Re-finishing my Mosin MN44 this weekend-Help???

Many people did not like the Snipper rifle with the Krylon painted stock but I did manage to strip the stock fairly easily with paint stripper from Ace Hardware. It took a couple of applications but worked like a dream. Use high pressure (Garden hose nozzle) water to wash the stripper out of cracks and crevices, use a ragged out towel to dry. Finish drying with your wifes hair dryer.

Getting out the oil stains that crept in under the varnish is the hardest part.

Removing the springs that retain the stock rings is a pain in the butt but with careful applicatin of a very thin punch it can be done. Or you can finish around them but be sure to heat them up enough to get them dry and lightly oil them when you have finished to prevent rust.

I would finish around the brass bosses where the sling dog collers attach, they are hard to remove if they are the press in type and easily bent. Mine ended up in the trash can.

Keep us posted

i refinished mine with a mahogany red stain followed by tung oil cut with mineral spirits for a few coats, final coat was hand rubbed. came out so close to factory color with a tough finish. nbut stain color may vary woth yours. also, i stripped with 000 or 0000 steel wool and denatured alcohol, worked like a charm.

Use red oak finish if possible, the red mohagany (and other mohagany) stains will often have oils and such that end up repelling finishes. They can be a real pain for beginners.

I used an ebony stain on mine, the wood may not take stain well depending on how much oil and cosmoline is soaked up in it. Mine came out nice.

Oven cleaner works very well for stripping a stock. Spray it on, wait a few minutes, then wash it thoroughly and repeat as needed. Just be VERY careful with the stuff and wear rubber gloves. It's made from lye and is very corrosive. You don't want this stuff on your skin or in your eyes. And make sure you get all of it off before refinishing. I doubt leaving lye on a stock long term would do it any good.

love that ebony job! i want one like that!

I stripped my 91/30 using Acetone and paint thinner. It took a couple days as I would work it one day let is sit and return. Here's my tip. Once you get the barrel/trigger stuff all removed take a close up picture of the color under the barrel up by the first retainer. Also look at the top piece and check the inside wood for color.

I took two photo's and then spent some time with my local Hardware store paint guy and we wound up mixing two stains in order to get the color to match.

It's amazing just how much cosmoline there is in the wood.. The rag keeps coming out yellow

KKKKFL

I am not familiar with the Mosin so I don't know what wood the stock is manufactured with. I refinished my SKS stock (oak) with plain Boiled linseed oil and it came out pretty good IMO. I could have used a stain as well but it didn't take any stain all that well. A little BLO and fine grade bronze wool and it looks like this.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r261/omaney/100B0440.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r261/omaney/100_0481.jpg

I do not like shellac much, but Deft Clear wood finish works well if you want a clear coat.

Well I appreciate the advice, and I could literally strip the stock with a fingernail (LOL), but can anyone identify the color of the stock, and an oil that will nearly or perfectly match that color? I don't want to change it's color unless I have to.

Go to the hardware or paint store and get a color guide and match up the chips to the color you have now. Keep in mind that the varnish on the stock now may well have darkened or yellowed over the years. I would guess that the finish was probably clear or near clear when first applied years ago. It might even be a second coat of varnish that was applied somewhere in the guns history.

If it is not going to be the original finish, why does it have to be the original color?

You might just strip it, sand it and stain it and then apply a linseed oil/wax finish. Or leave out the stain and whatever color it turns out it turns out.