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Posted: 11/13/2008 3:01:31 PM EDT
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Just wanted to share some pics of my WASR I picked up last week. A nice AK overall. I finished the wood this week and it came out great! Total refinish project cost about $12 and makes a world of difference in appearance.
Jeremiah http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/stockorig1.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/stockstain1.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/akorig1.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/akfinish1.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/stockfinish1.jpg |
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I'm used to refinishing Mil surpluses; Nagants, SKS's, etc. All have been covered with cosmoline. Did you strip your stock or do any pre-finish work on it? I have found the best way for me (Some will frown) is to throw the wood in the dishwasher; comes out all nice and clean and looks like a new unfinished wood.
I may do something like this (Staining) just haven't made up my mind yet. That does say "Sedona Red 222" right? |
WASRs clean up real nice. Here's one of mine.-   And another WASR that I did...this was my first try on WASR furniture and I ended up with more stain and shellac coats than I really wanted...still turned out OK though. (My other WASR shown above turned out better IMO though, so it's my favorite  )- Cleaned the wood up with a water/TSP substitute mix and ScotchBrite pad. Let the wood dry out overnight to let the water evaporate out. Then applied 2-3 coats of Verathane "Cabernet" stain. Put on two coats of Zinsser "Amber Shellac" ( fine steel wool in between coats of shellac- let the shellac dry overnight before you steel wool it and put on the second coat). Here's some of the stuff I used. I ended up going with the shellac, as metioned. I know that Wipe-On Poly is a good option too though. I also found that cut up t-shirts are the best for applying both stain AND shellac. Brushes, foam pads, etc. are not nearly as good as a plain cut up cotton shirt in my opinion. This comes after 3-4 furniture staining experiences...  I learned from a previos staining experience to just be patient and let everything dry sufficiently. Let the water dry out of the wood after you clean it. Let the stain dry between coats. Let the shellac dry between coats (very important ).This is what the wood looks like after about 3 wipe downs with TSP substitute and ScotchBrite pad. It really gets the grease out.-  I never took a good picture of it, but the M44 in this pic also got the same TSP/Cabernet/Amber Shellac treatment.-  |
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Yes I used the Sedona Red 222, it is a great color. Also I forgot to mention that I used the spray urethane and that made it look really good, and shiny! I probably should have sanded the wood even more to get a smoother surface, but it was pretty old and I didn't want to risk talking to much off. Here are a few more pictures that might help with a better understanding of the color. Once this cures for another day or so, I think I am going to wet sand it and polish it!
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/ak1.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/stock1.jpg http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee83/jonjer76/min1.jpg |
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