Posted: 5/12/2008 8:55:08 PM EDT
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I would like to start a thread here to discuss the restoration and repair etc... concerning old guns C&R stuff. All of you AR guys have an old 22 or an old rifle shot gun or someting that needs dudting off and some Love and care. This started with a couple of questions concerning restoring Mauser stocks and how to preserve the markings. So everyone feel free to jump in. When I redid my k98 I stripped the wood all the way using an industral gel type wood stripper. I let the stock dry out for a few days then marked the areas over with masking tape and sanded around the cartouches. After sanding it I hand rubbed Tongue oil and lemmon oil into the stock until it stopped absorbing it. Waited a lightly buff with 000 steel wool and then apply lemmon wax. and buff. When I got all the crud off the stock you can see where someone carved the stock with a pocket knife to fit their grip better. I preserved as much of that as possible to retain the character of the gun. |
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This is going to be a little project for me. I appreciate any advice you have to offer.                I do have some Formby's high gloss tung oil finish, some mineral spirits, and some Citir-Strip Woodwork Cabinets & Trim Stripper. I'll probably grab song lemon oil today. I had used some lemon oil and tung oil finish on a CETME wood stock set a couple years back or so and liked the way it came out. Although this go around I think i'll use a polyurethane sealer. There are a couple metal parts that i'm unsure of how to remove from the stock. The paint or bluing on the bayo lug is flaking off. I was planning on cleaning the metal parts really well with mineral spirits. |
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you will need. 60 grit sanpaper, 120, 220, 600 steel wool, go for the birchwood casey kit. has acid for removing bluing, and bluing gel. high speed buffer will help, also a dremel. steel wool the bolt and mag plate to get rid of electro penciled force matched sn's. or use the dremel with a buffing will and jewelers rough. try white diamond for removing scratches, then blue emory for polishing it off. strip all the bluing off and clean. lightly rub it with steel wool untill you have a smooth metal finish. then proceed with birchood casey's instructions for bluing. very simple steps include removing bluing, clean and degrease, then use gloves to not get your greasy fingers on the clean metal parts. wipe over with bluing compound and then rinse. very easy. the stock is simple. get a good pad sander and grind the shit out of it with 60 grit untill you have removed all blemishes and old stain/oil. make sure you get it all out, or the new stain will not cover properly and you will see blotches in the coverage. after you are done, sand it down with a lighter grain (120) and move forward using finer grit. once you have a smooth sand, go over it gently with a fine grain sand paper to remove any swirl marks caused by the sander. get into all the grooves, and clean up as best as you can. do not remove any wood or heavy sanding in the bedding of the stock, or where the receiver sets it. this will hurt the fut of your rifle. last but not least stain the rifle with a walnut or your choice of colors. re-apply untill you have your desired color. let it cure for 24 hours. if you can take it out side and let it sit in the sun even better. after that give it a light sand with 600 very gently, and apply varnish. minwax polyurethane will do fine. apply a light coat, wait 24, light sand again. then apply another light coat, wait 24, sand again. untill you have a very high gloss even finish. don't rush this process, you will get streaks and imperfections. after you are done, polish it off with a buffer and some wax. eta* removed pics from old thread, putting everything in this one.                   |
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DO NOT use sand paper over your stamps in the stock. If you want to pull the dirt, wax and whatever else has wicked into the wood over the years, start with Easy Off Oven Cleaner... here's how: 1. Never use it on a laminate stock. It will weaken the stock by dissolving the adhesive between the layers of wood. 2. Never use more than two applications (apply, rinse, and repeat - just like shampoo). Any more than this and you may damage the wood. If you find you need more applications then use a standard furniture stripper instead. Note: Most furniture strippers can be just as caustic irritants to the skin and eyes, say nothing about the surface of the wood. If you doubt this - try using furniture stripper without gloves and see how your skin holds up. 3. Never leave the oven cleaner on the surface of the rifle stock for more than 10 to 15 minutes. Any more than this and you may damage the wood. If you find you need more then use a standard furniture stripper instead. 4. Always wear rubber gloves and eye protection. 5. Always work in a well ventilated work space. 6. Always clean the rifle stock after you are finished. Use a strong detergent like Dawn dish washing soap and vigorously clean the stock to stop the chemical reaction of the oven cleaner and remove any residue from the surface of the stock. Then rinse with water. Here's a couple links for complete article. I have use this same process on a couple guns, a 36MAS for one & works Brilliantly! thumpershole.com/gun_tips/Patina.pdf thumpershole.com/gun_tips/Refinishing%20a%20Surplus%20Mil%20Rifle%20Stock.doc David ps... here's how mine turned out. It was a NASTY bring back sitting in the closet for 20 years rifle. 
