strip or sand off old finish on SKS stock?

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ColumbusJBR

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I have a Norinco SKS and would like to refinish the stock. The current finish is in good shape, but I don't care for the orangish color, so I want to get it down to bare wood and stain it with a ebony colored semi-transparent wood stain (minwax), then clear it out with some sort of satin clear coat.

When I search for similar project tips, everyone mentions using a chemical stripper to strip off the finish. My question is, couldn't I just sand off the old finish and sand the stock down to bare wood? Is the stripper necessary? Or does it just save you some elbow grease? Any recommendations?

Also, anyone have a product recommendation for the clear coat? I'd like it to have a satin finish. I was thinking of Minwax's poly clear or whatever its called, but I'm open to suggestions. Thanks!
 
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I like a combination of Easy Off oven cleaner and heat. Combined with an absorbent substance of some kind, it makes it easy to both remove the finish and to leach out any oil, cosmoline, etc.
 
My Norinco SKS looks like it has a shellac finish. You can either sand this off or use denatured alcohol to dissolve it. Alcohol evaporates fast so you would need to do a small section at a time. I personally do not like to finish guns with poly because I have had problems later redoing the finish. I like tung oil for a satin finish and Tru oil for a gloss finish on top of the wood. I have also just waxed stocks but you have to reapply it more often. If you use tung oil, apply many light coats. I use a white 3-M pad to apply and then use it to sand down the stock before each coat.
 
Chemical stripper saves you the sanding effort of course, but it also saves the wood from loosing it's shape around the edges where the metal parts fit.
In sanding off a finish, the metal parts are removed from the wood I'd imagine in this case,,and you're just working on the stock itself.
It's easy to get carried away a bit when focused on removing the finish on the wood and remove some wood along with it.
Then when it's put -together-time,,the metal parts are over sized in spots (standing 'proud' of the wood is the term use).

Many of the Chinese made rifles have nothing but shellac on them for a finish. Simple alcohol or laquer thinner will cut that off easily.

Many Military rifles have more than enough wood that they can stand to have a bit taken down in areas w/o it causing the condition.
Some do not.
It takes some time and effort to do it right and in any case do not round over any sharp edges that should be present.

A chemical stripper will help remove some of the other 'junk' that may be imbedded in Military stocks. They seem to get it all when it comes to preservatives and storage coatings.

A very light sanding after the stripping may help tidy things up but don't remove any factory markings.

The wood types on these may not take an oil stain too well as they can be hardwoods like our beech, birch, ect. If they won't stain evenly or dark enough you'll have to go with a solvent stain like alcohol based stain. But many of these are made with some sort of a light colored softwood that colors pretty easily.

For a finish on top,,everyone'll have a favorite. I use plain Homer Formby Tung Oil Varnish on everything from a set of grips to a Parker.
Comes in satin and semi gloss too.

It's more in how it's applied than what is applied that'll make the difference in the final look.
Techniques in applying are as different as the types of finishes themselves. That all adds up to many different final appearances of even the same product.

Good Luck on your project!
 
The Chinese used orange shellac as their finish on chu wood stocks. Quite a few SKSs are being sold now with European replacement stocks made from birch or beech but the way you describe it sounds like an original Chinese chu wood stock. The best way to strip the shellac from the stock would be to peel off as much of the old shellac as possible with a plastic putty knife. Shellac gets brittle and loses adhesion with age. What that doesn't remove some denatured alcohol and a cousre rag like and old towel will get.

Sorry cmort666 but no oven cleaner, it's far too caustic for the soft chu wood that stock is made of. The only thing oven cleaner is good for is cleaning ovens. Avoid abrasives as much as possible because once you sand away a serial number or round a sharp corner with sandpaper there's no turnung back.

I agree with Louisanna Joe about the finish, not the sandpaper. Boiled linseed oil, tung Oil and Tru Oil will all finish it real well, each with a different degree of sheen.


You do realize that any collector's value the rifle has will be gone if you do this.
 
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I've refinished several & found that Chemical Strippers save a bit of work, but some sanding needed to get rid of all the orange color . Some good stain & a spray coat or 2 of satin Polyurethane seems to work pretty well for me.
 
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I'd remove the original stock and replace it with a refinished retro stock, or a used mil-issue stock that I'd worked on first. Original is only original once, and SKSs climbed in price over the last 12 months. Nice clean models that are not bubba'd are becoming a rarity, and anything that retains originality with hold its value over time.
 
LVSteve said:
So you guys are the bubbas refinishing these milsurps.:(
Click to expand...

Some cretin stuck a Russian refurb into a black plastic stock that didn't even have a bayo groove! :mad:



Thanks to a forum member it now rests in proper '53 Rooskey stocl complete with Tula star! :D I've since obtained a wooden handguard that's a fair match for the stock. It ain't gettin' refinished on MY watch. ;)



 
Thanks for all the tips guys!

Yes, I'm aware this would kill any value. Not a huge concern to me, but that said, where's a good place to look for spare wood stocks?

Thanks!
 
LVSteve said:
I wouldn't even bubba a Chinese SKS as they are usually the best shooters.
Click to expand...

I have a Norinco & the finish on it is a very nice satin blue. It came in the fiberglass jungle stock. Very nice but for some reason the rough ol' BBQ painted Russian feels just a bit slicker in the action.
 
ColumbusJBR said:
Thanks for all the tips guys!

Yes, I'm aware this would kill any value. Not a huge concern to me, but that said, where's a good place to look for spare wood stocks?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

sksboards . com and the 'bay are good starting points. The larger AK forum has a subforum dedicated to SKS rifles as well.
 
Collector value? A Norinco SKS? Really?
The handguard on mine looks like they poured the shellac over it. What would you do with that? I'd just like it to look similar to the stock.
 
wbraswell said:
Collector value? A Norinco SKS? Really?
The handguard on mine looks like they poured the shellac over it. What would you do with that? I'd just like it to look similar to the stock.
Click to expand...

Kinda my thoughts as well. Didn't get it as an investment, got it as a inexpensive rifle that I can tweak/play with to my liking.
 
sheepdawg said:
Sorry cmort666 but no oven cleaner, it's far too caustic for the soft chu wood that stock is made of. The only thing oven cleaner is good for is cleaning ovens.
Click to expand...
Friends and I have done quite a few stocks using Easy Off and have gotten excellent results.

Raise dents with a damp cloth and an iron. Sanding with progressively finer media, followed by a thin coat of sealer and multiple coats of linseed oil will give you a beautiful stock.

We weren't making any pretense of maintaining a period correct finish.
 
Take a SHARP knife, and scrape it off, Put the knife at a 50* angle and drag it straight back or forward. This will remove the finish, plus very slightly gouge the wood, therefore bringing out the grain 10x more. Light sand after and stain.

Cool trick *. Add strips of much thicker stain in the process, makes a tigerwood look when its done :-D
 
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