Tru Oil on Norinco Sks

[Agoetz]

Hello, I have a Norinco SKS that is a little worn out, the stock has seen better days, but I'm not ready to put the time into stripping, staining, and finishing the stock. I just want to seal and protect. Can I simply degrease and rub tru oil on the stock? I'm new to woodwork. Thank you- Adam

 

[Rail Driver]

The lacquer, shellac, varnish or whatever finish is already on the stock would prevent the tru-oil from penetrating and sealing/protecting the wood. You'll need to strip the finish if you want to use tru-oil or pretty much any other finish and have it look halfway decent.

For stripping you have two options: sanding or chemically stripping.

I normally chemically strip the finish then sand out the stain if I'm refinishing a rifle stock, but you'll want to be careful not to sand too much, especially in areas where wood meets metal or other wood parts such as the upper handguard (though yours may be metal or plastic). You'll also want to be sure to use a sanding block in order to prevent dishing out screw or pin holes.

Wear a dust mask when sanding - it helps.

 

[Mayvik]

There are some good sites dealing with working with/repairing shellac, but one of the nice features is that it's "self healing" to a degree. If you rub it gently with a small amount of denatured alcohol on a swab, you basically re-liquefy the surrounding finish and spread it around to cover the gaps.

 

[Joe the Redneck]

Sadly no. Get the proper protective gear and in a well ventilated area (lawyer talk) use acetone to dissolve the old finish. Go slow, it takes time. Then you can use a product called Lin-Speed oil finish. It is a gun shop product.

I am not saying it is the only way to do it. Lots of options. But it is working for me.