Refinished Romanian Stocks

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Refinished Romanian Stocks (Page 1 of 4)

Posted: 8/2/2005 5:48:24 PM EDT

Well, I just finished refinishing the stock sets for my two Rommy kits. I think they came out pretty well... What do you think?

Here's a better picture of the handguards...

Posted: 8/2/2005 5:50:43 PM EDT

[#1]

I think they look excellent. You can't post pics like that and not tell us how you did it. I'm sure it's illegal somewhere.

Posted: 8/2/2005 5:59:11 PM EDT

[#2]

Thanks!

I first took off the old finish with Bix stripper then I soaked them in some hot bleach water for about 2 or 3 hours. After letting them dry out good... I cheated by placing them in my oven for a few hours set at "warm" with the door cracked open. This turned out to be about 130 F or so. Next, I applied betadine with a brush. I did this about 3 times. I then wiped them down with a rag, and let them dry out again. By this time, they were a yellowish/orange color. I then applied some minwax Red Mahogany stain which I diluted about 1 part stain to 2 parts mineral spirits and wiped them down with that. After they dried out again, I applied 3 coats of Zinsser (SP?) Amber Shellac. That's about it.

Posted: 8/2/2005 6:55:16 PM EDT

[#3]

Beautiful job - outstanding. My salute to you.

Posted: 8/3/2005 5:41:14 AM EDT

[#4]

They dont look like firewood anymore....

Posted: 8/3/2005 6:19:00 AM EDT

[#5]

verrry well done. i like it. nice job.

Posted: 8/3/2005 9:04:22 AM EDT

[#6]

VERY nice work.

Posted: 8/3/2005 9:35:28 AM EDT

[#7]

Thank you all for the compliments. Now I just need to get these twins built!

Posted: 8/4/2005 8:29:07 PM EDT

[#8]

I just can't get over this......those are outstanding

Posted: 8/4/2005 8:32:44 PM EDT

[#9]

Very nice!

Posted: 8/5/2005 11:05:08 AM EDT

[#10]

WOW, you do most excellent work. Talk about making a silk purse out of a cow's ear!!!!!!!!!!!! BEAUTIFUL!!

Posted: 8/5/2005 12:16:55 PM EDT

[#11]

I just noticed that your upper handguards don't appear to be laminate? Are they solid? Did they come with the kit?

Posted: 8/5/2005 12:49:39 PM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
I just noticed that your upper handguards don't appear to be laminate? Are they solid? Did they come with the kit?

Yes, the uppers are solid wood and they are the original ones that came with the kits. It's kinda funny to think that the Bulgarian 74 kit I got a while back had a laminated upper and the rest of the furniture was all solid.

Posted: 8/5/2005 1:45:47 PM EDT

[#13]

Did the soaking remove all of the dings and scratches??

Posted: 8/5/2005 2:07:50 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Did the soaking remove all of the dings and scratches??

Yeah, the soaking in the hot bleach water for 2 or 3 hours plus some light sanding afterwards got rid of the dents and scratches. I didn't really have many dents or scratches to begin with though. A wet rag and a clothes iron will also work to remove some dents.

Posted: 8/5/2005 5:59:15 PM EDT

[#15]

wood looks outstanding!

husker, if you're interested i'll be doing some work on my romanian kit's wood this weekend. i'm down at offutt in base housing--you're welcome to stop by if you're interested in learning or wanna refinish yours too. i'd be happy to share what I know.

Posted: 8/6/2005 7:46:46 PM EDT

[#16]

Wow, that is some pretty wood.

Ben

Posted: 8/11/2005 2:05:51 PM EDT

[#17]

Very nice!

I was suprised how nice mine, and yours, cleaned up.

Posted: 8/11/2005 3:45:36 PM EDT

[#18]

Thanks longhorn! Can you post some pics of yours? I'd love to see how they look as well.

I wonder if we can get the mods to set up a thread just for stock and metal refinishing?

Posted: 8/11/2005 7:13:38 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Thanks longhorn! Can you post some pics of yours? I'd love to see how they look as well.
I wonder if we can get the mods to set up a thread just for stock and metal refinishing?

"that's some pretty wood". Wow, this is making think I'm ready some gay magazine. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours"

Enjoy guys,. Guns are good. I'm just messing with ya.

