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Posted: 9/23/2011 12:12:01 PM EDT
| I will be picking up a new to me AK. The previous owner bought this rifle years ago, & hardly shot it. Years ago he stained the wood a nice honey gold color, but when I rub my hand across the wood, it doesn't feel smooth, although the wood is perfect. It almost feels as if dust dried in the finish. Any way to fix this, or must I sand & re dye the wood. He has another identical gun with perfect wood, but this gun has more use, & I'd prefer to get the gun that was hardly shot. GARY N4KVE |
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I'd try a very light abrasive like Birchwood Casey's stock sheen and conditioner 1st, polishing it with that to see if that does the job. It is a liquid the consistency of lotion and you just rub it in with a rag and polish it off with another clean rag. It can knock the original luster a grade down but I've found going over it with a very damp and clean shop towel of mineral spirits brings it back.
Also have you asked him about switching out the wood? |
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The wood is very light in color. If I strip off the old finish, & just use tung oil, what color will the wood be? Thanks for the help. GARY N4KVE When I've stripped WASR and other previously finished stocks there really isn't much color left in the wood. However I've found that a previously finished stock doesn't take stain nearly as well as virgin wood. You could use RIT dye and if you're going to use Tung oil you should go much darker than you intend as I've found the Tung oil will leech the color from the stock as you apply more coats. Here is a 10/63 I refinished. This was by far the worst stock I've ever seen. It had many deep pits in the wood. Wood after stripping. 
After RIT dye, before Tung oil. 
Final product, notice how much color leeched out of the wood and aslo how much more clear the grain is. 
as found NIB 
And after refinish. Notice how much more grain is showing especially on the fore end. I think the finer grit you go with the sanding the more the grain of the wood pops out. 
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The wood is very light in color. If I strip off the old finish, & just use tung oil, what color will the wood be? Thanks for the help. GARY N4KVE When I've stripped WASR and other previously finished stocks there really isn't much color left in the wood. However I've found that a previously finished stock doesn't take stain nearly as well as virgin wood. You could use RIT dye and if you're going to use Tung oil you should go much darker than you intend as I've found the Tung oil will leech the color from the stock as you apply more coats. Here is a 10/63 I refinished. This was by far the worst stock I've ever seen. It had many deep pits in the wood. Wood after stripping. http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011020.jpg After RIT dye, before Tung oil. http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011024.jpg Final product, notice how much color leeched out of the wood and aslo how much more clear the grain is. http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011064.jpg http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011063.jpg http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011065.jpg http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011066.jpg as found NIB http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011002.jpg And after refinish. Notice how much more grain is showing especially on the fore end. I think the finer grit you go with the sanding the more the grain of the wood pops out. http://i516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/FUGGOVSKI/WASR%201063%20REFINISH/Feb2011073.jpg That's about the nicest WASR refinish I've ever seen. You kept it natural looking. |
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Being that there is many ways to refinish wood, I choose to go these routes:
1) Sand with 200 grit, stain to match the color you desire and then apply Tung Oil over the top of it. You can keep recoating with Tung Oil until you achieve a complete shine, or you can dull the Tung Oil finish down with 0000 steel wool. 2) Same as above but after staining you can use Boiled Linseed Oil. Apply as many coats as you wish and it will condition the wood but it will not keep the stain from leaching out if it gets water on it. 3) And lastly, you can use wood toner and finish with a pre-cat clear satin finish. This will seal it from the elements and also water like the other two won't. The outcome of this finish is second to none. |
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I will be picking up a new to me AK. The previous owner bought this rifle years ago, & hardly shot it. Years ago he stained the wood a nice honey gold color, but when I rub my hand across the wood, it doesn't feel smooth, although the wood is perfect. It almost feels as if dust dried in the finish. Any way to fix this, or must I sand & re dye the wood. He has another identical gun with perfect wood, but this gun has more use, & I'd prefer to get the gun that was hardly shot. GARY N4KVE If the color now is okay, there is an alternative to stripping. There is a stock oil called 'Arrow' that has a unique application method. It is always applied in small amounts and rubbed, starting with wet/dry sandpaper of a certain grit and working up in number in successive treatments until the desired surface is attained. A mirror finish is gained by using the bare hand as the final steps. In your case, probably a 400 grit would be the only one used because you normally want a matte finish on military weapons. Application details are provided with the product, but in a nutshell you cut out a small square of sandpaper, mosten it with the oil and work a section at a time until the alcohol evaporates and the paper gets 'gummy'. As for section size, you could do a whole upper hand guard at one time. What it does is it smooths the old finish and combines with it. After all the wood is done, you let it cure at least overnight before going over it again. I have used it over the years for stock finish repair as well as complete stock finish. I once did a presentation M1 Carbine stock that looked like it had been dipped in glass. Because the oil must be rubbed out until dry, it completely eliminates the 'dust dried in the finish' effect common to applications of most other kinds of finishes. There is yet another way, already mentioned, of rubbing it out with #0000 steel wool and Tung oil or boiled linseed oil. While not as perfect a finish as the Arrow Stock Oil method, it is very suitable for rough wood like a WASR stock, and it also results in a smooth, military finish. As with the Arrow, what you are doing is smoothing the existing finish and building up additional oil over it. Like the Arrow, you would rub until the oil basically cures, but you can do larger sections at a time, like one whole side of a buttstock. For a color change, either you have to apply a colored finish or strip the wood and stain and re-oil. |
I picked up this used Chicom Spiker a while back and the wood was in not-so-hot condition, so I picked up another new furniture set and wanted to brighten it up a bit. What I did was get some Formby's low gloss Tung Oil and some "0000" steel wool. I gave the wood a light sanding, then applied (4) coats of the Tung Oil, using the steel wool after the first (3) coats. After the 4th coat, instead of using steel wool, I just buffed the wood relly good. I think she came out cherry. She actually looks even better in person.
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Here is how I went about the process. I got one of the donkey dong stock sets from centerfire and it came with a poorly done, what looked to be pine tar, finish. I sanded everything down with 60 grit and when all the old stuff was gone used progressivly finer paper to about 200 grit and then used 000 steel wool to buff it. Applied a minwax red mahogany stain, let it dry, and gave it another light buffing. Then I put on 3-4 coats of tung oil, left it a few days so it would be completely dry, and gave it another light buffing. It turned out pretty good.
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Some very nice looking rifles here, good work guys.
One thing I forgot to mention, no matter which oil you use make sure you dispose of any oily rags (especially BLO) properly. DON NOT JUST THROW THEM IN THE TRASH unless you want to be homeless. Oil soaked rags thrown in a pile can spontaineously combust. I have seen the results and it's not good. I lay mine out to dry on concrete with nothing combustable nearby. Once dry then I throw them away. |
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Some very nice looking rifles here, good work guys. One thing I forgot to mention, no matter which oil you use make sure you dispose of any oily rags (especially BLO) properly. DON NOT JUST THROW THEM IN THE TRASH unless you want to be homeless. Oil soaked rags thrown in a pile can spontaineously combust. I have seen the results and it's not good. I lay mine out to dry on concrete with nothing combustable nearby. Once dry then I throw them away. Especially anything containing linseed oil. |
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