I've been putting off investing in an Ironwood Designs stock set for a while.  I've started looking into it again, and thought maybe I could save some money by just getting the buttstock from IWD, keeping my original upper and lower handguards, and getting a pistol grip off Gunbroker, etc.

I was reading through IWD's website under custom orders and they had a section talking about the coloring of Chinese stocks:

"Original MAK90 ranged from a pale yellowish orange to a slightly darker yellowish orange"

I thought I might as well pay a few bucks more to have them color the parts to match what I already have, just to save myself the trouble.  I wasn't certain that mine was yellow, though.

My MAK90 has been sitting in an Advanced Technologies Fiberforce stock for years.  I dug through some old boxes and finally located the original thumbhole stock and handguards (in two different boxes ).  The color is a dark brown, not yellow or orange.  Here's a couple of pictures with and without flash:





I'm weighing my options, and looking for knowledge from people who have already swapped stocks.

I could just bite the bullet, order a whole new set, and color them all the same.  This is probably the best option, but also the most expensive.  But no one ever said this hobby was cheap, amiright?

I could buy a buttstock and pistol grip and color them to match the handguards.  Probably the cheapest option, but I'm not necessarily in love with this color.  If I go this route, does anyone know he name of this color?  Has anyone else here ever tried to match this same stock?

I could sand the handguards and recolor them with the same color I choose for the other parts.  Has anyone done this?  Not sure how they were originally colored and don't want to remove too much material to get down to the bare wood.

Other options people have used?

Thanks!

Highpower308 - if you happen to read this thread, could you give details on your IWD stock set and coloring?  I've seen a couple pictures of your MAK90 with the IWD stock in other threads, and was wondering if you could provide more information, like which parts you bought, what color you used and type of coloring, etc.  If you already have listed details somewhere, a link would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I have used pigmented shellac with pretty good results on unfinished or stripped wood.

I have 2 milled MAK 90's. One has wood exactly like was shown above, & the other has the common wood found on most Chinese AK's. I did exactly what you want to do on the orange gun. I bought the buttstock from Ironwood. Amber shellac stained it exactly like I wanted. I left the other gun alone. Very few AK's come in that color.  GARY

Thanks for the replies!

I had read somewhere during my research (I think it was another AK47 forum) about using shellac as opposed to stain.  I don't have much experience with wood working, but I can always practice on scraps.

I didn't realize the brown stocks weren't as common.  While researching MAK90s, all of the ones pictured on websites seemed to be the yellowish orange color, and I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that mine didn't look like that, which is why I dug it out.  I didn't remember it being this dark of a brown, but like I said before, it's been in the Fiberforce stock for years.

Edit to add - I just dug out all of my old gun papers, receipts, manuals, etc.  The manual for the MAK90 is from Century International Arms and is in color.  All of the pictures show the dark brown wood.

If you have a Norinco milled MAK90, it was made at the 386 factory which was previously Polytech.  So to me, the correct furniture color would be the same color as a Polytech Legend series milled receiver.  I purchased a Polytech legend stock set back in the 90s but the stock won't fit the Norinco gun because they cut the rear of the receiver at an angle. I plan to order a stock from Ironwood Designs to use with the Polytech handguards I have but I'm thinking the AMK angle cut stock would be closer to the Polytech Legend profile which was different than the Polytech stamped receiver gun's buttstock. The "T56" stock that Ironwood offers wouldn't really be correct on a milled receiver rifle. Just google "Polytech Legend AK" and "Polytech Type 56" and compare them. I have both and they are much different.

Minwax Polyurethane in "Bombay Mahogany" is a PERFECT match for the Polytech Legend colors. I used it for a pistol grip and it is indistinguishable from the original.

Edit to add: The milled receiver guns are really nice, thought about selling mine several times since I bought it back in the 90s but just couldn't let it go. Glad that I never did!!