refinishing my K98 stock- quick help!

0 Kudo

Forum Jump

Author	Comment
builttoughf350	refinishing my K98 stock- quick help!	Lead	[-]
Posts: 1 (11/29/07 12:10 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None ive done so much reading, and have read so many replies, my head is spinning. i have a BSW39 RC K98 that i took the "shellac" off of on sunday night. now, some people on websites cant even agree on whether its actually shellac or another substance. at the same time, no one can tell me if i should use BLO, tung oil, howards feed and wax, ETC ETC they cant agree on any given substance. anyways, i removed the Russian coating with denatured alcohol. i scrubbed it off with a green scotch brite dish cleaning pad. its been drying since. i didnt know about cosmoline removal, how important is this step, IF my stock has it in there anyways? i almost want to BLEACH the stock, but dont think its neccisary. what does it take to bleach a stock? what kind of bleach? anyways. if i dont need to remove cosmoline, and dont bleach the stock... how do i apply the BLO ? from what ive read, i should put it on in LITE AMOUNTS with my fingers, let sit for 30 minutes, whipe off the excess. WAIT 24 HOURS. buff it with 0000 steel wool, then apply another layer, and TEN minutes later whipe off the excess. repeat as many times as neccisary. is the above process correct? last- DO I NEED TO DILUTE the BLO ? its some generic can from Ace Hardware. thanks!!! Last Edited By: builttoughf350 11/29/07 12:13 AM. Edited 1 time.
campperrykid		#1	[-]
Posts: 123 (11/29/07 10:17 AM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I'll chime in until the real experts come around. At this stage , the next step would be to apply some gentle heat to the wood. The idea is to melt any grease that is just under the surface so it can be wiped off. Heat lamps, heat guns, old style hot plates, even hairdryers can be used at this time of year. Depending on where you live , the black bag on the dashboard trick might work. I have cooked stocks when the outside temp was in the 40's. The trick is a black bag inside a clear bag-- keep the windshield pointed into the sun and the truck out of the wind. Temps of about 140 are usually enough. You are in the right place to learn. Go slow and enjoy. Hope this helps.
builttoughf350		#2	[-]
Posts: 2 (11/29/07 05:04 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	as for removing the grease IN the stock... its about 10 degrees here, so the bag in the windshield trick wont work. will a typical hairdryer work? ill have to see if my g/f will let me use hers. i assume id have to heat it up, whipe off the excess until i cant get anymore out... i could check the hardware store for a heat gun... anyways... and about applying the BLO.....
Dennis Jenkins1		#3	[-]
Posts: 1799 (11/29/07 10:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	As far as applying the BLO I'd wait until it is totally dry. This will go a long ways toward avoiding it becoming a big sticky mess. Otherwise you seem to have the basics covered. Dennis Jenkins
nothernug		#4	[-]
Posts: 10404 (11/30/07 10:11 AM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Howdy & welcome to the forum! Some points to consider. If alcohol took the finish off, it was shellac. There is no reason to bleach this stock. Shellac blocks grease and oils so most likely you haven't any significant cosmo absorption. Probably some around the action inletting. Work over the stock with a heat gun or even a good hair blow dryer. That will show up any spots you have. Another way to draw it, if you're so inclined, is to put the stock in your oven. I've never done this so can't give you the particulars but there's a lot of references to it in past posts on the forum. Once cleaned, you can apply either a good (not Formby's or Minwax) tof (Tung Oil Finish) or blo. The tof you brush on, let sit, then wipe. Buff between coats. Two or three should be enough. Blo will darken the wood somewhat more than tof. Tof is a somewhat better, longer lasting finish. Blo is a bit more involved. I do it the old fashioned way. Get it on your hand and start rubbing it into the wood. The wood will drink it in. Keep adding oil and rubbing. Do this for about 20 minutes (it would probably be a good idea to wear some protective gloves due to chemical absorption). Let it sit for about 10 more minutes and then rub it down good with a soft cloth. The idea is to build up a layer of oil into the wood and not leave it lay on the surface. If you follow this step, you won't get that shiny commercial finish. The old stock finisher's rule for blow is as follows... once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, once a year thereafter. But you really don't have to go through all that. I'll usually do it daily for 4-6 days, let it sit for a week. Check it for any dry spots, treat as necessary or just give it one more all over rub down followed again by a cloth wipe and let it hang to dry for at least 2 or 3 days. That does it. For the record, I ain't one of those 'experts' the fellow above referred to. That would be Rome or a few others. Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggie until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
