Author Topic: Refinishing a surplup (Read 434 times)

1911crazy · « **on:** July 17, 2004, 03:46:45 AM »

Wether you refinish your surplup or not is up to you. I don't like refinishing them at all but sometimes you have too. I have one stock that bubba tried to go over the orginal bad finish with his own and it looks like (crap) it was done many times. I stripped the stock down very quickly and a nice blonde stock came out of the ugly dark brown it orginally was. The finish looked so bad it looked like a paint. I will try to use a coarse steelwool first but if its that bad then a stripper or sand paper is a must. If I have to use a coarse sandpaper I try to go lightly just to remove the top layer of finish very quickly. The trick to using sand paper is don't stay in one spot too long just remove the old finish and move to the next spot. Then i go over the stock with a finer grit paper to remove any of the old finished you missed and sanding marks that are left on the stock at the sametime. I will work my way down to a 320 or 400 grit on my final sanding. Now that the stock is clean its time to figure out what color stain to make it look the best it can. While most stocks will still have dark stains around the reciever and most won't come out the blonde color is out of the question. While I have seen guns refinished blode with these stains still in them it just doesn't look right. I get a few little cans of different colors of stain from light to medium dark for my color test. I will also include light cherry to a darker cherry too(redish) in my selection. I will start off by staining the dark stain on the stock until its less visiable. I may even mix colors so I can stay with a lighter inbetween color too. It may take a few coats of stain to get it the right even color look to it. Once the stock is completely stained with the correct color I will use a fine steelwool and go over the stock very lightly. Then I will apply many coats of tung oil finish using a fine steelwool inbetween coats till the desired finish is achieved. Like I said I'd rather not touch an orginal stock if I don't have too but if its really a bad bubba job then I have no choice. My point is take your time and do it right so it will last for many years to come. And you don't need to go with a dark color all the time too you can stay on the lighter side of the dark colors too and have a much better looking gun too. It just doesn't have to have that butt ugly military look to it just play with stain colors and go slow. BigBill

I don't want a brand new looking gun in the end, I leave all the history marks it had because they kind of speak to us about what the gun has been thru after all these are surplus military guns and they have seen action and been in wars.

savageT · « **Reply #1 on:** July 17, 2004, 04:24:34 AM »

BigBill,
I certainly agree with you about your refinishing technique! Sometimes, the blonde stocks are very hard to take stains and I have ended up coloring my tungoil instead. I hear that there are stains available today that will penetrate those tight-grained blonde stocks that are common in Eastern Europe. I believe they are alcohol/oil bases stains that work best??
A word of caution about sandpapers....stay away from the sharp edges such as finger grooves and at the top of the stock, next to the barrel and receiver openings. If a good collector sees those edges rounded, he'll immediately know some "Bubba" did the Dirty Deed with SP!!!!!! Always do your best to avoid sanding out small pits and cartouches(sp). That's what milsurp collecting is all about.
Jim

1911crazy · « **Reply #2 on:** July 17, 2004, 09:56:46 AM »

I have an M39 that has one spot that look like it was hit with a bayo and it took out a chunk of wood leaving splinters in the hand grip area. I sanded the bad spot so I could at least hold the gun without getting splinters in my hand. Just enough to make if safe to shoot. Now the hard part comes because they use a sealer on the wood under the color finish they use and stain won't take over it. My trick was to let the stain dry on that spot and the next day add another coat and let it dry overnight again. And the next day I added a tung oil finish to the stock and it blended it in perfectly. The gun looks awesome. BigBill

1911crazy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 24, 2004, 03:25:02 PM »

I tried something different today and its awesome. I will put 4 to 6 coats of Formby's Tung Oil finish high gloss finish on my stocks which is really too shiney. So i tried something different I used fine steelwool tilkl the finish was completely an even colored dull then i took Johnsons Paste Wax and hand waxed it twice while the shine came back it was a low tone finish not the shiney high gloss it was in the beginning. I have only done a few rifles this way, the ones that I may take hunting so the weather won't effect them plus they don't look bad at all too now. BigBill

savageT · « **Reply #4 on:** July 24, 2004, 04:47:41 PM »

