FIVETWOSEVEN
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I want to refinish my Mosin Nagant with a finish similar to its original finish and I would like to know whats the best way to strip the Original paint and the best paint to reapply to it.
Best way to refinish a Mosin Nagant?
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eddism
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take it by the barrel and wack it across a oak stump. best thing to ever happen to it.
Oooo, a can o' worms for sure! You're going to hear at least a hundred ways to do it.
Dawn Power Dissolver will strip it off, as will many other things. I place my stock in the bathtub, spray it thickly with the DPD and let it soak a few minutes, then scrub with a brush. Rinse with hot, soapy water as good as you can, towel dry, and let it dry in the sun for a few days. DPD is like a mild oven cleaner, so use rubber gloves and eye protection, it's a skin irritant.
Then there's a whole slew of stains, finishes and other concoctions that people use, and of course, the camp that will say leave it alone to begin with. I "think" the Russians used regular old varnish on them, but my Mosin looked like it was varnished with a dirty sock instead of a brush.
I have an M38 stripped right now and ready to sand, I'm going to finish it with Fairtrimmer's Military oX and Tom's 1/3 military stock wax. Find 'em both with Google.
Dawn Power Dissolver will strip it off, as will many other things. I place my stock in the bathtub, spray it thickly with the DPD and let it soak a few minutes, then scrub with a brush. Rinse with hot, soapy water as good as you can, towel dry, and let it dry in the sun for a few days. DPD is like a mild oven cleaner, so use rubber gloves and eye protection, it's a skin irritant.
Then there's a whole slew of stains, finishes and other concoctions that people use, and of course, the camp that will say leave it alone to begin with. I "think" the Russians used regular old varnish on them, but my Mosin looked like it was varnished with a dirty sock instead of a brush.
I have an M38 stripped right now and ready to sand, I'm going to finish it with Fairtrimmer's Military oX and Tom's 1/3 military stock wax. Find 'em both with Google.
ijosef
Member
Yep, a lot of things can take the finish off an old Mosin stock. Oven cleaner is one, and of course all of the paint and varnish strippers that are sold at hardware and home improvement stores will work. BIX Tough Job paste remover will eat the finish right off a Mosin stock no problem.
The guy at Box O Truth refinished three Mosin Nagant rifles and did a write up of the process, so you can see if you like his method:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu96.htm
The guy at Box O Truth refinished three Mosin Nagant rifles and did a write up of the process, so you can see if you like his method:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu96.htm
Lorenzo Rojo
Member
+1 on theboxotruth.com
This dude knows an awful lot about refinishing milsurps a number of different ways and cheap. The photos show he gets beautiful results.
This dude knows an awful lot about refinishing milsurps a number of different ways and cheap. The photos show he gets beautiful results.
OP
OP
FIVETWOSEVEN
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Sorry about not being specific but I'm refering to the Metal, the original paint job is sloppy and worn in places.
sniper5
Member
Well, if you are refinishing you will be more interested in appearance than authenticity. Probably the closest you could come to the original would be to have it bead blasted and duracoated in black. That should be pretty close. I am not sure about the original finishing technique but looking at mine it looks like it would probably be something difficult to duplicate. Black duracoat looks like it would be so close that it would be tough to tell the difference.
Original finish on most Mosin Nagant stocks is lacquer. Lacquer is alcohol soluble. You can do a lot on a MN with a few paper towels and some denatured alcohol-brisk rubbing with alcohol soaked rags or paper toweling will degrease, lift dirty finish and dissolve and redistribute the existing finish. Of course you can go further and get fancier but a good alkie rubdown followed by a coat of paste wax will purty up an old warhorse Mosin rather well.
OP
OP
FIVETWOSEVEN
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I don't feel like doing a search but how hard is it to duracoat? Is it easy for a beginner?
sniper5
Member
Duracoating is a two part painting process, similar to an epoxy, that is applied with an airbrush. It is extremely durable and considered a lifetime finish. They sell a kit through the manufacturer (google duracoat) that has everything including canned air for the airbrush that comes with the kit. It is actually pretty simple if you follow the instructions.
Clark
Member
Last month I asked my brother to TIG weld a steel mount to the rear of a 91/30 receiver.
So he sand blasted the mount and the receiver, the whole receiver!
I was worried that would make the bolt lug abutments and the bolt bore rough, but a couple strokes with the bolt and it was smooth again.
The milled and filed Picatinny rail maybe too smooth, but the sand blasted receiver steel soaks up G96 and Oxpho cold blue or paint like fresh plowed ground soaks up pee.
OP
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FIVETWOSEVEN
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I don't have that equipment so whats the best way to remove the finish with more common tools like sandpaper?
MissouriCrowinMass
Member
I'm not into authenticity.
I just like my rifles to look nice. I remove the wood and use Strip-Ease and wash several times with mineral spirits. I let dry and afterward VERY lightly sand with 100 grit paper. I leave the dings & dongs for "character". I just try to get the wood smooth & clean. I have a pretty close stain to the original color (I can find the can if your interested?). After staining I use a few coats of Satin Formby's Tung Oil Finish which is really a fast drying rub-on varnish with an oil finish look. Between coats I rub the stocks with a plastic scouring pad.
