Chinese SKS to stain or not to stain?

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  • cobber

    Parrot Daddy
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    Cleaning up a 1967 year Chinese SKS. Stripped off the cosmoline and dirt and old finish. Wondering if I should stain the stock, or leave it in the present state. Not a collectible by any means.
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    What say INGO?
     

    Opie

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    I've had great luck with tung oil and boiled linseed oil on older stocks in a similar situation. Just remember the boiled linseed oil rags can become flammable, so you have to be careful with those when you dispose of them. I usually lay them out flat and let them dry in a safe area. Tung oil may darken it a little bit more than blo. Also, make sure you leave enough time between coats for it to dry. You're looking at several days to a week, so multiple thin coats work best.
     

    cobber

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    I've had great luck with tung oil and boiled linseed oil on older stocks in a similar situation. Just remember the boiled linseed oil rags can become flammable, so you have to be careful with those when you dispose of them. I usually lay them out flat and let them dry in a safe area. Tung oil may darken it a little bit more than blo. Also, make sure you leave enough time between coats for it to dry. You're looking at several days to a week, so multiple thin coats work best.
    I have never used tung oil on a firearm. Sounds interesting.
     

    SnoopLoggyDog

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    It is certainly not a collectable nor historically important, therefor I would stain it if that is what appeals to you. I don't stain any of my older collection but do clean them and rub most with a (or several) coats of pure tung oil.
    Staining it would be first choice, followed by a couple coats of Tru-oil.
     

    DadSmith

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    I've had great luck with tung oil and boiled linseed oil on older stocks in a similar situation. Just remember the boiled linseed oil rags can become flammable, so you have to be careful with those when you dispose of them. I usually lay them out flat and let them dry in a safe area. Tung oil may darken it a little bit more than blo. Also, make sure you leave enough time between coats for it to dry. You're looking at several days to a week, so multiple thin coats work best.
    I refinished my son's K98 with boiled linseed oil. Put several coats on it. It has the looks of a new original K98 stock. Is that all they did back in WWII for their rifle stocks? I would imagine having a big barrel and dipping them in would be faster than applying by hand on a mass production scale.
     

    Colt556

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    I use Boiled Linseed Oil and Mineral Spirits in a 50/50 mixture. On yours I might put a thick coat of 100% BLO on and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes and then wipe down with a clean rag. Let that sit for a day and then start coats of the 50/50 mix. You can put more coats on every 2-3 days until you get the finish you like. A good thing about this mix is that you can add coats anytime you want and not worry about it not blending in. It also dries in a matte finish and not shiny like some other finishes. I use it on all my military rifles with wood stocks.
     

    Leadeye

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    Good suggestions all, if you are looking for grain definition a Gilsonite solution will do the trick easily.
     

    Mr. Habib

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    I have an M44 Mosin that was in similar shape as your SKS. Sanded it with I think 180 grit to remove the old finish. Used several coats 0f 50/50 BLO and mineral spirits. Looks much better now.
     

    mike4

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    Unless you are trying to replicate something specific like the reddish finish on a Russian AK, I think stain is a complete hack finish on any traditional military firearm.

    If you don't want to restore a fairly crappy finish like the Chinese used originally as some suggested, then Colt556 typed up the correct answer.
     

    cobber

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    No stain, just several coats of Tru-Oil and buffed to satin finish. I'll post as soon as I can get the trigger assembly re-installed...

    Doesn't look appreciably different from the original.

    Everything matches #wise, but it's hardly collector grade.

    I'm assuming it was in Albanian service at some point, but isn't nearly as chewed up as the last SKS I got through that route.
     

    DoggyDaddy

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    I'm assuming it was in Albanian service at some point, but isn't nearly as chewed up as the last SKS I got through that route.
    I got one of those too, from AIM or Classic, I don't remember. Stock has a lot of "trench art" on it and is pretty beat up, but the metal and bore is in surprisingly good condition. It was packed full of cosmoline though. Way more than any Mosin I've ever gotten!
     
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