Refinishing an SKS stock; a story in pictures

[N_K_1984]

I wanted to title this thread, "How to make a $100 SKS look like a $175 SKS." The goal of this project is to put a little class into a junk yard dog. It's like putting a suit and tie on a pitbull.

So, this is my first refinish job. I am pretty excited about it. This stock is for my shorty Yugo M59/66 sporter project. Starting a new SKS *just for fun* build - INGunOwners

...So, after one week of de-cosmolining here we are. I degreased the stock by tightly wrapping it in paper towels and placed the stock in a black trash bag. I then put the trash bag in my truck, with the windows up, for a week.

Baseline. No sanding yet. started out rubbing down liberally with mineral spirits to remove the remainder of surface oils.

After 1st stage of 100 grit sanding and the bayonet slot filled in... Yes it looks rough, right now. Rubbed down with mineral spirits.

After wood filler is dried, second sanding session, 100 grit.

Third session of sanding. 150 grit. Rubbed down with mineral spirits.

Fourth sanding session. 150 grit. Rubbed down with mineral spirits.

Fifth sanding session. 220 grit. Rubbed down with mineral spirits.

Sixth sanding session, 220 grit. Rubbed down with mineral spirits. Ready for stain.

First coat of stain! I am staining the stock in a Bombay Mahogany. It is a polyurethane and stain in one.

Filled bayonet slot with stain.

Next step will be buffing with 000 steel wool, and then another coat of stain. I plan on doing 5 coats. Depending on how the stock looks between coats, I may not get to 5.

More to come! Stay tuned...

 

[warhawk77]

nice work. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

 

[Dentoro]

It's looking good.

 

[N_K_1984]

Day two begins and I am anxious to start working. The stock is still a tiny bit tacky from the first coat of poly/stain. The plan is to be patient and wait it out. After further reading, the instructions on the can recommend, "no more than two coats should be needed for ultimate beauty and protection" The stock already looks fantastic after just one coat. We shall see how it goes. Two coats may very well be the answer! I'll post as I make progress. Again, stay tuned.

 

[Westside]

looking good. Why however do you want to fill in the bayonet grove.

 

[N_K_1984]

This stock is for my Shorty Yugo project. The (mismatched) Barreled action I built for this rifle does not have a bayonet lug, so there is no need for a bayonet slot in the stock. Plus, with the slot filled, it will be much more comfortable to shoot the rifle.

 

[zoglog]

love the cheese grater!

 

[sgreen3]

Nice work! Ive used the polyshade stain before works real well just follow the directions, good results. It may take a while fore the tacky feel to go away ( it did when I used it). Looks good, keep it up

 

[N_K_1984]

Day Two. No steel wool yet, Or second coat. Looking really good!

 

[jblomenberg16]

Looking great so far, and will be a great project rifle!

What's the plan for final surface finish...some satin clear, or are you going to hand rub it with some B-L-O or other more traditional military rifle finish?

 

[N_K_1984]

The plan changed. After further research, I find no reason to hand rub with BLO.

 

[N_K_1984]

Second coat of poly/stain is on. Now the waiting game.

 

[pinshooter45]

Looks real good! And you've found the secret to a good refinnish, patients. No substitute for taking your time if you want a good outcome. When I did my 98k stock. I really took my time and the results were better than I expected.

 

[Patternpimp]

Never been a fan of the stain and poly all in one, however I haven't finish a rifle stock. I wonder how Danish oil would work out on a stock?

 

[N_K_1984]

Looks real good! And you've found the secret to a good refinnish, patients. No substitute for taking your time if you want a good outcome. When I did my 98k stock. I really took my time and the results were better than I expected.

100% agree with you.

Never been a fan of the stain and poly all in one, however I haven't finish a rifle stock. I wonder how Danish oil would work out on a stock?

This was something I considered. I looked into the Danish Oil, debated True Oil, thought about BLO. I knew I wanted a rich, mahogany color to the stock, so I chose to go with a stain. After talking to a guy at Bloomington Hardware, he suggested the the poly/stain. He talked me into trying it. So far, so good. We'll see how the finished product looks, hopefully, soon.

 

[rugertoter]

Yeah, those SKS stocks can be pretty rough. You are doing a good job, but the fly in the ointment might be the wood filler you put in the bayonet cut. Sometimes, that stuff can "shrink" in time and cause you some issues. Hope it works for you in the long run, other than that you are doing a great job on an old warhorse.

 

[N_K_1984]

Yeah, those SKS stocks can be pretty rough. You are doing a good job, but the fly in the ointment might be the wood filler you put in the bayonet cut. Sometimes, that stuff can "shrink" in time and cause you some issues. Hope it works for you in the long run, other than that you are doing a great job on an old warhorse.

Hopefully the wood filler doesn't shrink. I haven't notice any shrinkage yet. That doesn't mean it can't happen though. I will definitely keep an eye on it. Thanks for the heads up and the kind words.

 

[N_K_1984]

3rd and final coat is on! Now it's drying time, and then the final buffing with 000 steel wool.

Once again, stay tuned folks...

 

[Yukon227]

Wonderful Job!! I'm impressed. I refinished an SKS stock a couple months ago. It isn't nearly as pretty as yours is, but I got the look I wanted, that old, worn, beat up look. Tru-oil was my finish of choice. No stain. But I didn't bake the stock to get all the cosmo out either. I have added a couple more coats of Tru-oil since these pics were taken, gets prettier with every coat.

 

[N_K_1984]

So here we are. After the 3rd coat of poly/stain and final buffing with 000 Steel Wool. For the 3rd and final coat of the poly/stain, I actually diluted the poly/stain with some mineral spirits. I did 80% poly/stain to 20%mineral spirits. It went on much thinner, and left a much silkier sheen after drying. Drying time was also about cut in half.

So, I couldn't resist any longer... I actually woke up this morning, before work, and assembled the weapon and took a couple pictures. I must say, this is one sexy SKS.

There was some very minimal shrinkage of the wood filler, but not a big deal to me. The overall finish of the stock is exactly what I wanted. I feel like the overall finish could be mistaken for original.The slight imperfections, minimal left over dings, it all adds to the character of the weapon. It has a much richer overal look. I'm really pleased with my results! I feel like this was a really successful project.