Advice on refinishing wood?

Sporterized and unofficial modified Krags
MosbyRidge
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon May 30, 2022 2:45 am

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by MosbyRidge »

When I use scotchbrite and laquer thinner on the handgaurd the little "studs" should become bright metal. Any good way of dulling it after stain? Mild acid like naval jelly? I've used that before to take bright steel to gray.

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butlersrangers
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Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2009 11:35 pm
Location: Below the Bridge, Michigan

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by butlersrangers »

No to Naval Jelly, it damages gun parts! Naval Jelly is nasty stuff.

Try something like tape or nail polish on the 'proud' model 1892 handguard rivets and simply avoid scouring them with the scotch-brite pad.
If they are already 'shined up'. they can be given a patina with some 'cold-blue' applied carefully to the rivet-head with a Q-Tip. Some heat applied with a hair dryer might aid the process.

The Wood is looking better with that gloopy finish stripped off. The wood is American black walnut.

Some stocks from 1899 to 1901 were made with Italian walnut due to shortage of cured walnut at Springfield Armory. The Italian wood has a yellowish color and distinctive grain pattern.

A reddish-brown wood stain, followed later with coats of hand-rubbed linseed oil, should make things interesting and military looking.

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Local Boy
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Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by Local Boy »

Hi,

Arriving a little late for the party...

Here's a fellow by the name of Mike Novak who has a website that deals with gunsmithing called "Anvil".

You may have seen some of his work in conjunction with the "Primer" folks who dealt with firearms used in the War to End All Wars (WWI).

Anyway here's his take on a simple refinishing technique:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NLQEmwAvo4

MosbyRidge
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Joined: Mon May 30, 2022 2:45 am

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by MosbyRidge »

I like that video / method. I like the way that the wax effects to look, but am a little concerned that it would make the rifle slick / leave fingprints. What do you think?

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Local Boy
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Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by Local Boy »

Hi MosbyRidge,

Shouldn't be a problem if you were to go that route.

Just rub the stock with a soft cloth to get the excess wax off.

Most folks around these parts will usually try to NOT refinish an original and in good condition Krag stock. All that's required most of the time is some BLO, Lemon Oil or wax like Howard Feed-N-Wax to help preserve/rejuvenate the wood.

Another wax that I've used in the past is a 1/3 BLO + 1/3 Turpentine + 1/3 Bees Wax combination. It works well but is kind of smelly.

Good luck with the refinishing and let us know how your baby shoots!!!

Zac952
Posts: 159
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:37 am

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by Zac952 »

If your crack doesn't hold up here is what I have found to be a more durable repair.
I chisel out a channel on the underside of the handguard that bridges both sides of the crack a eighth inch or so, then I fill it with black Acraglas gel. You use black as brown will stand out and black looks like grain lines, if you clamp it tight the repair isn't obvious from the outside and the crack is reinforced from the underside.
Here is a cracked in half rock ola m1 carbine handguard that I repaired in this manner, on a more sever repair you can stain the stock darker and it will hide the repair better, I use Gale Lock co. Early walnut stain on more severe repairs.
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MosbyRidge
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon May 30, 2022 2:45 am

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by MosbyRidge »

Update: I have chosen to use danish oil and wax as my finish. The danish oil is drying now. It looks lighter than the correct finish but I like the way it looks and as of now it's just a sporter anyways.

Also I did attempt to make the relief under the bolt handle. It came out so-so which is better than I expected.

After learning of Mike Novak I am now interested in the boiling technique he frequently uses for rust conversion. I didnt really understand that the brown on my metal was rust. I thought it was just "patina". He gets really good results with boiling and something called a carting wheel. He offers a cheaper but more labor intesive option of 0000 steel wool to knock the loose stuff off.

Zac952 that looks like a strong method. Ive never used acraglas before but ive heard it mentioned several times

Local Boy I will go ahead with the wax, and I wouldn't mess with this rifle it was correct. I'm starting to think sporters are more fun. So much freedom

Zac952
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Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 1:37 am

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by Zac952 »

Check out the 4 row carding wheels from brownells, they are great and you can rig them up on a cordless drill and zip tie the trigger and strap the drill to a table for a makeshift lathe of sorts. This is a method I helped a friend use at his place, I use an old 1947 shop smith lathe I acquired for the cost of hauling it off. They have a 2 row also for a cheaper price but I haven't used that one.

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Local Boy
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Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by Local Boy »

I've purchased 2 of the carding brushes that Brownell's has to offer (small and large).

They are awesome!

One is used for carding or removing the rust during the bluing process. The other is mounted in my drill press and used for cleaning metal parts.

The bristles are so soft that even small parts can be cleaned without damage to your skin...of course without prolonged skin contact.

Additionally, since the bristles are soft you don't have the usual gouging that you'd experience with a regular wire brush.

In one of Mark Novak's videos he takes a rusty shotgun and hits it with a carding brush to return it to it's original blued condition...rust bluing.

However, results are not always typical...surface rust is doable...been under saltwater for decades...not so doable.

MosbyRidge
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon May 30, 2022 2:45 am

Re: Advice on refinishing wood?

Post by MosbyRidge »

I have finished the restore for now. Gun was completely taken apart and boiled to convert red to black oxide, then steel wooled with 0000. If I ever do this again it will definitely be with a carding wheel. The wood was finished with 2 coats of WATCO Danish Oil Dark Walnut and a Johni-Ring. Im very happy with how it came out. Im excited to load some rounds and try it out. Thanks for all of the advice and information!
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