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I have never tried the easy off treatment. What about the fumes?? Restoration is not necessarily mean Refinish. Some of the above procedures are fairly harsh and will alter the gun from its original condition. But it depends on what your trying to achieve. I had to refinish my stock on the k98 but only restored the metal. Each gun is a special case. The Mas That Diveriter refinished was a complete piece of rusty shit...He did a beautiful refinishing job on that rifle but it needed it. One thing I am curious about Did you Parkerize the Mas?? After reading some of these Ideas I think I need to go out and find another wayward k98 to restore/refinish. Diveriter do you have any pics of my k98?? I taped off the area where my stamps were located with masking tape, so I didnt sand them by accident bogg |
Easy off worked extremely well on my K31. The rifle looks good, it wasn't too chewed up to begin with. I will post pictures when someone will tell me how the hell to do it. Thanks |
From Tom Culvers Shooting page I have a personal favorite that combines the traditional hand rubbed linseed oil finish with the weather proof qualities of the polymer finishes and looks like you spent your whole life working on the stock. It consists of a mixture of 1/3rd Linseed Oil, 1/3rd Turpentine (acting as a solvent), and 1/3rd Beeswax, gently melted together over something other than an open flame (an old-time radiator used to work well). When it is well melted, it should be stirred and left to congeal... It turns into a paste that makes a great (military style) finish that looks like it took a million years to apply. Repairs easily, even in the field. Got this one from an old gent at Perry back in the Mid-50s who looked like he had personally used it on his issued Trapdoor Springfield... I went home and tried it, and have been using it every since. As I said before, I will be posting the various finishing techniques shortly, and I will cover the exact method of applying my linseed/beeswax/turpentine finish in detail in the article. Best regards, Dick |
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Homie, let us know what you did and how it went. I cant wait to try the old school Linseed oil and beeswax on my next project. My current project is not going to be a restoration. I am going to refinish and then butcher my old po po 12 gauge and turn it into a zombie killer. anyways that is another thread. bogg 
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I used a chemical stripping agent, and did several coats, then scraping. I've since been sanding the stock by hand. There is a stark color difference in the wood, darker at the buttstock and lighter heading to the muzzle end. I was hoping to get to the natural color of the wood and just use some lemon oil on it and finish it with Wipe On Poly. But I'm not too sure now, maybe a woodstain of some sort for some uniformity or maybe I just need to do a lot more sanding. Any advice? The top handguard has not gotten any lighter with the chemical stripper. It looks almost completely black. Have yet to start sanding it. Hopefully it will lighten up a bit when I do. I bought some blue & rust remover and some perma blue. I've completely disassembled all metal parts except the trigger from the receiver and the rear sight. I plan on to re-blue the bolt and maybe touch up the receiver a bit if not completely re-blue it or maybe even just paint it. The buttplate on this K98 has rust on it, I plan on removing as best I can. Hopefully it will come out nicely, if not, I'll buy a replacement. Tomorrow all the parts will undergo a bath and thorough cleaning in mineral spirits and work will begin on them. So far I'm kinda winging it. My first real project gun. I'm having fun doing it though.   Covered in stripper.  First regiment of sanding. 
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sand away. it makes all the difference. as others mentioned if you want to save any markings don't sand them. IMHO you are already altering the gun essentially loosing any collectors value, but if your mauser is anything like mine it was purchased in your everyday gunshop for less than 300, probably arsenally refinished at some point and not worth much anyway. unless you have some unique year or issue, a bring back that is still intact etc... you wont get alot of that stain out sanding by hand. I'd use a pad vibration sander with a light grit. maybe 150. once you get all the crap out and the color of the natural wood starts to show, then use a smaller grit. after you stain it, then give it a light sand to smooth over any of the hairs from the grain. |
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AIM has these on clearance Closeout WWII German K98 8mm Rifles We have a few left over WWII era German K98 8mm Rifles that we could not sell in our normal advertised condition. We have listed them below at a discounted price to reflect their condition. All are complete Rifles less the capture screws, sight hoods, and cleaning rods. They have nice bores and will be good shooters. Below are actual pictures of the Rifles we are selling. As we are selling these Rifles below cost, and are accurately describing/picturing them, there will be no return privileges for these rifles. They will be sold on a first come, first serve basis, and proper licensing information must be on file before your order. Price: $169.95ea choose from the list below. Qty. 10 Rifles with metal surface corrosion that the Russians refinished over post WWII during the re-arsenal process. Qty. 3 Rifles that have had the German/Nazi marking removed and/or defaced. Qty. 1 Rifles that have had the original serial numbers lined out, and new serial numbers stamped on. To order please call Toll Free 888-748-5252 |
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dont tempt me~!!!! Homie it sounds like your on the right track. I would strip it again and then let it dry throughly before you decide to stain it. My k98 has a uniform in color but my stock is not laminate. It is a solid piece of wood. I didnt stain mine. When I finished it it was fairly light but the lemmon oil and wax that I used has allowed the rifle to age naturally and it is now darker after 7 years. I think you are on the right path. If you choose to stain it try to get a stain that is similar in color to the wood and go from there. I would highly reccomend that you allow the stock to completely dry before choosing a stain. Water in the wood will evaporate and the real color of that wood will show through. If you decide to reblue the metal you can download a schematic from Mitchells Mausers or from thumpershole.com to show you how to break it down. You will need a good set of punches to drive the pins out, but get the break down before you do it. pete/bogg |