I bought a yugo about 3 weeks ago. Even with the cosmo on it I was suprised at how good of shape it was in. There were a few dents and dings, but so few that i figured it was worth trying to refinish the wood. I did some researching on different blogs.
The easiest and best thing is to take it all apart (
http://surplusrifle.com/sks/index.asp), then soak/wipe down ALL the metal parts including screws, sling swivel, and the rubber recoil pad, with mineral spirits. Then believe it or not, take the stock and the handguard and put it in the dishwasher on the heaviest wash you have. I used plain old cascade.
That step was a little controversial in all the blogs. So i decided to talk with some friends that have woodworking as a hobby about my concern with the wood splitting or warping. They all said that in order to split or warp the wood it needed to be steamed or soaked in hot water for at least 24 hours.
So i went ahead and put it in the dishwasher, I'm glad i did, the results were unbelievable. The wood came out as if it had just been aged and cut. COMPLETELY stain free, and all but completely dry. Only the holes into the stock showed any sign of being damp. I then let it sit overnight with a fan on it just to be sure it was totally dry. The smaller dents and dings has swollen out and were almost all gone. 220 sandpaper made it smooth as silk.
I decided i wanted to make the serial number stand out a little bit. so i took a plain black ballpoint pen and colored the indentation only of the serial number on the base of the stock. Then i followed the directions for the water-based minwax finish that i used in their "rose wood" color (
http://www.minwax.com/products/woodstain/waterbased-color.cfm) Finally I topped it all off with two coats of their "polycrylic". The serial number was a nice touch. And the look was complete with a braided leather sling. Could not believe how pretty this gun turned out. It looks a lot like the picture on jd46561's post, but has a rich dark amber color, and a slight bit more gloss. I know it can't be the original look but who cares, it's beautiful.