A couple of people seemed interested in the stock set I re-finished in Russian red.    As you can see from my post count I’m new at this forum stuff so please don’t beat me up too bad if I don’t attach the links.  

The wood I used for this project is from APEX gun parts it started life as a blond colored, Bulgarian made, AK 74 stock set, for $25.00, and yes AK 74 stocks are compatible with all stamped AK 47s and very compatible with Arsenal SGL 20 and 21s.  APEX also sells buttstock screws for wood stocks, the screws in the K-Var plastic stock are a little different but would probably work.    
The picture below has the second stock set I received from APEX the hand guards are little darker than the first set on the gun.  Both sets were in great shape.  

Fitting the buttstock took less than five minutes, I used a metal file and a rubber mallet to fit and install it.  The hand guards required even less  fitting the upper hand guard went right on and the lower hand guard required only minor fitting it was just a little snug.   If you are looking for a decent set of fairly cheap wood furniture this stuffs great.  

If you intend to re-finish the stock set, I would recommend fitting before re-finishing, so you don’t mar the new finish.
I striped the old finish with Citristrip, it took four applications.  I used Acetone and then hot water with a little Oxi Clean to remove the stripper residue after the last application.  

I let it dry for a day, and then sanded it with 320 and then 400 grit, I did not wet sand.  

After sanding I used Rit liquid fabric dye (wine colored) to stain it, they also make red but it’s a bit bright for my taste .  This stuff is water based just rub it on with a clean rag let it dry, do it again if you want it darker.   It dries looking flat and a little purple.   The purple turns burgundy after a day or two,  I let mine dry for three days.    If you want to lighten it up a bit or lighten up dark areas you can wipe it down with Isopropyl Alcohol.  A damp rag (water) would probably work, but I didn’t want to add to the drying time or raise the grain on the wood so I used alcohol.  
After letting it dry,  I finished it with spray on Minwax Polyurethane(clear satin).  I applied a thin coat,  re-coating every  two hours, seven coats total .  Then let it dry for three days and installed it.   I’ve used brush on Polyurethane in the past and it does give a deeper finish but runs easer and can leave brush marks, I think the spray on is much easier to use.  

There were also some 922r compliance questions.
922r compliance:  compliance parts on an SGL 21-61 as it comes from Arsenal are.
Trigger group (3)
Muzzle brake (1)
Pistol grip  (1)  
Hand guards (1)
Buttstock (1)
7 total, one more than you need.

You need 6 U.S. made parts on a stamped AK with a threaded muzzle.  When I swapped out my U.S. made buttstock and handguards with Bulgarian made buttstock and handguards.   I replaced all my Bulgarian magazines, followers and floor plates with U.S. made followers and floor plates.   K-VAR sells them for $5.99 a set.  The floor plates will not work with metal magazines but the followers will work on any mil spec  magazine.   This actually gives me one more U.S. made part than I need.  

The only reason I replaced both magazine floor plates and magazine followers was so I could swap out the pistol grip.  Which didn’t happen, I’ve decided to keep the black K-Var  pistol grip, I think it looks good with the red furniture.  
Magazine floor plate (1)
Magazine follower (1)
Trigger group (3)
Muzzle brake (1)
Pistol grip  (1)  
7 total, again one more than you need.

I don’t claim to be an expert on  922r compliance so please do your own research and someone please correct me if I’m wrong.

I hope this helps out anyone looking to re-finish furniture on their AK.  

http://www.akd1.com/images/stockset.jpg

http://www.akd1.com/images/SGL-21handguard.jpg

http://www.akd1.com/images/SGL-21butt.jpg

http://www.akd1.com/images/SGL-21%285%29.jpg

http://www.akd1.com/images/SGL-21%284%29.jpg

It came out great

Normally I don't care for the term Russian Red because it always seems to be blood red or purple unlike the actual Russian laminate. The real stuff is more of an iodine color due to the varnish they use and I think most people have only seen it in passing, and think it's actually red when it isn't.

Your set looks good and it compliments the rifle well, nicely done.  

Nice instructions too!



Z

Very nice!

Wow, nicely done...

The term furniture is very appropriate, it looks fantastic.



I hate to say it, but I'm starting to consider pulling the black plastic off my SGL31 and replace with wood.  If I found a set like you made, I'd just do it.

I like the look of wood, but the polymer set that comes with it will last forever. You can abuse the crap out it and it barely shows scratches.

