Help wanted with SKS stock

[4Patriot]

I recently acquired what appears to be a Sino-Soviet SKS with blade bayonet. the rifle is marked with serial number F1846 at several locations and even on the stock. There is a "26" triangle arsenal mark on the receiver.

The stock shows heavy use, with lots of dings and a few gouges, but no trench art. It also had areas that were black with the effect of cosmoline or whatever grease was used for storage. I worked it a bit with mineral spirits, to no effect, and then gave it a long day in the oven at 175 degrees, wiping it down every 20-30 minutes. That wasn't enough to do the job, and the gun remained foul and soft to the touch.

I came to the conclusion that a stock refinish would be necessary if I wanted to enjoy the rifle as a shooter. I applied a couple of coats of citrus strip, which cleaned it up a lot. It doesn't release cosmo in the oven anymore, but it is still there, at least a bit.

The surface of the wood is soft and friable, presumably due to damage from the grease. I have sanded lightly (220), and it shows some improvement, but it is still a bit soft to the tough, with a loose grain. It may be that more sanding is needed, as the improvement so far suggests there is good wood underneath. It is clear that no matter what I do, the stock will still show the dings and stains from its prior use, so its military past will be very apparent.

My question is this: if I apply a succession of light coats of tung oil finish, will the hardening effect of the finish make it easier to sand the wood into a proper condition, perhaps taking less material off the surface than I would otherwise? Should I perhaps get a bottle of that grain filler sold by
Birchwood Casey?

Any opinions/suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks

[highpower]

If I was in your position I think that I would get the surface as smooth as possible and put a polyurethane coat on it. The original finish would have been shellac which feels slick and looks shiny, but really isn't all the durable. Normally I would have never thought to do a poly finish, but it was done on my AES10B and I have come to like the way it looks and it's durability.

[19K]

Buy a new stock. Keep that one for collectibility of the rifle

[kcheung2]

It's a Chinese stock with soft wood. Sanding it or coating it with chemicals won't turn it into tiger striped hardwood. If you want nicer wood, buy a Russian stock or or a Timbersmith.

[Crusader]

Those Chu wood stocks are a very soft wood from the start, but it shouldn't be falling apart on you. Those stocks were pretty resistant to wood rot, but I guess you never know. All my Chinese SKS and Type 53 rifles I've had with those Chu wood stocks were really... squishy.

[echo1]

It's kinda too late now, not that it really matters, but you could have changed out the stock for replacement wood, and left the matching one alone. What part of the country are you in? PAX

[peppermintman]

Ive heard of wet sanding with the tung oil. When doing that the dust will fill in some of the dings in the wood. Some shellac dropped into the dents and sanding works too, so ive heard

[steve91104]

I got one of those chu wood stocks on my sino-banian sks. I hung it up in the shower and went over it with the shower massage thingy on a really fine pins-and-needles setting with really hot water. A lot of the dents popped out when I did that.

[hifiguns]

Steam out the dings. Use a wet, folded paper towel in the microwave until boiling/steamy, then apply to the stock and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat. Don't steam the serial number.

[Chevy57fan]

Here's a link to what I did with my SKS stock with before and after pics.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=960530

PM me if you have any questions.

[peppermintman]

If you decide to wet sand your stock you need use generous amounts of tung oil with the 600 grit paper and of course work from coarse to fine paper. You going to let us see your stock?