refinishing a mulsurp stock

[Soybomb]

So I think I'm going to refinish the stock on my rough beech K31. Apparently the original finish was an amber shellac. I'm not much of a wood worker but my understanding is as far as water resistance and durability go, shellac might not be all that ideal of a choice. I'm not such a purist that I feel like I can't use something different.

In the past I've used formby's low gloss tung oil on a sks stock and was quite pleased with how it looks. I'm assuming it is some sort of polyurethane blend and pretty durable and protective. I've also heard good things about tru-oil which is some sort of linseed oil finish. Some people say its harder and more water resistant than the tung/poly stuff, some the other way around.

I'm curious what you guys think. Have I underrated the protective ability of shellac? Would my formby's tung or tru-oil linseed be better?

 

[DMK]

I don't know about better. I've stripped shellac off 20 and 50 year old rifles and the wood looked brand new underneath. Obviously, it protected the wood just fine.

That said, Formsby's and Minwax Tung Oil finish is pretty good at protecting the wood as well. I don't believe it uses any polymers, but is a blend of tung oil and some drying agents to make a varnish like finish. It's main strong point is it's easy to apply and get a good finish.

Either way you'll get a good finish, but Tung finish will not look like shellac.

 

[BsChoy]

I like Birchwood Caseys Tru Oil cut 50/50 or 60/40 Min spirits to tru oil and rub it in with your fingers until dry in small sections. Let dry for a couple hours repeat with light buffings of 0000 steel wool between. There are many ways to do this however and the best part is experimentation with each rifle I do I find some small way to do it diff/better/easier.

 

[jkingrph]

I used to use Tru oil with good results, but in the last 10-12 years it seems as though it gives too glossy of a finish, same is true of the Formby tung oil which is really a varnish.

Lately I have been using a mixture called "Skacum" oil, which I found on doublegunshop.com forums. It is a mixture of boiled linseed oil, carnuba wax,gum turpentine and venetian turpentine, the latter of which is used on horses hooves and is found in vet suppliers as well as artists supply houses.
Apparently it functions as a dryier. It must be heated to make the wax dissolve into the mixture.

This is allegedly a general formula that is used on high grade British shotguns.

I recently used it to "refresh" the finish on a couple of Swedish Mauser, and a nice little Gruella sxs shotgun and have been extremely pleased with the results.

It's not as fast as the commercial finishes but looks far better, and is easier to use. About one or two finger dips for an entire stock (full stock military) rub in well. Follow the old once daily for a week, once weekly for a month ect and I think you will be pleased.

 

[ROMAK IV]

I use Minwax's Marine Spar varnish, ans it works very well even in the spray can. You end up with a durable and waterproof high gloss, or you cab use a satin finish. It ends up like automotive clear coat and can be wetsanded in between coats and compounded to get a superior finish. With the last stock, I used the spray cans and didn't need to do any sanding.

 

[Soybomb]

I don't know about better. I've stripped shellac off 20 and 50 year old rifles and the wood looked brand new underneath. Obviously, it protected the wood just fine.

My impression with the swiss rifles was that they seemed to see a rather rough wet service life and often water did get in to damage the stock. I figured we'd have some more modern alternatives today.

Thanks guys, I'll read up a little more and see what I think. I think I'll be making 2 test strips under the butt plate and see what a coat or two of each looks like.

 

[DMK]

My impression with the swiss rifles was that they seemed to see a rather rough wet service life and often water did get in to damage the stock.

Well, the Swiss serviceman took great care of the bore, but they beat the heck out of the wood. If you stack your rifles in the snow and bang the stocks against the cleats on your boots, I don't think any finish is going to hold up very well.

 

[pinstripe]

I refinished my k31 about a year ago. I used Minwax with polyurethane. I sanded the stock down 120/220/400 then added 2 coats of Maple satin (satin, not gloss, wouldn't look right on a mil surp)then let the stock dry for a day. Final step was #000 steel wool and a final coat. When the final coat dried, I rubbed the stock down 1 more time with #000 steel wool. Slick and pretty. The polyurethane is a good protector and will not let water under your fnish.
Good luck and let's see some pictures when you are done.

 

[cracked butt]

From what I've read, the K-31s had a finish that was a mixture of linseed oil and shellac.

I tried this myself- mixed orange bullseye shellac 50/50 with BLO. It makes a sort of emulsion, but the BLO sort of helps 'lubricate' the application of the shellac giving a very nice even durable finish. Unlike tung or BLO, shellac is very water resistant.

 

[Soybomb]

Well I decided to try the tru-oil out and have a couple coats on and I'm not entirely happy. It did bring a little bit more color to it but I thought I was going to get a little more amber color from it than I did. I'm not sure if I want to leave it as is or not.

 

[Mark whiz]

Soybomb, I redid a stock a couple years ago and it came out really well. I documented my procedure with pics here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/markwhiz

Maybe you can get a few ideas if you see anything you like.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

I use a spit coat and Behr's #600

ZM