SKS Cleanup

janxster · Aug 17, 2013

Well after some looking around I finally picked up my first SKS from bigdog in va. I am in the process of cleaning it up. I disassembled it, including the bolt, de-cosmolined it, stripped the old finish and am refinishing the stock. I would like to bring out the grain but keep it looking like an SKS. Any suggestions? i saw one finish suggestion that was boiled linseed oil then true-oil but no pics. should it be stained? i know that depends on preference but what would give an original looking finish. its a 57 chinese.
the grain is interesting as it runs top to bottom instead of front to back.

Combloc · Aug 17, 2013

You can't fix ruined. You should've left it original. I would have traded you a pristine chicom for it as it was.

smdub · Aug 17, 2013

Grain does not run top to bottom. Those are ray flecks in the wood. Beech and maple exhibit it. Walnut does not have them. Quartersawn oak shows them off well too but no one makes gun stocks out of oak.

wilcam47 · Aug 17, 2013

make sure you clean the gas tube and the push rod/spring behind that as well..

j8064 · Aug 17, 2013

I'm no expert. From all I've researched and read over the years most Chinese SKS stocks were made from chu like the Chinese T-53's. Chu is very different than woods used on other gun stocks from the period in other combloc countries.

If you want an "original" finish -> shellac. Personally I have to agree with Combloc...the stock was better left in original condition.

Machodoc · Aug 17, 2013

It appears to be an Albanian stock, modified in Albania to accept a 1958 Chinese Jianshe arsenal rifle. When you took the butt plate off, were there two holes underneath, instead of one ... and maybe a "surprise" in one of them?

The grain, as noted by another poster, is not going up and down. The grain is running the length of the rifle, and it's nice-looking tight-grain wood from an old-growth tree. It's a shame that you stripped it of a very decent original finish, but it's your rifle. Wish you had asked here before doing that.

NateIU10 · Aug 17, 2013

Seeing that stripped made my heart hurt a little...

Combloc · Aug 17, 2013

The handguard is definitely Albanian. Judging by the wood grain and original shellac, the stock is Albanian too.

janxster · Aug 17, 2013

Thanks for the historical info. It does have two holes under the butt plate and the cleaning kit. I didn't buy this to be a collectible and maybe posted in the wrong area. Actually there were 4 or 5 other "collectible" sks's at the shop but i got this one because it was not a "collectible".
From what i am reading it looks like amber shellac would give me the color/finish but is not as good as more modern finishes.

Combloc · Aug 17, 2013

Actually, a 57 Chicom modified by the Albanians is quite collectible, especially with the modified Albanian (as opposed to original Chinese) handguard. They have only recently started showing up in this country and, in all likelihood, only a very few exist. This was most likely not done in the field or by an armorer but by Umgransh Arsenal. I and many others would have paid a premium for it, especially if it was matching (most likely the stock was not numbered only the metal). In fact, if you haven't sanded the stock yet, I would still trade you an essentially new Chicom in a Chinese bakelite stock for it.

Machodoc · Aug 18, 2013

janxster said:
Thanks for the historical info. It does have two holes under the butt plate and the cleaning kit. I didn't buy this to be a collectible and maybe posted in the wrong area. Actually there were 4 or 5 other "collectible" sks's at the shop but i got this one because it was not a "collectible".
From what i am reading it looks like amber shellac would give me the color/finish but is not as good as more modern finishes.

The cleaning kit is the "surprise" that I was referring to. That was a very nice, and very collectible, 1958 Jianshe with an Albanian arsenal-modified stock and a field-modified rear swivel.

What's done is done, but you'd be smart not to screw it up any more by putting a modern finish on it.

MikeSP · Aug 18, 2013

What about the hand guard makes it likely Albanian vs Chinese?

Machodoc · Aug 18, 2013

MikeSP said:
What about the hand guard makes it likely Albanian vs Chinese?

The Albanian hand guards are longer. If you'll look at the forward end of that one, you'll see that it's a little thicker (top to bottom) than the Chinese guards, and it's been tapered down to fit. They did a pretty good job, so you have to look carefully ... but if you saw it side-by-side with a Chinese, it would be pretty obvious.

Ironnewt · Aug 18, 2013

your photos of the original finish show the grain and the sanded ones show it even better

MikeSP · Aug 18, 2013

Machodoc said:
The Albanian hand guards are longer. If you'll look at the forward end of that one, you'll see that it's a little thicker (top to bottom) than the Chinese guards, and it's been tapered down to fit. They did a pretty good job, so you have to look carefully ... but if you saw it side-by-side with a Chinese, it would be pretty obvious.

