Recently bought a T53 Mosin from a member here for short money. I wanted one with the intent of refinishing the stock and giving me something to do in my downtime. So after contemplating whether or not I wanted to realllllly do it, I did.
When I bought it, the wood was in decently rough shape. There was some epoxy used to seal gouges, typical dings and dents amd flaky laquer.
These pictures dont do it justice but I'm sure the seller could attest to its beatness. I definitely liked the wear amd intended on keeping those scars on it. I chipped out that epoxy and let her be.....naked.
I then proceeded to strip the finish off. I used denatured alcohol, a nylon brush and rags. Game 5 was on so it was about a 3 hour job. Couldve done it in 2 but people were over and I was busy doing 12oz curls in between stripping sets. I let her dry for 24 hours after washing her down with boiling water. The next day I took to sanding.. something to the tune of 120, 240 all the way up to 1000. I cleaned with a tack rag inbetween sanding and then did a wipe down with denatured booze.
The stock was matte and natural. These pictures dont really help show that... stock wissmooth smooth smooth but those character marks still show. Perfect.
Next I pre conditioned the wood with MiniMax pre and let it dry for 15 minutes. I wiped it down and rid it of all the extra; then stained it. Walnut if I remember correctly. Same drill, let dry for 15 minutes and then wiped down. She dried for 10 or so hours and I hit it again with the stain. Same drill. Let it sit overnight...
again, pictures do no justice to the color.
I grabbed my trusty Tru-Oil and a white t shirt. Worked the oil into the stock, making sure to not leave any spots bare or with excess oil. Let it dry for 2 hours and then took 0000 steel wool and worked it over the wood in a similar fashion staying with the grain as always. Oil, dry, wool, repeat... On coat #5 now. Shooting for 15 or so...
Stay tuned and let me know any helpful advice for future like projects!
When I bought it, the wood was in decently rough shape. There was some epoxy used to seal gouges, typical dings and dents amd flaky laquer.
These pictures dont do it justice but I'm sure the seller could attest to its beatness. I definitely liked the wear amd intended on keeping those scars on it. I chipped out that epoxy and let her be.....naked.
I then proceeded to strip the finish off. I used denatured alcohol, a nylon brush and rags. Game 5 was on so it was about a 3 hour job. Couldve done it in 2 but people were over and I was busy doing 12oz curls in between stripping sets. I let her dry for 24 hours after washing her down with boiling water. The next day I took to sanding.. something to the tune of 120, 240 all the way up to 1000. I cleaned with a tack rag inbetween sanding and then did a wipe down with denatured booze.
The stock was matte and natural. These pictures dont really help show that... stock wissmooth smooth smooth but those character marks still show. Perfect.
Next I pre conditioned the wood with MiniMax pre and let it dry for 15 minutes. I wiped it down and rid it of all the extra; then stained it. Walnut if I remember correctly. Same drill, let dry for 15 minutes and then wiped down. She dried for 10 or so hours and I hit it again with the stain. Same drill. Let it sit overnight...
again, pictures do no justice to the color.
I grabbed my trusty Tru-Oil and a white t shirt. Worked the oil into the stock, making sure to not leave any spots bare or with excess oil. Let it dry for 2 hours and then took 0000 steel wool and worked it over the wood in a similar fashion staying with the grain as always. Oil, dry, wool, repeat... On coat #5 now. Shooting for 15 or so...
Stay tuned and let me know any helpful advice for future like projects!
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