I agree, the plastic stock is much tougher.   I have other rifles dressed in K-Var plastic stocks should the need arise for a ruff use weather restraint rifle.      

Very nice job, I really like the color of that rifle.  This thread should get a sticky.......

looks great  I like the parts count breakdown for the 922 police too.  They are everywhere it seems.

looks good...............

I like it.

Very nice.

I believe I will try to copy what you have just done....

That is an absolutely beauty!

I was pretty happy with my SGL21, but now I'm afraid it's time to dress her in some wood.

Thanks for sharing your project & great post!

What do I need to get my wood this color?

http://www.rusmilitary.com/images/akm_stock_set.jpg

I don't have an SGL but I do have a converted Saiga and after looking at your furniture I can't stand the way mine looks with its synthetic furniture.  So thanks for that.  

But now I know what my winter gun project will probably be.  You wouldn't want to sell your furniture would you?

Thank you all for the complements.     This really was a simple project.    I probably have $40.00 invested including the shipping , sandpaper, dye and polyurethane, shipping to Alaska ain’t no joke.   The hardest part was waiting for it to dry.    And no Chris I’m not interested in selling it.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but almost every AK looks better in wood...

That refinish job was so nice that I color corrected and rehosted a couple of your pics so we can all see better what a nice job you did.

Excellent work.

Thats sexy!!!

Nice job on the wood

Very nice!

Absolutely beautiful!  Wow!  I am definitely going to try this project out.  Thank you for sharing

So why can't you claim you cut the wood your self and built this stock?  So it does not conflict with having too many Russian parts?  (AK Newb question don't flame me)

As I stated in my initial post, I’m no expert on 922r compliance, but I would imagine if the ATF or any other law enforcement agency wanted to prove the origin of a gun part wood or metal, they could.  I would rather spend a little money on American made compliance parts than risk spending a lot on legal fees, not to mention a criminal record and jail time.   There are entire threads dedicated to this subject.

I love it !!!

I've got a Norinco that I'm in the process of de-banning. I was thinking of doing the same thing, but adding a little yellow dye to the wine to get it a little closer to the right color for me. Your wood set looks fantastic. I've got an ironwood set comming (waiting....stilll waiting....)

Ironwood Designs builds some nice stock sets.   I’d have them drill the hole for cleaning rod,  I’d hate to screw up a $100.00 stock set trying to drill it myself.    Please post some pictures when you’re done.

Ordered a 74 stock set from APEX, & a Russian sling from K-VAR yesterday. My SGL just seems so ugly now after seeing pics of yours

So how many coats of dye should I put on the stock? How dark should it be after the first coat? Did you dilute the RIT dye at all? I practiced on a knife handle and it seemed like the dye didn't go on very evenly.

I order a set from Apex and used the Rit dye. It didn't go on very well for me either. I have had a lot better results with the Miniwax stuff.

I did not have problem with the dye taking, but it is water based, if there is any oil left in the wood, it may not take.   On this set I did not use Acetone to remove the stripper residue just hot water with Oxi Clean after the last application this leaves the wood very clean.  

I  used several coats of dye to get the color I wanted,  dark brown this time .  This set didn’t come close to matching.   The buttstock was very light yellow  Burch, the lower hand guard looked like dark walnut and the upper hand guard, a dark laminate with an orange tint.  The buttstock took several applications the upper handguard took two the lower handguard one.   I think I have a pretty good match now.  The set pictured has only been drying for a day,  so it’s still a little shiny.  

I did not dilute the dye, wiping the stock down with a damp rag (water or alcohol) removes dye lightening  it up.

http://www.akd1.com/images/stockset2.jpg

Thanks for the update. On the first set you did in this thread, you used just Wine RIT dye, correct? How many coats did you use on the first one? How much time between each coat?

Thanks a lot for any help, this is the first stoc I've ever refinished and really want it to look exactly like your first set. That is beautiful.

Sorry, double post

The number of applications depends on the initial color of the wood lighter wood will require more applications.  If the stocks initial color is too dark you may only be able to give it a red tint.  On real dark brown stocks you may want to try Red instead of Wine colored dye.    

You do not have to wait at all between applications of the dye.   If you really want to darken it up, put the dye on thick and let it dry.  

