Care of stripped wood stock

[z90HD]

Good day everyone,

I just pick up super nice mosin m44 today at the show. Metal is in superb condition as is the wood but the wood has been stripped of the original finish. I talked with a fella there who told me I could oil it if I kept it bear. Im not to sure I want to oil the wood. I was just thinking of just waxing it to seal it. What do you all think?

Secondly, Im making a trip to Atlanta at the end of the month and was wondering if anyone knows of any gun shops there that is decent with old long gun prices.

Thanks

z90HD

[Garufa]

In what condition is the stock now? Refinished? Stained?

Shellac is the traditional finish.

[china coaster]

wax will build up over time and you will have to use something to get it off and start over. With boiled linseed oil you can just rub some on occasionally and it will be fine.

[DWARREN123]

Many diifferent finishes for wood are available. Some of the new strains w/poly coat are good. Depends on how much you want to put into it and what you want it to look like.

Try some mil-surp sites to see what is out there.

[Jonnin]

The oil in question is designed for wood, tongue oil is one type that can be used, there are several others as well. It will soak in, seal the wood, but does not make the stock "oily" if that was your concern. I think some of these can turn the wood darker over time.

Since the gun was stripped, you can really do *anything* at all with the stock now without really hurting the value any more than has already been done. Seal it with a clear wood sealer, paint it, stain it, oil it, any of those will work. There is a type of varnish/stain with wax built in as well if you want a wax type finish; this stuff can be buffed to a very nice shine. It does matter what sort of shape the wood is in now; was it sanded? Chemistry finish remover and scraped? Its it back to natural wood color or still some stain in places? Etc? I am no expert, just a dabbler, but you could choose from a wide variety of products at this point.

[z90HD]

In what condition is the stock now? Refinished? Stained?

Shellac is the traditional finish.

The stock is in great shape. no finish on it at all . In fact it must have been stripped for a while as the areas where you would place your right hand to shoot is dark in color from the oils in the skin. other than that there is no other type finish on it.

[bajabuc]

I disolved steelwool in nitric acid until no more would disolve. Using RUBBER gloves and a cotton swab held in a split stick, I soaked the swab and "slathered" on the stain. Makes plain wood look like high quality walnut. After I let it soak for a while I used to vinegar to "stop" it and then used warn boiled linseed to preserve the wood. I actually heated the stock over the stove burner and rubbed in the oil. Seven coats...then beeswax to finish it.

[Guest mrkirker]

On a 'cammo-ed' Winchester 52 stock (go figure), I removed all the paint with steel wool. Then continued with finer and finer grades of wool till it was glassy smooth. (This took a while). Since I wasn't doing the 'restoration' thing, I didn't re-do with the Winchester-red stain, but left it natural. Boiled linseed oil, then steel wool, over and over, letting it FULLY cure between coats. When it looked and felt 'right' waited a couple of days, and looked at it again. One more coating and a very light dose of steel wool. Then I reattached all the hardware. It's not oily or greasy at all.

Whatever you decide and do, DONT get in a hurry. Do it once, do it right.

[gregintenn]

On a 'cammo-ed' Winchester 52 stock

Some people shouldn't be allowed to have fine guns.

There will be those that argue with me, but Tru Oil is hard to beat. If it's too shinely for you, rub it with 0000 steel wool or pumice dust after it has cured.

[z90HD]

I want to thank all of you so far for all the great ideas. I am not a wood worker though. I turn wrenches for a living. A good friend of mine who is retired loves working with wood and is always building something at home. I may just turn this project over to him and see what he can do with it. I will mention to him about the ideas posted here.