I am toying with the idea of refinishing my SKS stock. It is a Chinese SKS with numbers matching except for the magazine. The stock has dried cosmo everywhere which has produced a whitish haze, as well as being tacky in a few places. I don’t want to sand, but just want to strip the old finish and apply a new one. I know this is a big no no on more collectible rifles but how much does this hurt resale values on SKS
Stock refinish
- Thread starter MattE93
- Start date
Not great for resale to purists, but not terrible... Actually, if you do a good job, it can actually increase the value on an old beat-up SKS. (From $200 to $250... lol.) The SKS is still common enough that it won't really kill you to do some tasteful, low-cost mods.
But, yeah, don't sand. Use mineral spirits to melt the cosmo. You might be happy just doing that...
Or, then use a good stripper to take off the finish, a heat gun to sweat out the cosmo deep in the wood, and then refinish.
They are actually a great platform to hone your refinishing skills on, as they are still so inexpensive. (Not that they are going to stay that way forever.)
But, yeah, don't sand. Use mineral spirits to melt the cosmo. You might be happy just doing that...
Or, then use a good stripper to take off the finish, a heat gun to sweat out the cosmo deep in the wood, and then refinish.
They are actually a great platform to hone your refinishing skills on, as they are still so inexpensive. (Not that they are going to stay that way forever.)
Thanks for the info. I will probably do that. For $200 it’s not like it’s a costly rifle to lose value on. I have already done a few small mods: added the hical slotted handguard, a rail, a 3x prism scope, and promag detachable mags. Only thing I want change now is a little stock refinish. Don’t like the glazed splotchy look of the dried cosmo.
Cosmline is far from difficult to remove, it's just time consuming. Start with mineral spirits and get as much off as possible. Remember to wipe down the stock with a clean/dry rag shortly after you've finished using the mineral spirits as it can leave a white residue behind once dried. If there's still more Cosmoline left, and it's entirely likely there will be some or lots soaked into the stock, then try using heat to get it to flow out.
Rona sells a type of "environmentally friendly" pain/finish stripper that works quite well on tough finishes, so you can use that to get the stock down to bare wood. Might need a really fine sand to drop any raised grain (if it occurs) say a 320 grit. BLO would work, but if you're going for the Russian/Chinese look shellac would be the most accurate.
Rona sells a type of "environmentally friendly" pain/finish stripper that works quite well on tough finishes, so you can use that to get the stock down to bare wood. Might need a really fine sand to drop any raised grain (if it occurs) say a 320 grit. BLO would work, but if you're going for the Russian/Chinese look shellac would be the most accurate.
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Bubba Yugga
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Midwestern Ontario
I'd rather use steel wool than any sandpaper.
Pine tar and shellac would most closely approximate Soviet finish.
Pine tar and shellac would most closely approximate Soviet finish.
I bought Chinese SKS for $200 to use it as a shooter. The stock was reddish-brown with a lots of dings. I did not like it. So I stripped the stock down and varnished it. Now it looks nice . The stock is light colour with dark dings that look like knots on a pine board.
Chefhunter
CGN Regular
- Location
- Maple ridge
Please post pictures, i'd like to know how it turns out and how you go about it.
When I clear Cosmoline off a stock I start with hot water and dishsoap and a scrub brush. If this is not enough I use non-bleach tylex or mineral spirits which is pretty effective. I try to only use soap and elbow grease though because tylex and mineral spirits seem to also lift some old Russian shellacs. I left them dry hanging in a warm area or with a fan on the stocks so they don't warp. Then when fully dried to preserve as much of the markings as possible I touch it with nothing more than fine steel wool before applying some linseed oil or true oil. I really like true oil if you are going to use the firearm in the woods or put some marks on it because it seems to harden and resist light damage and moisture. plus it looks sweet. True oil is applied in a light coat to a clean stock after a light buff with fine steel wool, same with linseed then let it dry (don't over apply) then buff the finish lightly with fine steel wool when dried again, do not wipe away the residue until you are nearing the last few applications and then switch from steel wool to a fibrous cloth or towel (I use surgical drapes from old surgical trays). this brings the stock up to a guitar finish shine depending on how many layers you put on, I generally do between 5 and 10.
Bubba Yugga
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Midwestern Ontario
I clean my soviet stocks with methyl hydrate, steel wool, and a butt load of elbow grease.
Once you think it's clean, put it in the sun for a couple days to sweat the cosmoline out.
Rinse, repeat.
My favourite solar oven is the rear window deck of my car.
Once totally dried, stain with redwood, then some walnut to subdue it a bit.
Mix 50/50 boiled linseed oil and turpentine, and give it a rub.
Rub rub and rub.
Some more mix and rub rub and rub.
Give it a couple of days between applications to make sure it doesn't get tacky.
Once it starts looking like something is there, switch to straight linseed oil and really rub it.
Give it more days, maybe a week between rubs.
Continue until you have the right finish.
You can top it off with auto wax if you really want to get stupid.
Once you think it's clean, put it in the sun for a couple days to sweat the cosmoline out.
Rinse, repeat.
My favourite solar oven is the rear window deck of my car.
Once totally dried, stain with redwood, then some walnut to subdue it a bit.
Mix 50/50 boiled linseed oil and turpentine, and give it a rub.
Rub rub and rub.
Some more mix and rub rub and rub.
Give it a couple of days between applications to make sure it doesn't get tacky.
Once it starts looking like something is there, switch to straight linseed oil and really rub it.
Give it more days, maybe a week between rubs.
Continue until you have the right finish.
You can top it off with auto wax if you really want to get stupid.
It's a time consuming process. I've used a lot of chemicals as a stripper to get the cosmo out but in the end my heat gun was the most effective. Mineral spirits are good because they don't hurt the wood. I used a product called super clean and it did hurt the top layer of wood a little but it did all sand off. I wouldn't recommend using super clean
I used the heat gun to heat up the stock to a hot the the touch temp, so gloves are necessary. Apply even and not direct heat to avoid scorching the wood and you'll see little spots of cosmoline bubble up, and wipe it off with a rag with some mineral spirits. Not a bad thing to soak the entire stock in mineral spirits until saturated before starting heating neither. Keep heating and wiping untill no more comes out or you get tired of it.
For stain I used a red coloured minwax, and polyurethane clear coat. Tru-oil also works well for clear coating but I find it's not quite as durable. Applying coats with a brush does tend to leave runs but between coats buff with 0000 steel wool to identify and buff out runs.
The finished product is really nice and worth it.
I used the heat gun to heat up the stock to a hot the the touch temp, so gloves are necessary. Apply even and not direct heat to avoid scorching the wood and you'll see little spots of cosmoline bubble up, and wipe it off with a rag with some mineral spirits. Not a bad thing to soak the entire stock in mineral spirits until saturated before starting heating neither. Keep heating and wiping untill no more comes out or you get tired of it.
For stain I used a red coloured minwax, and polyurethane clear coat. Tru-oil also works well for clear coating but I find it's not quite as durable. Applying coats with a brush does tend to leave runs but between coats buff with 0000 steel wool to identify and buff out runs.
The finished product is really nice and worth it.
