Did I mess up?

[Adam_MA]

I got my first C&R purchase delivered last week. A nice M44, that turns out to have a fantastic metal finish, and a crown that looks as good as any brand new rifle I have seen.

I started the cleaning process, by disassembling the bolt, and putting it into my ultrasonic cleaner. MAN that gunk just melted off! I then disassembled the rifle, and cleaned every surface, and got every last nasty bit of cosmoline off the metal parts. Not that there was much to start with, but everything had a nice even sticky coat on it.

The wood looked great. No repairs, no cracks, and only a handful of small dents and dings. The color was great, and the overall finish appeared to be in good condition as well, though as with the rest of the rifle, had a coating of sticky milsurp juice covering it.

To clean the stock, I ended up getting a bottle of Simple Green. I sprayed it onto a section of stock, and as the excess ran off, I could see the liquid had turned to an orange color. I figured it was the built-up sludge, so I proceeded to spray one side of the stock, then the other. I let it sit for a couple of minutes, then lightly scrubbed the wood with an old tooth brush. I repeated this for both sides, then rinsed with clean hot water, and put the stock up to dry.

After an hour, I went to check the stock, so I could start to reassemble the rifle, and much to my dismay, I found that a good portion of the finish, in a few locations was now missing, and chipped away. I thought that maybe the thin sticky coating of goo that was on the stock, must have been covering, these, and making them unnoticeable, but then started to second guess my choice in degreasing.

My question to the experts here, is this. Did I f-up the finish with my cleaning method, or is is possible that the flaked finish was just hidden by the sticky coating?

 

[Pilgrim]

Probably the finish was already messed up. I've seen a lot that were.

I think it's a crappy shellac that is slathered over the wood at the arsenal...not a good or durable finish.

Mine did that and I stripped it all off and refinished it with Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO).

It would have been impossible to make the original look right.

 

[SKS Ray]

Just grab a can of this: http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=31
Its what was originally on there and will make it look like it just came out of the arsenal.

 

[Adam_MA]

Funny, I did end up getting a can of that exact shellac at the hardware store, but was unsure about using it without stripping the wood first. Should I go ahead and strip off the finish, then apply the new finish, or should I just go over what is there? I don't think there would be any way to make the finish look right, without stripping it first.

If I should strip it down, what is the best way to go about that?

Thanks
Adam

 

[Pilgrim]

keep in mind that shellac is not waterproof and will stain.

 

[SKS Ray]

I've used it on two stocks and didn't have to strip either before refinishing. Both stocks had flaking areas that were pretty bad. I just washed them down with denatured alcohol to soften the shellac and it start re-flowing it and softening the edges where it was flaking. You can actually remove shellac with denatured alcohol if you scrub enough.
Most people say thin the shellac with the alcohol 1 to 1, but I found that to be too thin. I poured about a half cup worth of shellac and thinned that with about a 1/4 cup of alcohol and found that easier to work with.
You want to start at the top and wipe in even strokes up and down or just down. Its really sticky and is a little difficult to work with the first time so maybe practing on some old wood would be a good idea if youre unsure of your refinishing skills. Once you get a coat on, let it dry and recoat in about an hour or 45 minutes. Two coats is plenty and use a lint free rag like an old t shirt. Oh and gloves, trust me on that one.
When you're done the stock will look like a perfect Russian finish should and you can assemble it later that night since it dries so fast. Best thing is if you do scratch it later on, just give that area a quick wip with more shellac and no one will ever be able to tell.

 

[Adam_MA]

Well,
I got 2 coats of the shellac on last night. I am now thinking that I should have stripped the rest of the old stuff off first, as you can still clearly see where it was chipped off. Though I don't think it looks all that bad. I left it hanging up to dry overnight, and if the 2 coats did the job sufficiently, I will reassemble the rifle tonight.

I'll try to get some pics when it's done.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[SKS Ray]

You could still always strip it all together if it starts to really bother you. Just be warned that shellac is a PITA to remove. The only ways I've ever completely removed it was with chemical strippers and lots of scrubbing with stiff bristle brushes followed by a water rinse. Pretty harsh for an old rifle stock that has collector value.
I'm sure we'll all be waiting for pictures.

 

[Adam_MA]

I'm sure we'll all be waiting for pictures.

If I get the rifle put back together tonight, I'll see about getting some pics.

 

[MrsWildweasel]

You could still always strip it all together if it starts to really bother you. Just be warned that shellac is a PITA to remove. The only ways I've ever completely removed it was with chemical strippers and lots of scrubbing with stiff bristle brushes followed by a water rinse. Pretty harsh for an old rifle stock that has collector value.
I'm sure we'll all be waiting for pictures.

Oven cleaner is your friend.

 

[JonJ]

Oven cleaner is your friend.

The HORROR! NEVER!

 

[vellnueve]

I don't use any stripping chemicals on stocks, just sandpaper, stain, oil.

 

[Adam_MA]

Well,
I got the chance to take the stock down from where it was hanging in my basement, and bring it upstairs into some good light. I am not happy with the way it turned out at all. The shellac came out pretty good, but the color is uneven all over, as the finish below had come off, leaving many spots that were very light in color. I ended up putting it back together, because I just don't want to muck with it, and get into using chemical strippers right now.

I'll see about getting some pics soon, maybe it's not all that bad, and I'm just being too over critical of it... Either way, I guess I can do that any time, after all, this will be a shooter!

 

[KMM696]

The shellac came out pretty good, but the color is uneven all over, as the finish below had come off, leaving many spots that were very light in color. I ended up putting it back together....

If it will help, your already way past the quality control level of the average Russian rearsenalled weapon's fit and finish! I can understand wanting to strip it down and start over, because I've done it to one of my Mosins, and it does look good. If you decide to leave it the way it is, anyone who sees it will assume it came that way from Mother Russia!



I have wondered if the shellac used on these had stain mixed in with it. I can picture that as a standard practice when rebuilding rifles that they hoped to never need again - one less step in the assembly process. I have an M38 that I think was reassembled before the shellac even dried. All the parts act like they are glued on, even after their fasteners are out, and popping pieces off pulls some of the surface finish off with it. I've left it alone since then.