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Old November 7, 2009, 09:31 PM   #1
essohbe
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Refinishing a Mosin

Haven't done this yet, will be a winter time project.

Does anyone have any reccommendations for stripping off shellac and finish?

I figured denatured alcohol, then something to pull the stain out but maybe I could match the color and go right over the old stuff?
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Old November 7, 2009, 10:07 PM   #2
Joker0370
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I got a junked one for free and put it back together, and this included refinishing the stock. First things first: Its not something rare and un-replacable is it? I know the idea that "its a mosin and they are 80 bucks" floats around but it might be good to make sure. Assuming you gone one for free that is missing a lot of stuff or looks like the dog has chewed on it, the best thing for stripping a solid wood stock for me was oven cleaner. Stripped the wood down bare in minutes. The longest and hardest part was letting it dry back out. I did some searching and found a website on using tung oil to refinish gun stocks (i think its called flowers of the tung http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting...df/tungoil.pdf) and followed that. Came out very nice. I didn't quite qet the color i wanted on the first try, so i'd recommend testing out some stains on scrap wood to get the best color. If i were to do it again, i'd use the Sedona Red stain (nice red tint).

I think it took me about 2 weeks from start to finish, working on and off. Lots of drying time between coats.
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Old November 7, 2009, 10:53 PM   #3
mp25ds4
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you shouldnt refinish a junked mosin that hasnt already been refirbished, the non-referbished ones are getting harder and harder to find
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Old November 7, 2009, 11:02 PM   #4
Swampghost
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As said, original cond. is best value and I wouldn't mess with it.

If you're determined to refinish, it's a process if you want decent results. I'm a woodworker that specializes in fine cabinetry and yacht finishes among other things.
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Old November 24, 2009, 07:04 PM   #5
MagnumWill
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It all depends on what you want to do. Sure, you may "wreck" the value of the stock (that's probably mismatched anyway) but keep in mind that its still a 90 dollar rifle. Do what you want with it- I refinished my M44 stock twice. I stripped off the shellac with (get this) a razor blade. It flew right off, and I stained it. Didn't like it, so I sanded it down to the wood underneath (which looks great) and I just put the oil coat on it, and I love it. Here, I'll put a pic of it up. The Mosin PU sniper has the original shellac on it. The Tula hex has a laminate stock on it that was beautiful to begin with when I got it.

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Old November 24, 2009, 09:36 PM   #6
FALPhil
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I recommend a commercial stripper, like Strip-eze. Denatured alcohol takes too long and the result is the same. I even used EZ Off oven cleaner on one and it worked great.

After the shellac was stripped, I washed the stock down with a solution of dishwasher powder and water. Then I rinsed it well and let the stock dry out for two weeks in a 50% humidity environment (my gun room where I keep a dehumidifier). Then, I set about refinishing the stock. I sanded lightly, and then used a 50-50 mix of tung oil and mineral spirits for the first coat. Subsequent coats were 75% tung. The result was a durable finish that looked like new shellac.

If you use a stain, be sure to use an oil based stain, as water based stains are hard to keep from blotching.
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Old November 25, 2009, 12:28 AM   #7
mp25ds4
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is this mosin a non refurb? if so i wouldnt refinish it
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