Big Bill,
That's a great technique Bill. I always found that you need to rub each and every coat down with fine steelwool before putting on the next. Then on the final coat, rub it down once more lightly and buff in the pastewax to bring out a nice luster rather then the glossy shine.
I also tried a mixture of turpentine, and beeswax, equal parts, melted together over a low flame to give it a linseed oil look to the tungoil. Rubbed in well, it's what the collectors used on their 03's and Garands.
Jim

1911crazy · « **Reply #5 on:** July 25, 2004, 01:36:37 AM »

savageT; Thats exactly what I do with the tung oil between coats I use a fine 0000 steelwool and on the last coat fine steelwool 0000 again the Johnsons Paste wax it looks so much better than the glossy pimp look. But Its good to let the final coat harden up good for a while too don't go to fast on the final step. Doing this also will bring out a deeper luster out of the wood grain too. I'm posting this because in my old cabinet shop days we would spray poly and that was the only fool proof way it would be right. Then if you tried to brush a finish on a gun like I have seen so many bubba jobs and i repaired them too so far the uneven finish and brush marks will only preserve the gun till i get it to redo. I have even seen mulitple finishes put over and over too on the same gun over the orginal finish too. Then it starts chipping and it becomes a nightmare too. If its a bad finish to begin with its not going to be corrected by going over it and maybe it will look a little better for a short time but then it will come back to haunt you in the end for not doing it right in ther first place. The tung oil process is so easy to do anyone can apply it. Just make sure the surface is clean and the color you want it then apply very thin coats every 24 hours using fine 0000 steelwool between coats. Don't get upset at first because you will see no results the first 2 or 3 coats will soak into the wood and thats good thats protection. By your last 5 or 6 coat of tung oil it should look good and evenly coated too. Remember apply very thin even coats of tung oil soaking dripping wet makes the job no better its thin even mulitple coats. BigBill

While most say not to refinish I look at their pics they post of their guns that they refinished and they look like they only had one color of stain because their guns are all the same color?? And the guy posts many guns that look unissued just go to a gun show and see how many you find that look like that? I haven't seen one in three years of going to many different gun shows so who's guns aren't refinished?? Now the Mosins and the Mausers that are being imported into this country for sale aren't arsenal refinished and stored for many years if you believe that I have a bridge to sell you. They are most likely imported here and sent out to be refinished in somes ones garage. They sanded the stocks with a disc sander so come on you can't be fooled by that right? Then they say oh don't touch your surplups you'll ruin the value so what are these butcherd mosins and mausers going to be worth in the future to a collector who knows they have been disc sanded. I'm not saying their not still a good buy I'm just talking about its being "refinish" for us in the US to buy.
This is my gripe when i read flames about rifinishing and don't do it all i say its your gun and you own it and what you do with it is up to you but I want my few surplups to last and to be handed down to future generations in my family too thats why i clean them up and seal the wood so they will last. Not all of them just the butt ugly ones but my point is if you do it do it right!!!!!!!

TopGun · « **Reply #6 on:** July 25, 2004, 04:00:04 AM »

Hey guys, I first clean with a 'fantasik' or '409' type to completely degrease then chemical strip, sand with very fine paper or steel and then warm some boiled linseed oil. I apply this 1 light coat at a time, letting it dry over night then buff with a heavy flannel. I do this over and over until I get 'dry but oiled' the look I see on finew display guns. My '03s and 03A3's, and Garands look like new arsenal guns! Personally, I like teh handrubbed, dull oil finish over tung oil or linspeed. It takes a little longer, but teh gun comes looking original and if it gets scratched, it is easy to buff with steel wool and reapply and repair. Water beads like a ducks back. I did this on a Yugo 48 and it now looks like a display model. I have a friend who uses clean motor oil cut with a little kero or gas to make it dry fast and they look great too. It does evaporate and need reapplication more frequently. Just my thoughts, Topgun!