Posted: 8/11/2005 7:32:24 PM EDT

[#20]

Progunvoter, I've heard that yours is a really nice looking solid piece of wood!

Posted: 8/13/2005 6:25:36 AM EDT

[#21]

Excellent looking wood! I'm going to try and duplicate your process but what is betadine, how do I use it and where do I get it?

Posted: 8/13/2005 9:55:05 AM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
but what is betadine, how do I use it and where do I get it?

10% iodine solution

you can soak the wood in it (if you have a large enough quantity and a container the appropriate size) or brush it on like paint or varnish

wal-mart, walgreens, target, shopko, basically anywhere that sells band-aids and rubbing alcohol.

Posted: 8/13/2005 11:36:14 AM EDT

[#23]

cllary,

ArmedFerret is exactly right. I got my betadine in the bandaid section at WalMart. The label on the bottle reads...

Equate
povidone-iodine
solution, 10%

It was definitely cheaper at WalMart (around $5) compared to Walgreens (around $14) for a bottle. Keep in mind that it does look really good on the wood while it's still wet but once it dries it leaves a yellow/orange color. This yellow/orange color is just the base color. Once it dries from the betadine, lightly sand with very fine sand paper and rub in some diluted stain. The amber shellac really adds a nice rich color after that. The nice thing about shellac is how quickly it dries... so quick that you really need to work really fast with it. You should also dilute the shellac with some denatured alcohol. The negative about shellac is that it's not really the most durable finish out there especially with water but it's my understanding that the Russians used a shellac finish on their AK stocks though.

ETA: Feel free to IM me if you have any questions. I'd be more than happy to offer any help.

Posted: 8/15/2005 9:09:05 PM EDT

[#24]

Thanks longhorn! Can you post some pics of yours? I'd love to see how they look as well.

Happy to....

Lots of glare unfortunately.
Click to enlarge

Posted: 8/15/2005 10:31:38 PM EDT

[#25]

Thanks Longhorn for posting the pics.... it looks great!

Posted: 8/16/2005 1:44:37 PM EDT

[#26]

Looks good.......I have a similar set that turned out that way!

Posted: 8/16/2005 4:06:00 PM EDT

[#27]

Thanks guys!

I was shocked that it finished as well as it did due to the original condition. I've got old shovels that have better wood on them than this WASR did. Sure cleaned up well.

I know everyone says use authentic finishes like BLO and tung...but I bought this rifle before reading any of that stuff. I just sanded it down, stained it several times, then sprayed polyurethane on it a few times. It has not chipped or bubbled no matter how many times I have smoke the handguards or hit it against something.

Who knows?!?

I'll refinish my next project gun the "right" way so I can see what a tung or BLO finish looks like. I wouldn't mind buying a $79 SKS just for the experiment of doing just that...

Posted: 8/16/2005 5:41:01 PM EDT

[#28]

Tapeo1

Where did you find the Zinsser (SP?) Amber Shellac?

Posted: 8/16/2005 6:27:41 PM EDT

[#29]

Home Depot or Lowe's both had the shellac mentioned in different sizes. Where do you get the bix stripper?

Posted: 8/16/2005 6:44:19 PM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:
Tapeo1

Where did you find the Zinsser (SP?) Amber Shellac?

I bought the Amber Shellac at Home Depot. I bought the Bix stripper at Home Depot too. It doesn't have to be "Bix"... probably any chemical stripper will work. I would imagine that citrus stripper works too.

Posted: 8/17/2005 9:30:47 AM EDT

[#31]

Was the shellac in a spray can?

Posted: 8/17/2005 11:13:05 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:
Was the shellac in a spray can?

No, it comes in a can and you need to brush it on. You can find it in the paint section at HD. BTW, you'll want to dilute it with some DNA (Denatured Alcohol) before applying.

Posted: 8/17/2005 4:58:40 PM EDT

[#33]

A nice feature of shellac is that you can always add, adjust or redo., Natural hair brushes are best with long light strokes. Some refinishers use shellac cut with denatured al. for a sanding sealer. I was told each coat bonds completely with the one before.

Posted: 8/27/2005 6:25:09 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Was the shellac in a spray can?

