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I recently picked up a nice all matching (including bayonet) Tula M91/30 from Gunbroker at a good price. The rifle was basically mint condition (shiny barrel, no pitting, no rust, no real signs of use at all).
The cosmoline had been wiped off by the seller but there was still a lot under the stock so I did a complete teardown and cleaned it properly. There was a quite a bit of flaky shellac and some chipping of the finish when I got it. The barrel bands during disassembly and reassembly shaved off lots of the shellac and left the handguard a mess.
I decided to risk burning in collector hell and just stripped the whole damned rifle down to bare wood. What I found underneath was basically perfect blonde wood, no repairs or cracks. There was the common toe splice stock but I don't really consider that a repair.
I did a bit of research and decided Tung oil was the way to go. Once the Citri-strip had melted off the shellac and dried, I started rubbing coats of tung oil into the stock. I put at least 10 coats of it, letting it dry completely after each one. A few times I buffed it out with fine steel wool to reduce the shine.
Even though I am a rank amateur at wood finishing, the end result turned out pretty good. I like the blonde minimalist look. I probably killed the rifle's collector value but it is my only Tula Mosin and I have zero plans of ever selling it.
Here are some pics, and I welcome any comments or criticisms or flaming!
The cosmoline had been wiped off by the seller but there was still a lot under the stock so I did a complete teardown and cleaned it properly. There was a quite a bit of flaky shellac and some chipping of the finish when I got it. The barrel bands during disassembly and reassembly shaved off lots of the shellac and left the handguard a mess.
I decided to risk burning in collector hell and just stripped the whole damned rifle down to bare wood. What I found underneath was basically perfect blonde wood, no repairs or cracks. There was the common toe splice stock but I don't really consider that a repair.
I did a bit of research and decided Tung oil was the way to go. Once the Citri-strip had melted off the shellac and dried, I started rubbing coats of tung oil into the stock. I put at least 10 coats of it, letting it dry completely after each one. A few times I buffed it out with fine steel wool to reduce the shine.
Even though I am a rank amateur at wood finishing, the end result turned out pretty good. I like the blonde minimalist look. I probably killed the rifle's collector value but it is my only Tula Mosin and I have zero plans of ever selling it.
Here are some pics, and I welcome any comments or criticisms or flaming!
. my 1944 TULA AIM PU sniper was in the same shape. i tried to live with the crap, flaking,50 % already gone shellac. i even bought another 91-30 stock and inleted it for the PU. well like the one you have the wood underneath is mint. i removed the old finish and after 3 coats of tung oil i now am finishing with BLO. all i did was bring out the natural beauty of the wood. i just could not live with the PU the way it was. i will show pics as soon as i am finished. purest s be damed.
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