Refinishing Wood Stocks

[heypete]

Greetings all, I come seeking knowledge!

I have a 1939 Mosin-Nagant 91/30 rifle and a 195x Springfield Armory M1 Garand.

Although the metal on both these fine rifles is excellent, they shoot straight and true (I took the M1 to Front Sight and loved it!), the wood leaves much to be desired.

I certainly appreciate the historical significance of these rifles, I dislike guns that look to be in a state of disrepair -- I wish to refinish the guns to as close to their original appearance as possible. The finishes on both are uneven, somewhat rough, and in the case of the Mosin, peeling off in some parts. The M1 sweats oil like it's going out of style, which makes extended shooting sessions uncomfortable, and indeed dangerous when the rifle gets slippery and hot.

What would be the best means of stripping the existing finish (including the shellac from the nooks and crannies on the Mosin) from the rifles, smoothing the wood to remove and unevenness (while, of course, preserving cartouches and other historical markings), prepping the wood, applying a finish (what, specifically, do you recommend?), and taking some sort of final action (I'm not sure if a thin coat of wax should be applied, or some other type of sealant to prevent the oil from sweating, or how else to "complete" the finishing job)?

I have access to a Home Depot, Orchard Supply Hardware, and a variety of other establishments of that nature. I would prefer, if possible, to spend as little as possible on parts and chemicals due to present financial woes, but am willing to spend a small amount. My goal here is to restore them to their like-new condition and appearance, while remaining as historically accurate as possible.

Many thanks for your advice and input!

(Clarification: The wood on the rifles is in fine shape. It's the finish that's not so hot. Well, and some spots on the wood need to be sanded lightly to smooth them out a bit. But there's no splitting, cracking, or other damage.)

 

[Lupinus]

Any smooth areas just some good old sandpaper, a rougher one to do the bulk ork then a nice fine grit to smooth it out. Don't go crazy, jsut enough to remove it.

For the knooks, crannies, and any areas that have checkering or some such on them find a gentle finish stripper. Depending on the one they are easy or a pain, no specific brands come to mind though at the moment.

 

[-C4-]

Here is my process

1. Remove Cosmoline
2. Soak Stock
3. Strip Old Finish
4. Iron Stock
5. Sand Stock
6. Apply New Finish

A few notes. First when you are soaking the stock make sure not to soak it too long otherwise it can create cracks. Also I generally will only soak and iron if the stock has some serious dents I want to remove. As for the finish I personally like something like Danish/Tung Oil (TruOil is basically danish oil if I recall). For stripping just use some sort of commercial stripper. I have found that the "safe" strippers don't do anything.

-C4-

 

[BamBam-31]

I used Purple Power degreaser diluted in hot water to remove cosmo and shellac off my RC K98k. Brushed all of it off with a synthetic scouring pad. Steamed out some of the dings, let it dry overnight. Then rubbed in several coats of boiled linseed oil mixed with a bit of stain. Turned out pretty nice.

 

[chrisTx]

a wet rag and an iron. wet the rag and lay it over the stock, then iron over the rag. it will pull out the grease, the old finish, and the dents. then wipe on some tung oil. that's what i do to all of mine. sandpaper takes the character out of the gun and can damage the the finish if you just do it in one spot.

 

[Cosmoline]

I certainly appreciate the historical significance of these rifles, I dislike guns that look to be in a state of disrepair -- I wish to refinish the guns to as close to their original appearance as possible. The finishes on both are uneven, somewhat rough, and in the case of the Mosin, peeling off in some parts. The M1 sweats oil like it's going out of style, which makes extended shooting sessions uncomfortable, and indeed dangerous when the rifle gets slippery and hot.

The M1 shows signs of deep cosmoline penetration. This is usually the result of some IDIOT at an arsenal deciding to coat the entire rifle in cosmoline not just the metal parts. Cosmoline is great at preserverving metal but seriously degrades hardwoods, making them mushy and weak. With a seriously infected stock you can actually rip the surface grains with your finger nail!

There seems no doubt that you must strip and de-cosmoline the M-1 stock if you want it to withstand many years of shooting. The procedure to follow with a cosmoline stock is this:

1--Clean the stock with hot water rags and mild soap, rinsing with hot water. Clean it several times, but I 'd advise STRONGLY AGAINST using heavy detergents as they WILL damage your wood and tend to bleach out the color and character.

2--Use heavy sand paper in the 100 range to remove any remaining finish. If you have cosmo in your stock, the sand paper will tend to get gummed up very quickly. Try to get down to real wood.

3--Shift to lighter papers until you get to as clean a wood as possible, but DO NOT use fine paper yet to seal the grain. rub a damp cloth on the wood to open the grain back up.

4--With the grain open and wood exposed, I'd recommend using a slow method of cosmoline remover. A kitty litter filled garbage bag in the hot sun is a great non-invasive means of leaching cosmo out. Basically any way you can heat it slowly and keep it hot for a long time is the best way to do it. WIpe off the running cosmoline periodically.

5--Once the bulk of the cosmoline is out, complete your finishing.

 

[Cosmoline]

Re. the Mosin, yours sounds like a lot of old Mosins. Unless it was refinished it should NOT have a shellac shell but rather just old oil finish. Most old 91/30 stocks aren't worth much, but it's always good to check to make sure you don't have a Finn or one of the laminated stocks, which are worth more. Finnish capture and refinished stocks are characterized by the use of PINE TAR on the wood, giving it a really nice dark tone. These you should leave alone unless you know what you're doing.

FOr a standard 91/30 stock, the wood tends to have a rose color to it. Earlier Russian M-91's have brighter color wood. Clean the grime off, and then make a judgmen whether the remaining finish is worth saving or whether it should just be tossed. If you can post photos I can give you more advise on it.