wood refinishing

[TOM R]

I have pretty much got all the black paint stripped off my ww2 stock and it looks like some fancy wood grain, so boiled linseed oil or tung oil?

I have also been stripping and refinishing old 1917 30 cal ammo boxes for resale with tung oil just not sure if thats the right stuff to use on a stock.

Any thoughts?

[Abwehr]

Tom,

I usually use Boiled Linseed Oil. Some folks like the Tung Oil. I think it is a matter of opinion as both are good. My MG42 stock was refinished with BLO and it looks great. When I refinished it, I did not remove all the small nicks to give it that "used but not abused" appearance.

[Reichpapers]

Did you use a chemical stripper, or did you scrape and sand? I will also need to take the black off, I'd prefer a stripper as not to affect the wood as much. Do you have any pics of your wood?

[TOM R]

i used BIX stripper home depot. buy it in a gallon with a spray bottle did 2 coats with steel wool and hot water in between, now it is drying and may do a third coat, areas with fancy grain don't want to give up the paint as easy, this stripper worked great to remove the stain and only finish from my garand stocks but doesn't seem so great on this old military paint on these wood ammo boxes or the butt stock must be lead or something

[Reichpapers]

I always use bix too. Was wondering if there is a chemical that takes off the black.

[Abwehr]

I did not use BIX, but a similar product from Lowes. It worked great as long as you follow the directions and let it soften the paint, then scrap off, and followed up with a "wash" to remove any residual paint or oil on the wood. Be sure to let the dry completly before using the final finish. Don't ask how I know about letting the wood dry completly as I would have to lie, LOL!

[ak47dennis]

I always use bix too. Was wondering if there is a chemical that takes off the black.

The BIX will remove the black paint just like Russian shellac on the K98's.

We then can apply our obligatory 2 dozen applications of BLO.

[TOM R]

the bix doesn't wrinkle the paint for scraping it turns into a black goo, real nasty

[Reichpapers]

BIX tends to bubble the gunk out off the wood and onto the surface. Once the majority of the gunk is off, the residual black left in the grain shouls follow.

[salt6]

I used oven cleaner on my cmp Garands. What do ya think?


SB

[ak47dennis]

I used oven cleaner on my cmp Garands. What do ya think?


SB

Salt, oven cleaner works well for oily stocks but I don’t think its mighty enough for Ivan’s shellac or black paint.

[Bullwinkle]

I have found that appling the stripper in excess, then wrapping the stock in paper towels to hold the stripper in place to slow evaporation will increase the over all effectiveness of any stripper/oven cleaner. Refinishing many South African FAL wood stocks with the cammo paint has given me ample oppertunity to test this method.

[TOM R]

so bullwinkle what is the best stripper brand iyo?

[TOM R]

I have noticed my stock has a wood plug on the top and bottom at the rear is this for installing screws for the buffer assembly

[ak47dennis]

I have noticed my stock has a wood plug on the top and bottom at the rear is this for installing screws for the buffer assembly

This is common with the German MG stocks; I have been told that they are supposed to stop the grain from chipping and make the stock more rugged.

[Reichpapers]

It's to drain the water from the stocks upper and lower ballast tank. :P
(hopes nobody takes me seriously)

[TOM R]

ah yes the hydralic vibration dampening system

[TOM R]

ok i am going to try the blo is there a special proceedure/duration between coats,#of coats, how do I know when I used enough ?

[TOM R]

ok now that the blo is done the fancy grain ain't showin, should i tung oil it or should I have stained it? I hate finish work can never get it the way i want it :x

[Reichpapers]

I wouldn't worry too much about grain on an MG stock. They aren't like the K98's...you shouldn't get swirls and the such.