What kind of finish should I use on my M-39?

[Oxford]

Yo welcome! :nod: Let us know how it goes.

[Big Dog]

Lately, I've been using the Birchwood-Casey water-based stain. It goes on smoothly, soaks in and dries quickly - no having to wipe off messy excess! The color locks in better too - the oil-based stuff too often wipes off and leaves little color behind.
Forget the Gel-stain - it hardly colors a gunstock at all. Just a lot of greasy mess.

[myarmor]

Well I used Minwax oil based stain. And I used a fine brush. I didn't wipe off the excess, because there wasn't hardly any there. I tried to put a light coat, but it is a little dark. That's ok by me though.
I will have to wait now to see how dark it does will come out.
So the spray Poly stuff is no good you say?
I don't really want a high gloss finish, but satin would be nice.

[whirlwind]

minwax is what ive used too. i really like the spray (spar) urethane. jmhop

[myarmor]

I am doing a practice job on my brothers 91/30 stock that he doesn't want. It is cracked, has some nasty splits too, so I might just try out the spray on it to see how it looks.

[myarmor]

Ok so it's been a couple of days now and the stocks are dry and look pretty good so far. But get this, After I stained my top piece of wood that clamps on top of the barrel, I sit it out in my truck to dry. I think you see where this is going-there was some left over cosmo in the piece and it started seeping out
So of course it came through the stain.
My question is, what will happen when (after heating and wiping it off) I put poly on it now? Will it seep through the poly?
A little help would come in VERY handy now fellas...

[whirlwind]

yup, it will seep thru if ya didnt get it all out. all you can do is reapply the easy off oven cleaner and leave it on longer this time. its a pain to start over but i dont see any way around it bro.

[myarmor]

I guess it will take my my staining out too, right?
I would hope so.
I think I will put it under the hair dyer for a few.
I have heard of some one putting the piece of wood in the Microwave. But of course doing it only a few seconds at a time, to not catch the Wave on fire. On second thought that sounds really stupid.

[Oxford]

whirlwind is right...since the grease seeped through the stain there's no other choice but to re-strip the stock and start over.

If you have a heat gun try using that over the stock's surface. But...don't burn the wood. It puts out a lot of heat...enough to actually cause burns if not kept under control.

Sorry about the problem myarmor, but you'll learn from this and I'll bet you'll get it right this time. :right: That cosmo is really tough to get completely out of the wood so this isn't an unusual problem. :nod:

[Big Dog]

That's one reason I avoid the "plastic" poly-spray finishes on milsurps - the oils seeping out will lift it and ruin the overall job. The tung oil and boiled linseed oil finishes are more forgiving - the oils can bleed out, but not ruin the job - you just keep wiping it when it seeps out.
My old 1917-dated Enfield sometimes looks like it's sweating from the heat when I sit it in the sun at the range! A good wipedown, and it still looks good.

[myarmor]

Oh well, no big deal. I don't have to redue the entire stock, just the top piece.
I was curious about that BigDog. About the spray.
I'll have to try the heat gun-Thanks Ox

[Big Dog]

I don't avoid the polyspray totally, just on milsurps. I don't like shiny milsurps anyway - I like the dull "military matte" look!

I do often use the shiny stuff on sporting guns, especially the smooth birch stocks. It can sure pretty-up a twentytwo!
But, the poly stuff is harder to repair in the event of a ding too. I cringe when another shooter beside me starts banging away with certain semi-autos. I have a few guns with brass-dings! Bummer . . .

[Indy]

Please let give a couple of suggestions to add to the list of the other gentlemen. When you use stain on endgrain it tends to soak up more stain and becomes darker. If you use sanding sealer on the whole stock by covering the total stock and then wiping it off after the recommended time. Usually the time is around 10 to 15 minutes. The wood is sealed and you will get an even stain application.
Tung oil is the best finish on military rifles. I put on two coats before sanding or rubbing down before the third coat. The secret is giving the coats plenty of drying time. I normally go about two days between coats. Don't over apply the Tung oil, use a clean rag and put a small amount on it. Rub it in the stock with smooth even strokes. After several coats, if you want a real smooth finish, use 600 grit wet sandpaper and mineral oil. The stock will feel like glass, but the type of Tung oil will determine the sheen. Most people use satin finish Tung.
Indy

[toolman]

myarmor, try wrapping the handguard in newspaper and leaving it in your truck in the sun, or put it in a tray covered in (UNUSED! ) kitty litter in a good warm place. As the heat draws out the cosmo, the paper or kitty litter soaks it up. Then use oven cleaner or hot water and Dawn to get the rest out.

[myarmor]

Not a bad idea there toolman. I will have to keep that in mind for the next project.
I sat the small top piece on top of my electric heater, and it pulled what was left right out of it. This cosmo is some tricky stuff to be sure.

[toolman]

It took a looong time to get all of the cosmoline out of my 91/30. Every time I thought it was all out, I'd shoot it and by the 3rd shot the handguard would be seeping. Then I got the bright idea of looking for tips on G&G and other mil-surp forums and in no time, it was all gone.

[wILLIAM aDRIAN]

first and foremost do not sand the stock, the value of your Finn is that it indeed went to war and the character is the value. I have 22 Finns! I take Murphys oil soap, either burlap or 0000 steel wool and GENTLY rum all the grime and oil and dirt off the stock rubbing with the grain. This will expose but not get rid of the original patina. I then rumb it down after it dries FROM WASHING WITH WARM WATER with linseed oil. You will have a beautiful rifle that will have not lost its value and it will look gorgeouS to boot. NEVER REFINSIH OR SAND!!! NEVER!!

[tommy]

Originally Posted by Big Dog

The one M91/30 I refinished had some funky orangey wood - looked for all the world like cypress, though of course it isn't. MinWax Redwood Mahogany comes out fairly orangish, like the Russky's used. Looks good on my Romanian M69 .22 rifle.
The Russian (and especially Finnish) wood don't seem to take the stain too well. I think there's too much resin in the wood. Stain just washes right off!
Repeated coats of the Tung Oil will get glossy - but I don't generally like a lot of gloss. May take a lot of coats though! Don't use the spray poly stuff - it just don't look right.
I used Dark Walnut on my early M91, but it still didn't come out as dark as I hoped.
Good luck guys!

hey bigdog i found to get that dark walnut to darken up like it should you have to let it dry for about 45 minutes to an hour and a half even longer then i put a second coat if needed then wipe it down very softly trying not to take to much off .i think on one of my ak's i didn't even wipe it off i let it dry completely then went over it with some poly. but thats how i get the stuff o darken up. i too like the dark walnut wood look.this is my ak for grip with dark walnut