Tweet
So, a while ago I posted up a thread looking for a K31, another calgunner came through (oftenindeed is a stud, don't hesitate to do business with him!!) and I picked this little fella up about 2-3 months ago. The stock was in fair shape at the time, with the usual nicks and in the usual shape for a 65 year-old rifle.
What follows is not really for the purists. I used the info in this thread:
Stripped everything off of the rifle with aerosol paint stripper from Home Depot (citrus scent!) and sanded it down with 120, 400, 600 and 800-grit paper, then smoothed it all down and 0 and 0000 steel wool. I didn't iron raise any divots or dents as they weren't terrible and I wanted the rifle to remain somewhat true to it's heritage and history. I figured those marks meant something to the rifle and each one probably has a little story.
After the sanding, I bleached it with a 50-50 solution of bleach and water 4 times. It didn't really lighten the color of the stock as much as I would have hoped, it looks a lot lighter in the photos here, but at the time, I had to check on the serial numbers to see if it maybe was a walnut stock.
After the finishing/smoothing, I used a 50-50 solution of mineral spirits and Minwax tung oil, rubbed it into the stock with my finger, then after it dried I used 0000 steel wool to smooth it out. I did that twice before switching to straight tung oil. I put on 3 coats, smoothing out with 0 steel wool in between. After coat #3, I put on two more coats with no steel wool and this is the final result.
After this dries, I will most likely re-smooth with 0000 steel wool and stock conditioner from Tru-Oil. We'll see, the super-shiny look is kinda growing on me.
Enjoy.
What follows is not really for the purists. I used the info in this thread:
Stripped everything off of the rifle with aerosol paint stripper from Home Depot (citrus scent!) and sanded it down with 120, 400, 600 and 800-grit paper, then smoothed it all down and 0 and 0000 steel wool. I didn't iron raise any divots or dents as they weren't terrible and I wanted the rifle to remain somewhat true to it's heritage and history. I figured those marks meant something to the rifle and each one probably has a little story.
After the sanding, I bleached it with a 50-50 solution of bleach and water 4 times. It didn't really lighten the color of the stock as much as I would have hoped, it looks a lot lighter in the photos here, but at the time, I had to check on the serial numbers to see if it maybe was a walnut stock.
After the finishing/smoothing, I used a 50-50 solution of mineral spirits and Minwax tung oil, rubbed it into the stock with my finger, then after it dried I used 0000 steel wool to smooth it out. I did that twice before switching to straight tung oil. I put on 3 coats, smoothing out with 0 steel wool in between. After coat #3, I put on two more coats with no steel wool and this is the final result.
After this dries, I will most likely re-smooth with 0000 steel wool and stock conditioner from Tru-Oil. We'll see, the super-shiny look is kinda growing on me.
Enjoy.
its quite fun lol.
Comment