Refinishing a Laminate Mosin Stock

gaskg · May 13, 2011

I just bought a couple of Mosins. I was thinking of refinishing the stocks on them as a project. I have an ex-dragoon and a Tula with a laminate stock. I've found lots of info on refinishing the hardwood stock , but not so much for the laminate. Thanks!

Garand1957 · May 13, 2011

Not sure why a laminate would be different unless you were using some type of solvent/stripper that might de-laminate the wood.
The Russian shellac will come off with denatured alcohol and that wont hurt the laminate.
I would recomend spraying the new shellac finish on but I have only found clear shellac in a spray.
You can mix the color on shellac yourself and use a air brush to apply it.
I have used a paint brush to apply it but it dries crazy fast. It takes a little practice to apply it with a brush because of how fast it dries.
That's why I suggested an air brush , which is what i'm going to use next time after I mix the right shade of Russian red color.
If your not going to use an original shellac finish then go with what you know.

gaskg · May 13, 2011

Garand1957 said:
Not sure why a laminate would be different unless you were using some type of solvent/stripper that might de-laminate the wood.
The Russian shellac will come off with denatured alcohol and that wont hurt the laminate.
I would recomend spraying the new shellac finish on but I have only found clear shellac in a spray.
You can mix the color on shellac yourself and use a air brush to apply it.
I have used a paint brush to apply it but it dries crazy fast. It takes a little practice to apply it with a brush because of how fast it dries.
That's why I suggested an air brush , which is what i'm going to use next time after I mix the right shade of Russian red color.
If your not going to use an original shellac finish then go with what you know.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I was worried about solvents harming the laminate stock. I will stick with Denatured alcohol. I was thinking about an oil finish. Is it better to go with shellac? Thanks for the help!

Garand1957 · May 13, 2011

gaskg said:
Thanks for the advice. I guess I was worried about solvents harming the laminate stock. I will stick with Denatured alcohol. I was thinking about an oil finish. Is it better to go with shellac? Thanks for the help!

Shellac would be an "original" type of finish if that means anything in regard to your refinishing goals. However shellac is not nearly as durable as many modern varnish finishes or a polyurethane finish.
For what it's worth shellac can be "touched up" or repaired much easier than most varnish finishes once you understand how it works.

clandestine · May 13, 2011

I use poly on my refinishes, its more durable IMHO but its not original.

Garand1957 · May 13, 2011

Chad everytime you post a pic of that rifle I can't help but think that rifle looks way to nice to be an old WWII military surplus Communist made rifle

You have a can on that rifle now...right ?
I have a laminate M91/30 Mosin but it's not that nice looking....or a sniper

gaskg · May 13, 2011

clandestine said:
I use poly on my refinishes, its more durable IMHO but its not original.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc91/crazymomabird/Personal%20Fir
earms/DSC08011.jpg

That is a beautiful rifle! I hope mine turns out half as nice as that one. Did you stain, then use coats of poly? What did you use for stain? What color is that? Thanks!

clandestine · May 13, 2011

Garand1957 said:
Chad everytime you post a pic of that rifle I can't help but think that rifle looks way to nice to be an old WWII military surplus Communist made rifle
You have a can on that rifle now...right ?
I have a laminate M91/30 Mosin but it's not that nice looking....or a sniper

Yup, shes suppressed now. Its a really neat rifle.

Heres my 2 boys shooting it:

It was a nice one before I reworked it. My wife bought it for me about 7 years ago for christmas (Along with a real PU Scope and Mount/Base). She went to a gunshow and went through tons before finding one with a perfect bore, laminated wood and decent metal. I love that woman and that big rifle.

clandestine · May 13, 2011

gaskg said:
That is a beautiful rifle! I hope mine turns out half as nice as that one. Did you stain, then use coats of poly? What did you use for stain? What color is that? Thanks!

Stripped to bare wood, and I stained the wood with red fod color, then washed it off (Wood will be pink once you do this). The apply Minwax Sedonia Red 215 Stain. Then take mineral spirits and soak the rifle, the stain will seep in better and show more grain.

Let dry for a week then spray with Minway Satin Spray on Poly (Home Depot and Lowes carries it). Spray 3 coats then let dry for 3 days then cut with 400 paper. Repeat this for 12-21 coats till all the grain is filled. Let the stock sit for a month before reassembling so the finish can fully harden.

Patience is key here, a stock refinish like this will take at least 25-40 hours.

vette97 · May 13, 2011

Garnet Flake Shellac is available at Woodcraft in Towson. That's the color you want. ;-)

oldman12 · May 13, 2011

Clandestine, freakin WOW, that sniper is very sweet.

marko12 · May 14, 2011

Every time you post pictures of any of your guns it makes me cry.

Every time you post pictures of any of your kids shooting your guns it makes

me

SMILE.

Chaunsey · May 14, 2011

actually both oil and shellac finishes are accurate.

both were done, later on they switched to more and more and then exclusively to shellac.

the BLO was apparently tinted a little though too.

it would actually be easier to more accurately do the BLO finish, because the shellaced rifles were actually first dipped in pine tar.

personally i much prefer to do oil finishes, it just looks more period correct and feels nice,plus you can take some more oil and touch up the finish any time.

even though BLO is more accurate, when doing an oil finish on a stock that doesnt already have oil on it, i prefer tung oil, it makes for a more durable finish with less coats, just make sure to lightly scrub with 0000 steel wool and buff between coats or it builds up a little more shine than BLO does.

Garand1957 · May 14, 2011

Chaunsey said:
actually both oil and shellac finishes are accurate.

both were done, later on they switched to more and more and then exclusively to shellac.

the BLO was apparently tinted a little though too.

it would actually be easier to more accurately do the BLO finish, because the shellaced rifles were actually first dipped in pine tar.

personally i much prefer to do oil finishes, it just looks more period correct and feels nice,plus you can take some more oil and touch up the finish any time.

even though BLO is more accurate, when doing an oil finish on a stock that doesnt already have oil on it, i prefer tung oil, it makes for a more durable finish with less coats, just make sure to lightly scrub with 0000 steel wool and buff between coats or it builds up a little more shine than BLO does.

Actually an oil finish would only be correct for a rifle that has been in service for a while. Russian Mosin Nagant stocks that appear to have an "oil" finish have just had the shellac worn off.
Once the shellac finish was worn off from service it was not reapplied untill it was refurbished.
The soldier it was issued to would oil the the stock as a part of routine rifle maintenance.
As far as pine tar only the Finnish Mosin rifle stocks got that treatment not Russian Mosin rifles

Chaunsey · May 15, 2011

Garand1957 said:
Actually an oil finish would only be correct for a rifle that has been in service for a while. Russian Mosin Nagant stocks that appear to have an "oil" finish have just had the shellac worn off.
Once the shellac finish was worn off from service it was not reapplied untill it was refurbished.
The soldier it was issued to would oil the the stock as a part of routine rifle maintenance.
As far as pine tar only the Finnish Mosin rifle stocks got that treatment not Russian Mosin rifles

there were rifles originally finished in oil at the factory, up until relatively recently most people didnt think so either, and since most were redone in shellac thats all you see, but it was actually confirmed by a guy at the tula plant.

as for the pine tar, it was used to seal the stocks under the shellac, there are so many variations to the production methods that no one answer applies to all rifles, and the pine tar might have only been done on some of the pre 91/30 model rifles, and again, they were mostly redone either by the finns, or redone in plain shellac by the soviets.

of course there are many theories and opinions out there and not everyone agrees on many things.

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