No, it comes in a can and you need to brush it on. You can find it in the paint section at HD. BTW, you'll want to dilute it with some DNA (Denatured Alcohol) before applying.

How much DNA would I need to dilute it?

Posted: 8/27/2005 7:14:06 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Was the shellac in a spray can?

No, it comes in a can and you need to brush it on. You can find it in the paint section at HD. BTW, you'll want to dilute it with some DNA (Denatured Alcohol) before applying.

How much DNA would I need to dilute it?

Oh, I think I dulted it to about 4 parts shellac to 1 part DNA... something like that. You might want to dilute to about 50/50 for the first coat though.

Posted: 8/27/2005 8:50:53 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Was the shellac in a spray can?

No, it comes in a can and you need to brush it on. You can find it in the paint section at HD. BTW, you'll want to dilute it with some DNA (Denatured Alcohol) before applying.

How much DNA would I need to dilute it?

Oh, I think I dulted it to about 4 parts shellac to 1 part DNA... something like that. You might want to dilute to about 50/50 for the first coat though.

How thick was the shellac? I have a bottle here at home but it's really thick stuff.

Posted: 8/27/2005 9:34:21 PM EDT

[#37]

Oh, I'm not sure how thick it was out of the can.. it wasn't too bad but the DNA helps make it easier to apply. Do you have the amber shellac? You really need the amber colored shellac for good color (i.e. don't use the clear shellac).

Posted: 8/28/2005 11:36:55 PM EDT

[#38]

I used shellac on my WASR 10 and the lower forearm blistered when the barrel got hot after a couple of mags.
I used Bullseye brand in a spray can.
Anyone else have that problem?

Posted: 8/31/2005 5:34:56 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:
I used shellac on my WASR 10 and the lower forearm blistered when the barrel got hot after a couple of mags.
I used Bullseye brand in a spray can.
Anyone else have that problem?

I'm planning on making some sheet metal heat guards (like the ones for the plastic lowers) for the lower handguards.

Posted: 9/2/2005 1:54:47 PM EDT

[#40]

I used shellac on my WASR 10 and the lower forearm blistered when the barrel got hot after a couple of mags.
I used Bullseye brand in a spray can.
Anyone else have that problem?

I put about 10 coats of spray polyurethane on the one I posted pictures of here. For whatever reason, mine never did bubble despite cooking the barrel numerous times.

Probably has something to do with how much moisture is in the wood prior to finishing. I bet if you stripped your stock with oven cleaner and then washed it off, this would cause the wood to be too moist prior to finish.

I've shot unrefinished rifles before where I got the wood so hot that cosmoline bubbled out of the grain.

I sanded mine, so it was never wet, aside from the moisture involved in staining.

Posted: 9/2/2005 9:45:45 PM EDT

[#41]

I'm trying TAPEO's method right now.

I'll post pics later as soon as I get the foregrip bleached...

Posted: 9/2/2005 10:26:04 PM EDT

[#42]

Using the Birchwood Casey gunstock refinishing kit ($11.99), I refinished the top 2 rifles....

-WASR 10
-Maadi
The bottom rifle is my Romak AK74 which has been polished with a gun wax.

If you want the method, lemme know.

Posted: 9/3/2005 12:45:29 PM EDT

[#43]

Finished bleaching, now I'm staining it with the iodine. It's the dark dark red stuff right?

Posted: 9/3/2005 3:43:20 PM EDT

[#44]

Yep, it's the dark red stuff. It won't look dark red when it dries though. It'll be orange. After it dries, lightly sand since the iodine will raise the grain. Then rub in some diluted stain followed by amber shellac.

Posted: 9/3/2005 5:30:25 PM EDT

[#45]

My humble attempt with Romanian take-off furniture on my SAR-1:

Posted: 9/3/2005 5:40:50 PM EDT

[#46]

Quoted:
Yep, it's the dark red stuff. It won't look dark red when it dries though. It'll be orange. After it dries, lightly sand since the iodine will raise the grain. Then rub in some diluted stain followed by amber shellac.

Done.

I'll post pics here in a sec...

Posted: 9/5/2005 2:53:37 PM EDT

[#47]

Well, I finished the first of my two Rommy kits. A big "thank you" goes to Socandyman for his help. Pics can be seen here....

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=4&f=51&t=75271&page=1