shellac sounds about right to me. Easy to redo, in a few years, if needed.

Or maybe a coat of satin urothane.
 
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Spcamno said:
Thanks for your info!

So can I use shellac on any wood finish?

What is the benefit to use it instead of the traditional way by staining the wood then apply finish?

Which is more durable?
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Apply shellac on bare wood, or wood that already has shellac. It's pretty much a unique type of finish, difficult to compare with oil finishes, or more modern types.
 
Poor Little SKS received some love

Ok, here are the promised pictures.

Again, I was dumb and forgot to take "before" pics of the whole rifle. Imagine a dark, dirty, oily stock with scratches (from poor packaging), and chipping shellac spots. I cleaned the old shellac (not down to the bare wood, probably removed about half the thickness), that brought out some (sort of) nice wood details. I then gave it three or four thin coats. I removed most of the paint from the bolt, but my dremel tool died so the fine detail work on that bolt in tight spots isn't finished.

Before, close ups:

Here, note the paint flaking off the firing pin.
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Here, note the sand everywhere...
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Two "after" pics. Note the fresh dents on the stock - that was from bad packaging, not old damages from Russia:
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louthepou is right when he states;
Yup, methyl hydrate disolves the old shellac. If you don't like the first new coat you put on the stock, you just remove it again with shellac. Until you're satisfied. That's the cool thing about shellac.
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But inorder to remove the cosmo buy a product called Mohawk Wax Wash. Saturate the wood with a cloth and let dry. Repeat this process many times over until the cosmo is gone. To check if the cosom has been removed just simply rub a very tiny amount of water on the bare wood with ether your finger or cloth and it will reveal the spots that will require more work. Make sure that the wood is dry before re-aplying more coats of wax wash. For a strong shellac finish go to Sherman Williams and ask them for there strongest out door clear shellac base finish. If plaining on staining the wood I recomend a water based stain shuch products as Burchwood Gun Stock Stain or my favorite Old Masters Stain and aply 24 hours after the last wax wash. Please remember all of these checmicals are highly toxic and should be used in a well ventilated area and also rubber gloves are recommended. If there is major cracks or other inperfections on the wood that you wold like removed please post pic and I will give you some extra tips on fixing them.
 
Satain said:
louthepou is right when he states;

But inorder to remove the cosmo buy a product called Mohawk Wax Wash. Saturate the wood with a cloth and let dry. Repeat this process many times over until the cosmo is gone. To check if the cosom has been removed just simply rub a very tiny amount of water on the bare wood with ether your finger or cloth and it will reveal the spots that will require more work. Make sure that the wood is dry before re-aplying more coats of wax wash. For a strong shellac finish go to Sherman Williams and ask them for there strongest out door clear shellac base finish. If plaining on staining the wood I recomend a water based stain shuch products as Burchwood Gun Stock Stain or my favorite Old Masters Stain and aply 24 hours after the last wax wash. Please remember all of these checmicals are highly toxic and should be used in a well ventilated area and also rubber gloves are recommended. If there is major cracks or other inperfections on the wood that you wold like removed please post pic and I will give you some extra tips on fixing them.
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Having never experienced cosmoline first hand, i'm not sure that my SIR sks is afflicted.. It seems to be heavily oiled (metal and stock) but nothing thick or vaseline-like.
What do others say about their SIR rifles? cosmo or no?

I was just gonna try the methyl hydrate and shellac treatment, and maybe sanding down the rotting wood near the mag??

IMG_1070.jpg
 
mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=164&atomz=1
Removes wax and oils from surfaces. A blend of solvents which in one application will remove wax and oil from any surface. Prior to applying a new finish or spot repair, clean surface with Wax Wash™ remover. The presence of oil or wax on a surface will retard drying of a new finish which can be avoided by cleaning with Wax Wash™ remover. Naphtha or alcohol by themselves will not remove all foreign matter as well as this product. Good to use on furniture, woodwork and appliances prior to refinishing.
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Montreal
jacquescoulombe.com/mohawk.htm
Jacques Coulombe Ltd
AIRBRUSHES, WOODTURNING AND WOODCARVING TOOLS
6815 Belanger St. East, Montreal, (Quebec) H1M 3E9

Vancouver
Mohawk Western Finishing Supplies Ltd.
1565 Kent Ave North East
Vancouver, BC V5P 4Y7

Sorry these are the only two places I know of in Canada.
 
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rpotter said:
Having never experienced cosmoline first hand, i'm not sure that my SIR sks is afflicted.. It seems to be heavily oiled (metal and stock) but nothing thick or vaseline-like.
What do others say about their SIR rifles? cosmo or no?

I was just gonna try the methyl hydrate and shellac treatment, and maybe sanding down the rotting wood near the mag??

IMG_1070.jpg
Click to expand...

That wood seems to be rotting in a pretty bad spot. There is two things that you can do in this matter. One remove as much of the rotten wood as possible. Then grease the duck bill magazine and close. Get yourself a glass bedding kit and mix up some resin then use the resin to fill in the areas that you have removed the wood. Two hours later get a pop sickle stick and lightly lube it so it wont stick to the resin and press down on the visible area. This will give you some "grain" texture to your smooth surface. Allow to dry for 24 hours then disassemble the rifle and proceed to stain and shellac it. Although I would recommend finding a new wood stock. This is due to the fact that every time you have to clean your rifle you will need to disassemble the duck bill magazine and reassemble it. When wood starts to rot from the inside out it will be hard to entirely remove the effected area and also glass bedding only lasts for so long.
 
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