6/24/2013

On rifle, Let me know what you guys think












With its Russian Cousin - SGL 32












EDIT 6/18

Went from this



To this: about 5 coats of tru Oil and a light steel wool before i hit it with tac cloth and put another coat on-







---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6/15 on back

[Edit] Third and final coat of stain. I think i am going to order the iron woods stock set so i can have a blond set as well then decide which one i like best and sell the later on the forum.






EDIT

2nd coat of stain. This time a  provincial coat of stain over the golden oak/pecan . It now has a darker tint with a honey glow. Which matches the type of wood better than trying to force it into being something it isnt. Loving the look right now.

I plan on using truoil as my finish. Its durable, easier to remove, modify , and touch up.






Really brings out the stripping...

This image illustrates the new honey glow.




Remember this is just bare wood... going to look amazing...

EDIT

After the first coat of golden peacon mixed with golden oak stain. Not sure if i will need another coat.





Thoughts? Definitely not the blond look  i was aiming at.. but i do dig the rustic vibe its putting out. The handguards are matching much better after the bleach pass then when i started.

[Edit]


Ok here is the wood after some wood bleech.



Going to see how it goes.. plan on putting the stain on for 7min for the darkest and the full 15min for the lightest

[Edit]

As you see, 3 different types of wood. Thus the challenge to try to make them match relatively well.


Here is the wood how it currently sits. Its been stripped sanded with 220 grit and is ready for stain.







Ok not my first refinishing project, but i do have a quick question.

I am looking for a nice blonde color to simulate the typical look of a Bulgarian military milled wood furniture kit. I have already stripped the stock set i got from http://northridgeinc.com/store/index.cfm/c168/i1430. The wood is typical bulgarian surplus.. a mix of 3 different types of wood. Which is part of the challenge.

This is my 74  in the 74 wood stock set sold by APEX - the rifle before i went full out russian



In that go around i mixed golden pecan with sonna red oil based miniwax mix with a truoil finish.

This time i want to try something different..i am trying to decide on what stain/method to use.

I have used miniwax oil based stains many a time.. but the polyshades seem to offer a more yellow type of color than those of the oil based variety.

Has anyone used PolyShades peacon? Or minimax polyshade in general? I have been ready about it and many mixed reviews.. would like to hear your guys opinions on it.

Or should i go with a darker finish.. please folks feel free to post your rifles and what you did.


PS
How the 74 sits now..

interesting.. thats what reflects what many seem to have said about it (internet people reviews). Might stick with good ol minwax oil based. Now to decide what stain to use..

Here is a pic of a Chinese Mak 90 i refinished in Blonde. It came out really nice. It was Birch wood from Ironwood designs, which is easy to make a light color.
Matt at Ironwood liked it so much he asked me for permission to use it in his gallery.

I basically just used 4 very light  coats of amber shellac.Keep in mind this was a light colored wood to begin with.

This is the only pic left as i sold the rifle a few years back.

beautiful.. but i don't think i can pull it off with 3 different types of wood

The wood (minus the grip) is not as dark as the walnut piece from the 74 kit. The butt stuff is a light redish , while the bottom hand guard is the lightest piece and the top is much darker. I need to snap a picture of it .. i am thinking of mixing some golden peacon with some golden oak stain and see how it comes out.

Sounds like that would be a nice color combo.
When i got my stock for my SLR101S it was a dark wood, almost like a walnut. Thats the main reason i went with the dark special walnut on the Arsenal i refinished.It was much more forgiving going with the darker color.

If it comes out not how you want it, strip it back down and try again. Thats the fun part anyway making it how you want it.

My thoughts exactly

Here is the wood how it currently sits. Its been stripped sanded with 220 grit and is ready for stain.



But as you see, 3 different types of wood. Thus the challenge to try to make them match relatively well.

I would most likely go with a darker shade. You could try bleaching the wood. I did this with a mis matched set once.
Soaked the wood in a bleach/water bath for @ 1 hour. Left wood submerged in the solution with weights on the wood to keep it under water.
Not sure if that will work or not in your case.

