stock options (for a k98) - 10/4 update/ completed

[Rem222]

This is the only product I've found that will give you the closest thing to the original finish on most milsurps including Mausers:
http://www.thegunstockdoctor.com/Products.html

I've used this same stuff.. Worked great.

[caldude]

I actually used shellac on mine. I don't care much about historical accuracy on an RC K98, so I stripped and cleaned the stock and then used dark dewaxed shellac I got from here (I got the liquid not the dry): http://www.homesteadfinishingproduct...s/shellac3.htm
You can adjust the shellac cut weight (ratio of alcohol to base) to change the shades. This shellac is VERY easy to work with.

Here's how mine turned out using a 2lb cut:

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

Boiled linseed oil is not "pimpshine Juice" all it does is dry quicker than regular linseed oil unless you add japan dryers to it. And when I say BLO I dont mean minwax or any of the "poly" stain crap sold at home depot. I do know that both lowes and home depot carries plain tung oil or BLO. BLO is what was used on garands, springfields ETC during WW2. Tung oil would be more correct for a K-98

This is what BLO can look like on a refinish:



I don't particularly like that kind of shine. That being said, BLO can add a LOT of shine to a gun when it shouldn't, especially when it is overdone. Specifically regarding K98s the type of finish applied to it is going to very depending on the year and the type of wood used. Tung oil should not have the glossy appearance of polyurethane, which can happen with BLO. Typically regular linseed oil is going to end up darkening the wood.

Sometimes BLO/LO or Tung Oil is not going to get close to the original finish or might not achieve the desired result. It all depends on where you get your stuff from. A cheap and easy way is to use a 1/3rd mix of Wax, BLO, and Turpentine. I was quite happy with the product I bought from www.thegunstockdoctor.com when I used it on an M28 I bought from this board that had been refinished with some type of gloss.

see, now theres a decent answer. thanks noonanda.

Don't visit gunboards and find out what is correct for your rifle.

[rogdigity]

Don't visit gunboards and find out what is correct for your rifle.

i was just reffering to what was said about the tung oil. though long winded, it was a straight answer at the end.

i did visit the other board and i do respect everything you say very much. i have seen your post numerous times and i can tell you know your ****. the original finish i used was the one-part stain/poly all in one stuff and it came out a lot like the dark one in your picture but a little reder still and it didnt seem to sink in like i wanted it to. it was more like paint really. im just looking for a couple shades darker then the original wood now though. im not so much looking for historical accuracy though as this is only a russian capture and has a laminate stock. i will get a new hardwood stock for it eventually

[Noonanda]

the tung oil finish will darken the stock some, worst case you could do a redish stain then tung oil to seal it. you will need to do multiple coats.

[rogdigity]

i finally got around to slapping some stain on the mauser stock. i used minwax 'ipswitch pine' color stain it matches the handguard pretty good really



it may be just a shade or two darker but i still need to redo the handguard anyways so ill just get a shade darker stain for that one

[Argonaut]

....................LOOKS GREAT.....................

[rogdigity]

glad someone thinks so

thanks man

[Trench Broom]

Very nice. I redid some laminate furniture for a pair of Romy G's a while back and ended up using a natural oil finish put out by Watco - very pleased with the finished result. I'll be using this product down the road when i get around to redoing my Yugo M48 Mauser stock.

[rogdigity]

when i first got this stock it was original oil/grease finish and when fired it would 'bleed' a little bit of the oil (or hell, maybe even just cozmo soaked into the stock) on your hands and made an ugly mess. i read up on the finishes used and it seemed that most of them were rubbed with surplus tank axel grease to help keep them water proof. i also read how to clean then up which was as follows:


shoot the gun and heat it up (which instead i just left it sitting in the sun), soak it with oven cleaner or scrubbing bubbles to suck the oils out, douse in acetone to neutralize the cleaners, douse in mineral spirits to neutralize the acetone, repeat about 10-20 times or until it all comes out...

i then used a minwax 'one-part stain/sealer' all in one deal:

http://www.minwax.com/products/one_step_stain_and_finishes/polyshades.html#Colors

i used bombay mahogany because i wanted the slight reddish tint. as you can see from the pictures it came out like crap. these are the pictures with that finish

[rogdigity]

second phase: redo

after looking at that stock for 2 effin years i got sick of it and sanded it all down again. it also gave me a chance to work out a little ding in the stock. if you look at the right side of the stock just low and behind the sling cutout, theres a darker spot. it used to be a nice divit but i worked out a little bit of it with an iron and wet towel and snded out most of the rest to smooth it out. it looks like the rifle took quite a blow at one point and you can even see where the big metal ring in the stock has been shifted to one side and bent:



you can still see some of the crappy finish in the stock crossbolt in this picture



in this one you can see that the metal ring is still centered in its hole and the wood grain/glue lines are nice and smooth



notice the spots around the top of the metal ring which are chipped out and that just left and low of the metal ring the glue line is bretty beat up and rough

[rogdigity]

phase three: completed refinish

for the new finished i use a basic minwax stain in the color 'ipswitch pine':http://www.minwax.com/products/wood_...sh.html#Colors. i then followed it up with their rub-on poly with a satin finish: http://www.minwax.com/products/water...e_on_poly.html


during stain:







the hand guard is hardwood while the stock is laminate so it was tricky to get the color match right. i had to do a couple extra coats of stain on the handguard. here is the final result:


in this picture you can still see the darker spot in the wood and the rough glue lines by that big metal ring











so thats one project done. im still working on a japanese arisaka type 99 rebuild and a japanese arisaka type 38 conversion (converting from smooth bore trainer to a rifled barreled shooter). let me know what you guys think?

[Double G]

Looks better than when you started. I just use boiled linseed oil or toungue oil depending on how dark I want it. If it's an original unsanded k98 stock then I use very little Howards feed N wax.

[7.62x54R]

looks good.

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

Looks like Mitchell's.