Ah I see like this even thou the bottom might not be Chinese and the gas tube only has 2 vents as well. 2 longer ones vs 3 smaller ones in the shorter stocks.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1376829930.321656.jpg

MikeSP · Aug 18, 2013

The stock hasn't been sanded, only the finish removed.

I think the OP was really just looking for a shooter SKS. The finish on the stock was pretty beat up and in the process of removing the cosmoline, removed the finish on the stock to improve the appearance.

"Ruined" is all relative - Couldn't you say the Albanian stock was ruined when it was chopped to fit on this rifle?
If the OP was the one that replaced the original Chinese stock by obtaining an Albanian isn't that the same thing? By taking a sawzall/dremel/belt sander to it to make it fit on a chinese rifle would kind of be like ruining the Albanian stock.

What would be a proper/conservative clean up/restoration at this point? Is steaming some of the dents OK? Would amber shellac over the bare wood be the only appropriate finish or would some stain to bring out the grain be OK?

Machodoc · Aug 18, 2013

It's his rifle, and his business, but anyone coming to a C&R forum (by definition of the license, a collectors' forum, although not everyone seems to realize that) should expect most of the participants to be more or less purists when it comes to originality.

I'm not sure where the OP got the idea that this particular SKS was somehow not collectible, but they were either misinformed or made an uninformed call. I have looked that same rifle over pretty carefully while it was at BDO. The stock and its finish were quite nice for an Albanian. With C&R firearms, these thing are relative, and you can't compare the appearance of a 55 year old military rifle that was stored in a cave to a sporting rifle that grandpa kept in his gun case.

BTW - It's not a 1957. It's a 1958. The stock wasn't numbered, but the metal was all matching, IIRC. All the furniture was Albanian.

I'm not going to get into a debate about an arsenal mod under conditions where materials were probably scarce being the same as Bubba taking his dremel to a stock. If that answer isn't immediately obvious, I'm not going to convince anyone.

But trying to be helpful, and moving forward, if I got that rifle in its present condition, I'd try to match the original finish. Amber shellac would probably be as good as you are going to get. As for steaming out dents, the only real dents I recall being on that one were circular (or partial) marks from the bolt handles of other SKSs bumping it in its military career (I'd leave those as "honest wear"), and a scuff on the lower right side, about midway between the trigger guard and the magazine. I might lightly take the rough surface of that mark down, because it looked like a recent ding, but otherwise just leave it alone and shellac over it.

janxster · Aug 18, 2013

MikeSP said:
The stock hasn't been sanded, only the finish removed.

I think the OP was really just looking for a shooter SKS. The finish on the stock was pretty beat up and in the process of removing the cosmoline, removed the finish on the stock to improve the appearance.

"Ruined" is all relative - Couldn't you say the Albanian stock was ruined when it was chopped to fit on this rifle?
If the OP was the one that replaced the original Chinese stock by obtaining an Albanian isn't that the same thing? By taking a sawzall/dremel/belt sander to it to make it fit on a chinese rifle would kind of be like ruining the Albanian stock.

What would be a proper/conservative clean up/restoration at this point? Is steaming some of the dents OK? Would amber shellac over the bare wood be the only appropriate finish or would some stain to bring out the grain be OK?

Your right on mike. I planned in refinishing anyway but the heat from when i removed the cosmoline made some of the finish "blister". I guess i let it get too hot. I did it on my grill and it got to 190 for a few minutes at one point. I kept it around 170 for the most part. I want to keep the wood in tact and i am reading that no stain was used in finishing.
I guess that tinted shellac is the way to go?
I am still unsure whether to use amber or garnet. i think garnet is reddish and amber is more orange and like the original.

And what about steaming out the nics and dings? Will that reduce the worth or at this point it doesn't matter?
I do not plan on doing any sanding.

machodoc: i noticed in your post http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=96658 (wish i tried that first) that you used minwax english chestnut #223. in that procedure is the wood getting the stain or is it adding color to the finish? I don't think finish will accept stain but also thioght staining the wood is not desirable.

Being my first "military" and second rifle ever, I learned alot and will have a decent shooter. i really wasn't considering the collectability when i bought it but the history is very interesting.
Thanks for all the input.

Boom Boom · Aug 18, 2013

Use the original-style tinted shellac. Do not sand. Anything else will destroy the value. For example, I looked over an otherwise beautiful M38 rifle a few days ago at a gun shop, except the stock was sanded baby smooth and refinished with shiny polyurethane. What would have been a $250-$300 rifle was now worth nothing to me as a collectible.

janxster · Aug 18, 2013

Super. You answered my question i posted just before i posted it.
i have another. What about prefinish? Does anything need to be applied before shellacing to help it bond?

Your right i was not really looking at it from a c&r persprctive but noticed most of the sks posts were here. Chalk it up to experience.

SKS Cleanup

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