Very nice work, love the depth of color.
Working on a stock right now myself.

decided to wood bleech it this morning before checking back on this thread. Its air drying now.. will post pics to show the change in a couple of hours.

Good to see folks having fun making their aks look they way they want.

That Russian Red looks great! I would love to do that on my SGL! If you have an SAM7, I would go blonde instead of red, but that's just me...

exactly, blonde all the way. Just got back from handyman.. got me some golden oak to mix with my golden peacon.

Ok here is the wood after some wood bleech.



Going to see how it goes.. plan on putting the stain on for 7min for the darkest and the full 15min for the lightest

Wow, that wood looks really good! What are you planning to put over the wood?

You might try some red or orange stain to make the handguards and grip match the stock, just don't leave it on too long and you should be good to go!

Edit: Did the bulgarian ak's with the 90 degree gas block ever have wood furniture? Even if it's not "historically accurate" that rifle is going to look great.

Thanks i just got done putting provincial coat of stain over the golden oak/pecan . It now has a darker tint with a honey glow. Which matches the type of wood better than trying to force it into being something it isnt.  Loving the look right now.

I plan on using truoil as my finish. Its durable, easier to remove, modify , and touch up.

exactly.. really easy to manipulate for multiple different looks . Its good stuff.

I just purchased one of these sets from north ridge.  Do you have a picture of what it looked like when you got it?

sadly no, but it had some type of thick reddish brown varnish.. very ugly. They were not blond.

Thanks. I was just curious.  I had planed on refinishing this set anyway

Good deal, share it with us when you get it done.

My experience as well. It kind of sucks unless you just want some colored weather resistance. Regular stain + clear coat of choice will look better.

It can work nice if you rub it in with a rag in very thin coats, but it is easy to mess up.

Yea thats why i went with the method i am more comfortable with.. oil based stain with an oil finsih

Very nice, i like how this turned out. Are you still going to get the ironwood stock and try it out?
My Milled mak 90 rear stock just came in yesterday. It took over a month to get it.

Yep, just placed an order for a European Beechwood, with the same type of grip as this surplus kit.

For the color your going for, im going to say you will keep the Ironwood set.

Here is a pic of the Chinese milled set i just finished yesterday. The rear stock is Ironwood, the rest is original Chinese.
I stripped the original Chinese down and refinished so everything matches. My wood was Birch from Ironwood.

Letting the shellac cure.I love the commie Shellac finishes.

sad thing is i know you are right.. but this set should be a great addition to another milled bulgarian owner out there in future.

UPDATE SEE OP

Nicely done.
I really like the updated pics. Gonna be a hard decision which stock to go with.

well my Sam7 is at my FFL but he is on vacation until monday... blast! :)

Got it today, looks like shit!  My biggest gripe is the stock is only 9" long.  I will give it a go anyway because i am committed.  Pics

Yep thats what mine looked like for the most part. Hit it with the citistrip does wonders. As for the length.. yea its warsaw stock length.

Back when I ordered mine; the pistol grip wasn't part of the set.  My set wasn't bad, I just put it on as is and ran it. I like the old beat look.




 

Thanks, can't wait to put it on the rifle.

They are used surplus take offs.Mine was painted a fugly black soot. Strip it down and there will be some nice wood under there.
Refinishing is the fun part. I left all the scars and dings on my set, those were earned somewhere in the past and they stay with the stock on my set anyways.

Yea the dings and dents are great to leave in. Surprising enough my set was in very good shape. The top handguard, and grip were the ones that showed the most use.

On rifle, Let me know what you guys think












With its Russian Cousin - SGL 32

Like I said in the AK pic thread.

Thanks.. its came out better than i could have dreamed. The original wood look much like SkinnyPuppy's except without all the dents/marks. Sad thing is i got a ironwood coming. So one or the other will likely go up for sale.

I actually have the same set minus the pistol grip. There is a photo in the AK pic thread the page before yours; last post.   I wouldn't even bother with the ironwood, that set looks amazing.

 

Wasn't sure before; but once it was on the rifle.. wow

When the iron wood comes i am going to finish it and then make a final decision... that or keep both. Who knows :)