I buff up the butt-plate and cold blue on the steel. Lastly, I put a little piece of Romex wire insulation on the front sight to cut down the range from 2 million yards to something reasonable.
They come out looking pretty nice if you are driving by the Rifle Range at 40 mph. I've used Poly for a finish. Very durable but if you go that route, the low-gloss poly looks closer to an oil finish.
I'm not a guy with super-patience. I admire those guys that steam out the "dings & dongs" and then use 22-coats of Sperm Whale Oil rubbed in with a Squirrel -tail counterclockwise but that's not for me. My way looks a little better than flaking 70-year old Russian Shellac and you can start shooting in a week.
I just like my rifles to look nice. I remove the wood and use Strip-Ease and wash several times with mineral spirits. I let dry and afterward VERY lightly sand with 100 grit paper. I leave the dings & dongs for "character". I just try to get the wood smooth & clean. I have a pretty close stain to the original color (I can find the can if your interested?). After staining I use a few coats of Satin Formby's Tung Oil Finish which is really a fast drying rub-on varnish with an oil finish look. Between coats I rub the stocks with a plastic scouring pad.
I buff up the butt-plate and cold blue on the steel. Lastly, I put a little piece of Romex wire insulation on the front sight to cut down the range from 2 million yards to something reasonable.
They come out looking pretty nice if you are driving by the Rifle Range at 40 mph. I've used Poly for a finish. Very durable but if you go that route, the low-gloss poly looks closer to an oil finish.
I'm not a guy with super-patience. I admire those guys that steam out the "dings & dongs" and then use 22-coats of Sperm Whale Oil rubbed in with a Squirrel -tail counterclockwise but that's not for me. My way looks a little better than flaking 70-year old Russian Shellac and you can start shooting in a week.
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ronbuick
Member
what is it that your trying to say by wacking it over a tree stump, you must show me with yours on how its done and how the finish turns out!!
Ron
Ron
fireman 9731
Member
This is probably your best bet if you just want to touch up a few spots. Buy the kit for less than 20 bucks most places and its about as easy as it gets.
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/blueing_index.asp?categoryID=1&subcat=5
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/blueing_index.asp?categoryID=1&subcat=5
frogstomper
Member
I realize that this reply is way too late to help you, but perhaps others more currently will have a similar question. Here is my two cents. My Mosin-Nagant is quite the showpiece now, and the effort was fairly minimal.
About the MN.....it came all glopped up with cosmoline which actually seems to have been a great preservative. The gun is in excellent shape (barrel), very little rust, and the nicks and scratches can be cosmetically treated. My great fear was the cosmoline; I had heard lots of stories about how it just keeps leaking out after years of cleaning. Well, having earned a minor in chemistry at the UofArizona I determined that Simple Green, Gasoline, Mineral spirits and other products suggested by friends just wasn't going to be a quick and simple solution to purging that cosmoline barrier coat. So, I went to my secluded stash of diluents and concluded that the chemical structure of MEK, Acetone, Lacquer thinner were likely to be the correct solvents to use on this gun. I quickly discovered that I was right. I doused a rag in lacquer thinner and it easily dissolved the cosmoline totally from the outer surfaces of the rifle....including the stock. Next I poured some MEK (MethylEthylKetone) into the action and magazine. Cosmoline came gushing out like a dam had burst. It dries quickly and I could see that the metal had become decently clean. Next I force sprayed some brake parts cleaner (Walmart) over and through the iron parts to further remove any remaining MEK/cosmoline residue....also thru the barrel. The barrel took about 16 or 20 passes with Hoppe's 9 and Sweet's conditioner, along with some more brake parts cleaner. A bore light showed the bore to have become very clean, only bare metal showed inside, rifling was perfect. Ya just gotta get all that lead out that has been in there so long. So I oiled it up profusely with a few cotton patches soaked in a quality gun oil.
The gun is completely disassembled now, and the parts are shiny clean, no cosmoline is evident. The MEK also lifted the cosmoline out of the pores in the wood, and the total hue lightened up a bit showing the real wood color. Russians used very poor grade lumber back in those years. Sanding it down more and then wiping with a wet, water soaked rag made the good looking grain stand up. I sanded the grain down smooth again and then applied some Red Oak (Min-Wax) stain. After it dried I sprayed three coats of polyurathane gloss over the entire wood stock, let dry for three days, lightly brushed with fine steel wool, cleaned the dust off with mineral spirits, and applied another three coats of polyurathane gloss (hold the spray can about 12-18 inches away from the wood.
It came out beautiful...a nice reddish hue that the Russians seem to be fond of. After letting dry another three days I rubbed it hard with a dry corduroy cloth, and applied an automotive sealer and glaze. That was shiny enough, but when I added my expensive carnauba wax as a finishing coat and rubbed it to a brilliant gloss, it looks like the 'lacquer' is still wet and ready to drip off the wooden stock. The Mosin now hangs proudly in my living room as a tribute to a WWII relic that has been restored to a real showpiece.
