or can you just sand it down? I dont think it has a real finish that requires a stripper but i would like to be certain of this

I did not use chemical stripper.

I just sanded it lightly and all the Romanian orange crud came right off without losing a bunch of wood.

Then I stained with Minwax and finished with spray poly.

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which grit number did you use?

In my opinion it's always better to use a stripper rather than sandpaper. A good stripper (citristrip is safe to use indoors and very easy to use) will melt off all the finish and leave you with bare wood. Sanding is crude and a lot of work by comparison. Much of the finish might remain in the wood or in low spots. Also, by sanding, you stand to lose sharp edges etc.

But whatever works for you. royalwolf

Quoted: In my opinion it's always better to use a stripper rather than sandpaper. A good stripper (citristrip is safe to use indoors and very easy to use) will melt off all the finish and leave you with bare wood. Sanding is crude and a lot of work by comparison. Much of the finish might remain in the wood or in low spots. Also, by sanding, you stand to lose sharp edges etc. But whatever works for you. royalwolf

+1.

which grit number did you use?

It was a few years ago so I don't remember the grit. However, I started with a very short period of sanding with a rough grit, then spent most of the time graduating down into finer grits. More elbow grease and less wood removal.

The other two posts have very good points about using chemical instead of sanding. This was my first refinish, and I like the results.

However, I later refinished a Garand stock by spraying Oven-Off all over it and scrubbing it down with warm water and a kitchen scrubber. Then allowing it to dry, and rubbing it down with course to fine grades of steel wool rather than sand paper. This worked well and removed a lot less wood....but it was more work. Might be worth thinking about. Your call..

I just use Bix stripper. Grab some latex gloves our it on and rub a thick coat all over. Let that sit for 45 minutes and the stain wipes of with a green scotchbrite pad. I used 320 grit to get the little slivers of gloss left over and it turned out perfect.

I used citristrip and #2 steel wool to strip the furniture on my romanian "G" kit, refinished with birchwood casey walnut stain, 0000 steel wool, and boiled linseed oil.  Actually still oiling, but will provide pics of finished wood when Im done.  Its nothing fancy, shouldnt have a glossy finish but shouldnt absorb water like it did when I was finished stripping the wood (brief low rolling boil to remove oil and citristrip, also to find spots of old finish that I had missed.)

It depends, if it's a laminate stock, then avoid the chemical strippers because it'll have affect on the glue used to hold it together.  If not, then I normally used Kwick Kleen on the stock with a steel wool pad to get all the shelac off of it.  Although, to tell ya the truth, I've used chemicals and bleech on a couple laminates with no ill-affects noticed so far.

My kit from Copes had a pretty decent layer of something on it but I used a chemical stripper. The upper handguard doesn't have urethane on it so it's shiny right now. I will take some 600 grit and rough it up to give it a matte finish like the other two pieces.

i'm a fool. i posted in the wrong topic.

No you dont need stripper. There is no stain on it so just smooth it out by using some 150 sandpaper. Than go to 220 and finish up with some 400 grit. It works great and as long as you dont oversand it will work well

by the way longhorn you did a very good job on your gun

Quoted: by the way longhorn you did a very good job on your gun

Thanks Slaphappy!

And here she is today...

I used citri-strip and it worked great.  
I then sanded with various grit sizes and finished with 0000 steel wool.  

Stripper won't hurt the laminations at all. It's made to strip wood, plywood and all.

There is a clear difference between "finish" and "stain." One is not necessarily the other. The wood on these AKs doesn't appear to be stained but if you want to remove all of the old finish you need to use a chemical stripper -- or, if it's shellac, just denatured alcohol. Sanding the shellac/finish off is the slow, hard way to do it, and you'll never get it all. Trust me.  

NEVER use EZ Off oven cleaner on a stock. That stuff is designed to dissolve organic compounds. Guess what wood is? hock.gif It might look fine after you're done but who know what it is doing to the wood underneat your finish? What it will look like in 35 years?

Now there will probably be ten posts from guys who will claim to have used oven cleaner with no ill effects... that's fine. But there's a reason that woodworkers and furniture makers don't use that crap.