Yugo M48 refinish?

Mladen

Mladen

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So I was tinkering around my m48 a little while ago and wanted to know what you guys think about this small problem I am having.
You will notice that the hand guard is a bit overlapping.... Now the purists please refrain from making comments....
I am also thinking of refinishing the wood this summer in this manner that follows: I will remove all the parts and let the stock soak in the heat for 2-3 days this summer and after that refinish it.
Does any1 have any pics of what it looks like with true oil or any other finish you might have used.
Back to the hand guard question. I want to know is there a way to make it bend back so that it is flush with the stock. I do not want to sand it down because it will not look good at all. It does not bother me awful lot but it would be nice if it was flush. Is it possible for me to steam it and then slowly re-bent it in a gentle manner? or am I asking for trouble? I have another hand guard ready but it will need lots of sanding and is a bit under-lapped....
What do you guys think???
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I meant the kind of comments about why I should not even think about touching it and such..... If you have something interesting than go ahaid!!!
 
Other than scraping away value to a purist, no reason at all.

Your rifle, your call.

You're a big boy now, make up your own mind.

Just keep in mind, you bought the rifle to have an authentic M48. This is certainly authentic.

If you are really good at what you do, you can probably match up the offset without it being noticeable.

Anyway, if you're planning on keeping the rifle forever, it won't matter. Just keep in mind, these things will be collectable in the near future (10 years) Any noticeable alterations, will detract from value significantly.

I've run across a lot of guys that try to pass off rifles they've "fixed" as being completely original. I they ##### because I don't buy, I tell them why, without wasting many words.

Most back off pretty quickly.
 
So leaving the cosmoline in the stock is an ok thing to do in the long run.... I have no plans of selling this thing. I want to know what ppl have done to them and what the rifle looks like after the treatments. Also how hard it would be to re-shape the hand guard.
 
Honestly, leave it alone. Your only hurting its resale/ collector value. The wood appears very nice on your mauser as it is. I know thats not what you want to hear.
 
Does wood feel rough to the touch ? Usually these stocks have oils and what not impregnated into the wood so there isn't really a need to re-finish a good condition or better one IMO.

What I would do is hand rub some oil onto the wood, let it soak in, then apply a little bit more than lightly wipe dry and that should give you a nice fit and feel without harming the collector value.
 
Mladen said:
So leaving the cosmoline in the stock is an ok thing to do in the long run.... I have no plans of selling this thing. I want to know what ppl have done to them and what the rifle looks like after the treatments. Also how hard it would be to re-shape the hand guard.
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No, leaving the cosmo on the stock for the long term isn't a great idea. IMHO.

Wipe off as much as possible with a cloth or paper towel.

Then, apply some "Simple Green", which you can get at Canadian Tire or Real Canadian Wholesale store, as well as others.

Dampen a cloth or paper towel with the SG and wipe down the stock, then let it dry for a day.

Continue this treatment until you're happy with the results.

When you're happy you have as much cosmo out of the stock as possible, give the stock a very light coat of BLO. Let it soak in overnight, then wipe it down the next day with a cloth.

Repeat until you're happy.

One thing, if the stock feels sticky the next day, leave it until it feels dry.

Some people will use a bit of 000000 steel wool at this point. A very light buffing won't be noticed. Anything more aggressive will be noticed readily.
 
Thx guys. Maybe I should had put it in a different way. I want to see what others have done to their M48s. I do not plan on selling this one because I will buy another to use as a regular shooter. This one I want to keep for a very loooong time indeed. Hence the reason I am asking about the stock refinish. I want to keep the wood in good shape as long as possible.
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Mladen said:
Thx guys. Maybe I should had put it in a different way. I want to see what others have done to their M48s. I do not plan on selling this one because I will buy another to use as a regular shooter. This one I want to keep for a very loooong time indeed. Hence the reason I am asking about the stock refinish. I want to keep the wood in good shape as long as possible.
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When I first got mine (my first rifle by the way)
I used a heat gun on low to medium setting to bleed out all the cosmoline I could from the stock because it was almost as soft as mulch from soaking in it.
Just heat it out the best you can. Wipe it away with mineral spirits as it leaches out.
Then I used a couple sessions of hand rubbed boiled linseed oil/varsol mix to keep it in a nice original looking finish.
Alas I sold the old girl because while 8mm ammo is an awesome round and she was very accurate for a milsurp rifle, the ammo was far too expensive and hard to find in surplus.
Hope that helps chief :D
 
1) Due to the design of htehandguard with a thin web, if you sand it flush it won;t stay that way. As the wood bleeds and absorbs ambient moisture it will move around a bit. In all liklihood when it was made it was flush and your home has different humidity than the arsenal depot where it spent most of its life.

2) I would not use Tru-oil. If you must refinish it (I would not), then use a hand-rubbed finish like either BLO or pure tung oil or BLO/beeswax finish like they have at Lee valley. You can even get gloss if that's your thing. Tru-oil dies hard and is much harder to touch up if you scratch up the finish. It's also difficult to remove if you ever change your mind.

3) Avoid sandpaper. If you have to smooth things more than they are now, I would recommend naval bronze-wool. Steel wool also works, but with the porous furniture used on these, you'll end up with tiny bits of steel embedded between the wood grains which will oxidize over time and stain your wood with little black dots all over the place.

Wool will smooth the surface without losing the sharper contours and "melting" the lines of the rifle.
 
f**k resell value...unless you buy guns to brag about what you own and make a bit extra off them in 10+ years. I never get why the fist thought through peoples heads as soon as they buy a guy is "what can I get for this in a few years?!!?" Instead of I can't wait to go shoot and hunt with this. I like to shoot my guns not collect them like coke-a-cola pogs.

All your "purists" should LOVE bubba anyways, they will make your original that you leave in the safe worth more money.

Whats next...don't shoot modern ammo or put a modern sling on it or you will upset the purists? :jerkit:

PS. If you take off the ORIGINAL cosmo...you might be deducting yourself $0.50 off the resale vaule!!! Thats TWO, I repeat TWO gun balls people!!!
 
I used the heat gun when I first got it. It did remove some cosmo. The handguard came like that. I do not mind it much but hey, I does not hurt to ask anyways. So BLO is a good idea once I completely remove all the cosmo?
 
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