builttoughf350		#5	[-]
Posts: 3 (11/30/07 10:21 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	thanks nothernug!!!!!!!! one last question- you mention buffing the TOF finish, but didnt mention it in the BLO finish. should i buff the BLO at all? and if so, i figure 0000 steel wool, AFTER each coat is cured? ill start the process when i get home tonight!
Renfield54		#6	[-]
Posts: 296 (11/30/07 05:44 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	There's no need to really buff it out, you're working towards NOT having any shine building up. Following 'Nug's advice will give you the look you want.......it'll probably turn out looking like just about bare wood, but, it'll have a deeper, richer look and feel to it with the BLO......and it's easy to repair if need be, too!! Just take your time rubbing in each coat, and you should find you don't really have much to wipe off afterwards..... FWIW.......Steve "Dusty old helmet.....Rusty old gun......They sit in the corner and wait" ~Audie Murphy--1925-1971~
nothernug		#7	[-]
Posts: 10406 (11/30/07 09:18 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Renfield54 wrote: There's no need to really buff it out, you're working towards NOT having any shine building up. Following 'Nug's advice will give you the look you want.......it'll probably turn out looking like just about bare wood, but, it'll have a deeper, richer look and feel to it with the BLO......and it's easy to repair if need be, too!! Just take your time rubbing in each coat, and you should find you don't really have much to wipe off afterwards..... FWIW.......Steve Actually, I slather the stuff on. I want the stock to drink up all it wants. But you're right about Not needing to buff it out. Rub the stock down good with that cloth. What makes a shine is a build up of oil on the surface of the stock. Rubbing that off before letting it dry will prevent that shiny build. Another thing. There's no need to thin it. I used to. Just makes more work and there's a chance it won't cure properly. Cabinetman pointed all this out. I tried using it straight out of the can like he suggested and it works just fine, Just like Rome said. Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggie until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
builttoughf350		#8	[-]
Posts: 4 (12/01/07 01:05 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	i put the first coat of BLO on tonight. strapped on my rubber gloves like a geinocologist on a bad date. slid my fingers in, got them real wet, then rubbed my wood til it was all nice and moist. the BLO soaked in completley in quite a few areas. other spots were still damp. waited 20 minutes, and whiped her down with a rag. it has a little bit of a shine to it, but i can handle that. tomorrow night, coat number two.
campperrykid		#9	[-]
Posts: 124 (12/01/07 06:23 AM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Sounds like you are off to a good start. One clarification on ( German) grease or oil under the RC shellac. I have encountered 2 RC's that would bleed grease and what seemed to be used crankcase oil after I applied BLO. My best guess is the grease and oil was applied before capture and Russian rebuild. It surprised me because the wood seemed clean after the shellac came off. No biggie-- heat and lacquer thinner solved the problem. Your milege may vary.
nothernug		#10	[-]
Posts: 10419 (12/03/07 02:50 PM) Forum Site Moderator Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	It is my understanding that when lacking mineral oil (German regulation for oiling stocks) the Wehrmacht soldaten rubbed in used motor oil or whatever they could lay hands on to protect their stocks from the elements. So some odd oil oozing out is a distinct possibility. Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggie until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
scooter222		#11	[-]
Posts: 4711 (12/04/07 07:40 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Just curious. Is it a plain wood stock or a wood laminant? You lucked out on a BSW. My RC is also a BSW I can't remember the year. There were only 37,38,39s. Mine has the red glue laminant. I left the shellac on and wiped a coat of BLO on. Nice gun. Has all the German markings on. You can wipe the BLO on with steel wool. in a buffing motion. This will knock down the surface of the previous coat so you don't have a thick build up. then wipe of with a rag and let dry. Good luck.