LJ-MosinFreak-Buck
Member
As some of you may remember, sometime late last week I had a started a thread "Cosmoline, a Cast Iron Blank? At a Crossroads."
The thread was about my project rifle, a Turkish Mauser M38. The rifle is chambered in 8mm Mauser (7.92x57mm). The reason for the project was dirt, cosmoline, and the ugly factor of a blemished and unkempt stock.
Here are a few photos of the rifle before I took on the project, and before I even bothered to clean the rifle up some:
I decided I wanted to try and clean her up some without taking drastic measures, as I was still unsure of the project outcome that I wanted at the time. I used old English and a green Scotchbrite pad. Here's one since first initial clean up:
Well as it was, I was pretty happy with the clean up so far, but wanted to go further. You may have some difficulties telling any difference in the "dirty-ness" at all. Well, the Old English and Scotchbrite pad worked some, but the change wasn't exponentially better. Just looked a tad cleaner.
I decided that the only way I could get it as clean as I wanted was to strip it and refinish it. So that's what I did. After stripping, some sanding, using a blow dryer to remove the cosmo from the stock, and more sanding, this is what the naked wood looked like:
Just beautiful. I was pleased to see such good looking wood underneath the years of dirt and oil and cosmo, what have you. But there's some pressure dents in the wood! Well, fixing those isn't me. I like them, they give the rifle character. Each little one tells a story that I dare not erase. If this rifle could speak, I bet you it would have a lot to say. And I'm the type to listen.
So I decided not to fix the dents with steam, and decided to proceed from there. Using Minwax Red Oak #215, it took me three coats (though four were applied) to get the desired color, mainly because after this much, the rifle didn't want to take anymore stain, and I wasn't about to force feed it. Here's some pictures of the staining process:
I then applied some Tung Oil to the stock 24 hours after the last coat of stain was applied. I followed the directions on the back of the can (Minwax) and applied first coat, waited about 7 minutes (can called for 5-10 minutes and the closest timer a had available was a lit cigarette) and buffed off. I waited 24 hours, and repeated. I don't have any pictures of the Tung Oil process, but that's alright. I went out to the shed this morning to apply the third coat, but upon inspection, the rifle didn't need it. I was pleasantly surprised.
So instead of the Tung Oil process pictures, I have the pictures of the rifle upon completion. Here's how she looks now:
Hope you guys enjoyed following me along in this project and I thank you those who had given me advice on the last thread about this. The advice was dually noted and most of it used. Thanks! Hope you like!
The thread was about my project rifle, a Turkish Mauser M38. The rifle is chambered in 8mm Mauser (7.92x57mm). The reason for the project was dirt, cosmoline, and the ugly factor of a blemished and unkempt stock.
Here are a few photos of the rifle before I took on the project, and before I even bothered to clean the rifle up some:
I decided I wanted to try and clean her up some without taking drastic measures, as I was still unsure of the project outcome that I wanted at the time. I used old English and a green Scotchbrite pad. Here's one since first initial clean up:
Well as it was, I was pretty happy with the clean up so far, but wanted to go further. You may have some difficulties telling any difference in the "dirty-ness" at all. Well, the Old English and Scotchbrite pad worked some, but the change wasn't exponentially better. Just looked a tad cleaner.
I decided that the only way I could get it as clean as I wanted was to strip it and refinish it. So that's what I did. After stripping, some sanding, using a blow dryer to remove the cosmo from the stock, and more sanding, this is what the naked wood looked like:
Just beautiful. I was pleased to see such good looking wood underneath the years of dirt and oil and cosmo, what have you. But there's some pressure dents in the wood! Well, fixing those isn't me. I like them, they give the rifle character. Each little one tells a story that I dare not erase. If this rifle could speak, I bet you it would have a lot to say. And I'm the type to listen.
So I decided not to fix the dents with steam, and decided to proceed from there. Using Minwax Red Oak #215, it took me three coats (though four were applied) to get the desired color, mainly because after this much, the rifle didn't want to take anymore stain, and I wasn't about to force feed it. Here's some pictures of the staining process:
I then applied some Tung Oil to the stock 24 hours after the last coat of stain was applied. I followed the directions on the back of the can (Minwax) and applied first coat, waited about 7 minutes (can called for 5-10 minutes and the closest timer a had available was a lit cigarette) and buffed off. I waited 24 hours, and repeated. I don't have any pictures of the Tung Oil process, but that's alright. I went out to the shed this morning to apply the third coat, but upon inspection, the rifle didn't need it. I was pleasantly surprised.
So instead of the Tung Oil process pictures, I have the pictures of the rifle upon completion. Here's how she looks now:
Hope you guys enjoyed following me along in this project and I thank you those who had given me advice on the last thread about this. The advice was dually noted and most of it used. Thanks! Hope you like!