On the first stock I used  Wine colored RIT dye, un-diluted, apply it until you get the color you want.   It dries quickly and looks very flat when dry.  If it’s too dark wipe the stock down with a damp rag (water or alcohol) to remove dye and lighten it up.    

Sorry this is not an exact science.  

I know it isn't an exact science, just had a few questions as I tested it out on a few different things and it didn't turn out a lot like yours. Mine ended up being extremely purple/red/, almost a pinkish color and when I add more coats it just turns extremely dark and blackish. I just wish I could figure out a way to get it so it's more brown like yours with that purple/red tinge.

I let mine dry three days and then I took a dry cloth to it and the stain was coming off onto the cloth.

Very nice job.  I did sort of the same thing on a Romanian (middle picture), except I bleached out the wood on the handguard and used RIT orange (sunshine orange I think it was called) to bring the color from a dark brown to more of a blonde...  The top AK is a Romak-1 with Polish wood.  The bottom AK is a Romak-2 still in the original conf I picked it up in 1997.  Going to swap compliance parts and thinking about the same color scheme the OP went for (using wine dye - great tip...).  But, what do you all think about putting a little orange into the Bulgy  buttstock to try and make it match the Romy blonde furniture already on the Romak-2??

I've got some Bulgarian AK-74 wood in pretty much the same shape as someone reference earlier - blonde stock, walnut upper handguard, red mahogany lower handguard.  I'll post pics when I'm done...

http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/viher_photos/armas/EBRPicture037.jpg

Where can I get a cheap good wood stock set that like for my AK74?

Alaska 376 I'll make sure to post pics when I get done. I just hope it does not look too bad. I called the guy at ironwood and asked what wood he suggested to get as close to the Chinese and he said hardwood beech so that's what I ordered. We'll see how it comes out.

Looks great. You should pick up an Iron Woods clone of the Bulgy wide grip and finish it the same color as the stock and handguard. Then put a steel or bakelite magazine in her. That would be perfect...!!!

I'm in the process of doing mine right now. The stain is already on there. If it turns out okay I will post pics in 2 days.

Looks very nice; I actually like how it looks more brown than red. Kudos.

I couldn't find the powdered dye for the life of me...So I used the RIT wine and scarlet liquid dyes. I did it very scientifically, 2 tablespoons of each in a paper cup swirled together. Then I topped it off with 5 coats of Watco Danish Oil. I initially tried lacquer, but it was just too shiny, I'm not a poly-u fan at all. The oiled grain is very nice in real life, 10 megapixels sure doesn't do it justice.

That looks great, thanks for posting pictures.   I have never seen RIT wine color dye in dry form, don't know if they make it.

well I have made an attempt for this finish and so far very happy with the color. I am using a cheap romy stock set I had laying around but maybe someday in the future I will do this to some good wood. I still need to finish with 3 coats of Poly. then we will have the final product. Thanks for your info Alaska376 I might not have found this combo otherwise. Don't mind the clutter I have so many projects going on it's hard to keep it all seperate right now.

That looks good.   I re-finished a Romanian laminate stock last summer it was the first stock I used RIT dye on.  I think your stock will darken up a little when you apply the poly.   Thanks for posting pictures. Please post some of the finished product.

Thanks for this write-up!  I re-finished one of my AK's and a set of PSL furniture that I was working on...they came out really nice, and it was EXTREMELY easy to do...here are a few pics of the final product (sorry I don't have any before/during pics...I did this when I had a nasty head cold to take up some time and wasn't int he mood to take pics...)

AK47;

In subtle light, this looks like a very dark red, but when you hit it with some light the red really pops out.  I used the wine-colored dye for the first couple of coats, then topped it off with a thin coat of the scarlet red dye to brighten it up just a bit in the right light.  I also finished it in a couple light coats of semi-gloss, it's just a bit more than a satin finish.

Pic with in-direct flash;







Here is it with the flash aimed at the ceiling, so no direct bright light on it;



Here's the PSL furniture;

That looks really good, what brand of semi-gloss did you use and how did you apply it?

Thanks!  I used MinWax Fast Drying spray-on polyurethane semi-gloss.  I applied it in 3-4 very light coat, allowing about 3 hours between each coat, then rubbed it with Pledge about 48 hours after the last coat.

This thread is exactly what I wanted for giving my M7 an makeover. Thanks.

How did you guys buy your furniture?  I need to get some for my Arsenal SA M-7.

Thanks

Here's my attempt at Russian red I used RIT dye....