During the war the Russians didn't take the time to make the 91/30 look nice...they just threw a coat of varnish over the wood and got them out to the troops ASAP. It doesn't take much to turn it into a beauty. In the near future I will take it apart again and sand down (emory) the black iron and replace it with some bluing by heating the iron and applying the blue. I will also polish the trigger mechanism some. I'm almost afraid to shoot it now -- it looks so good -- but I'm gonna.
Well, that's it. I have had a little experience in refinishing wood products. My main concern was the cosmoline, but the MEK and Lacquer thinner did a thorough and excellent job with no fuss, no muss. I tried gasoline at first...what a joke...!!!
FS
About the MN.....it came all glopped up with cosmoline which actually seems to have been a great preservative. The gun is in excellent shape (barrel), very little rust, and the nicks and scratches can be cosmetically treated. My great fear was the cosmoline; I had heard lots of stories about how it just keeps leaking out after years of cleaning. Well, having earned a minor in chemistry at the UofArizona I determined that Simple Green, Gasoline, Mineral spirits and other products suggested by friends just wasn't going to be a quick and simple solution to purging that cosmoline barrier coat. So, I went to my secluded stash of diluents and concluded that the chemical structure of MEK, Acetone, Lacquer thinner were likely to be the correct solvents to use on this gun. I quickly discovered that I was right. I doused a rag in lacquer thinner and it easily dissolved the cosmoline totally from the outer surfaces of the rifle....including the stock. Next I poured some MEK (MethylEthylKetone) into the action and magazine. Cosmoline came gushing out like a dam had burst. It dries quickly and I could see that the metal had become decently clean. Next I force sprayed some brake parts cleaner (Walmart) over and through the iron parts to further remove any remaining MEK/cosmoline residue....also thru the barrel. The barrel took about 16 or 20 passes with Hoppe's 9 and Sweet's conditioner, along with some more brake parts cleaner. A bore light showed the bore to have become very clean, only bare metal showed inside, rifling was perfect. Ya just gotta get all that lead out that has been in there so long. So I oiled it up profusely with a few cotton patches soaked in a quality gun oil.
The gun is completely disassembled now, and the parts are shiny clean, no cosmoline is evident. The MEK also lifted the cosmoline out of the pores in the wood, and the total hue lightened up a bit showing the real wood color. Russians used very poor grade lumber back in those years. Sanding it down more and then wiping with a wet, water soaked rag made the good looking grain stand up. I sanded the grain down smooth again and then applied some Red Oak (Min-Wax) stain. After it dried I sprayed three coats of polyurathane gloss over the entire wood stock, let dry for three days, lightly brushed with fine steel wool, cleaned the dust off with mineral spirits, and applied another three coats of polyurathane gloss (hold the spray can about 12-18 inches away from the wood.
It came out beautiful...a nice reddish hue that the Russians seem to be fond of. After letting dry another three days I rubbed it hard with a dry corduroy cloth, and applied an automotive sealer and glaze. That was shiny enough, but when I added my expensive carnauba wax as a finishing coat and rubbed it to a brilliant gloss, it looks like the 'lacquer' is still wet and ready to drip off the wooden stock. The Mosin now hangs proudly in my living room as a tribute to a WWII relic that has been restored to a real showpiece.
During the war the Russians didn't take the time to make the 91/30 look nice...they just threw a coat of varnish over the wood and got them out to the troops ASAP. It doesn't take much to turn it into a beauty. In the near future I will take it apart again and sand down (emory) the black iron and replace it with some bluing by heating the iron and applying the blue. I will also polish the trigger mechanism some. I'm almost afraid to shoot it now -- it looks so good -- but I'm gonna.
Well, that's it. I have had a little experience in refinishing wood products. My main concern was the cosmoline, but the MEK and Lacquer thinner did a thorough and excellent job with no fuss, no muss. I tried gasoline at first...what a joke...!!!
FS
Sledgecrowbar
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I just stripped the shellac off of my stock, I'll also be stripping the metal and re-bluing all parts when the chemicals arrive. Does anyone try to take out the leaf springs that hold the stock collars in place, or the trim around the sling holes? I'd like to blue the springs if possible.
I can see that the steel trim around the loop for the dog collars are just crimped in by punching the tabs that fold inside the stock against the wood, but I haven't been able to get my smallest flathead screwdriver under them. I'm concerned about the leaf springs though, if they're barbed inside for retention, I will be destroying the wood around them by prying them out. Has anyone tried going into this much detail to refinish a M-N? The example I picked up is a nice one and I'd like to do a really nice job on it.
I can see that the steel trim around the loop for the dog collars are just crimped in by punching the tabs that fold inside the stock against the wood, but I haven't been able to get my smallest flathead screwdriver under them. I'm concerned about the leaf springs though, if they're barbed inside for retention, I will be destroying the wood around them by prying them out. Has anyone tried going into this much detail to refinish a M-N? The example I picked up is a nice one and I'd like to do a really nice job on it.
ColtPythonElite
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That's a good way to mess a good piece of oak.
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