Romanian AK stock finish

[duke]

A friend has a Romanian AK with furniture needs refinishing. He , bought it in rough raw looking wood condition, but would like to seal the wood.

Has anyone here done this? I'd love to see some pics, and I'd...er he would like to have a darker looking stock.

Also, any advice on how to remove the furniture would be greatly appreciated. Reps to those posting their work pics with the "how to" instructions.

 

[Naptown]

Boo-yeah! This was my 1st attempt, what do you think?

 

[Naptown]

I used a stripper. I hope my wife doesn't misunderstand that. Furniture stripper. I then sanded with 60 grit, 150 grit and then 300 grit sand paper. I then took steel wool across it. Then, pick you color of stain. Go to the hardware section and go to the part that looks like the mens finger nail paint - yeah, there are a hundred different colors ranging from light to dark. I even added some RED powdered dye (RIT brand). Stain it and let it sit 24 hours. Then hit it with a spray on Polyeurethane (spelling?) in light coats. Lightly use steel wool in between coats of poly. I did probably about 4 or 5 coats of poly. Remember, THIN coats! Anything thicker than thin, and you will get

D
R
I
P
S

You don't want drips! It's easy.

 

[UncleMike]

I've refinished three of my WASR's with Poly Coat finish.
I sanded them baby butt smooth and put a THIN coat of the finish on.
Let it dry completely.
Steel wool it.
Applied another THIN coat.
Repeated the process four times.
The end result was a very tough, nicely colored finish.
Just DON"T try to rush the drying time by heating the stock. You'll get bubbles and more sanding for your effort. I learned that lesson on shelving before I refinished the stocks.
Mike

 

[elemonator]

I like minwax red mohogony or valspar dark cherry on comm. block rifles...Looks good Naptown.

 

[360]

I refinished mine too. I didn't use poly though. It makes it too shiny IMO. I used a red stain, so it looks like blood. Stripping it is the hardest part because it has an oil in the wood. I used stripper, hydrogen peroxide, and bleach. It wasn't snow white when I finished, but it was REALLY light. The stain looks really good too.

 

[duke]

thanks for the tips! i'm gonna make a trip to the hardware store this weekend. I'll post pics when the beast be done!

 

[duke]

one more question... just how do i take the stocks off the gun?

 

[printcraft]

one more question... just how do i take the stocks off the gun?

AK-47, AKM, AK-74 Stock Removal and Replacement Instructions

Guerrilla Gunsmith ---- AK-47 Detailed Disassembly

picture page to show you.


On the gas tube handguard you just twist it around and it will slide off.

The front handguard retaining plate has a small lever inside the guard on the right side.
Flip that over and out and tap the front retaining plate forward on the barrel.

Pull lower handguard out the front of the receiver.

After you take the top cover off there should be 2 screws holding the stock on.
Remove those and pull the stock back and out of the receiver. You can use a screwdriver to pry it out as well (gently)

I used minwax mahogany stain after sanding and sealed with 3 coats of Tung Oil. Nice and smooth.

 

[Naptown]

I didn't use poly though. It makes it too shiny IMO.

There are different finishes of poly, just like paint. I believe there are flat, satin and shiny (different terminology though).

I used used a satin so that it wouldn't be shiny like shelac. I thought it would hide wear better.

 

[muncie21]

My wood started out like most Romanian kits, very unfinished looking. Using the techniques posted here (stripper, steel wool, Minwax, poly) I was able to get it looking like this....

Good luck in your project. Show us some before/after pictures.

 

[Yeti]

so thats the laminated stock?! I might have to do that to mine... I just got done with my Cetme refinishing. What color is the best to get the "Russian Red?"

 

[Naptown]

Go find the "reddest" stain you can find. Generally, that will be a 'Red Oak.' If you want to give it a lil more kick, add a pinch of RIT dye (primary red color) that you can buy at CVS for about $2.

so thats the laminated stock?! I might have to do that to mine... I just got done with my Cetme refinishing. What color is the best to get the "Russian Red?"

 

[Yeti]

sweet thanks

 

[360]

These pics aren't that great, but here is how one of mine turned out.