1932 Mosin Nagant 91\30 refinished

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Catt57

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I know that to some it is sacrilege to refinish any military rifle. However on this project the original stock is cracked at the tang and the replacement I aquired had already been the victim of a "bubba" refinish job.

I kept the original stock and set it back for a future repair project.

The replacement stock was stripped, lightly sanded, stained, and varnished. I went for a modern take on the original red shellac finish.

The original stock.
i.imgur.com_NRwe2vR.jpg


The refinished replacement.
i.imgur.com_CXzVAPN.jpg


I was careful to leave any markings that were present.
i.imgur.com_gPT6h9E.jpg
 

dennishoddy

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Nice job on the refinish! Its not going to increase the value of the gun, but it sure makes it look nice.

I refinished a 1928 Mod 12 Win Shotgun a few years back. Had some tell me I ruined the value of it. I don't care. My kids can worry about that when I'm gone. :D
 

fubarjohnnyr

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Nice job, good looking red-head.

With Mosins, it's fun to have a stable of them. Some in beat original, some in refinished states, and some bastardized into whatever imagination takes you.
 

coolhandluke

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Catt...is that Minwax Gunstock or Sedona Red stain that you ended up using? If the top coat was matte it would be similar in appearance to some of the beech (not birch like the Russian's) Polish Mosin stocks that you see.



Odds are someday it will be up for sale.

And he still has the original stock on hand to reinstall if he chooses to do so...no harm no foul. I am completely against refinishing a military surplus stock with any collectors value, but in this case I have no problem with it. I've chosen to refinish stocks on a couple Mosins out of the 10-12 that I have owned and had no issues getting top dollar when I ended up moving them along. The only difference is that I went with a more traditional type finish rather than a modern stain and varnish. To me, there are far worse things that can be done than removing shellac from a Mosin stock. IMO it was just a quick and dirty way to apply a finish during refurb prior to long term storage...and shellac was likely not the original finish prior to refurb. Of the few non-refurbed 91/30's stocks that I have seen, all have had an oil finish.

Here are the two that I bubba'd...

#1. Repro PU with shellac removed and oil finish applied. Nearly all of the shellac had flaked off so remainder of it was removed with denatured alcohol, no sanding or cleaning to remove remaining patina, applied aged oil finish with alcohol based dye and BLO. Looks similar to the way an oil finished stock with 70+ years of age and patina would look. This was also done to a replacement stock and not the stock that was original to the rifle.






#2. M44 stock finished stained with alcohol based dye and finished with Zinsser amber shellac with a pine tar undercoat (sorry no photos installed on rifle).



 
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Dirty Dave

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Odds are someday it will be up for sale.

And I bet he gets his $150 back. If you are worried about a $150 dollar gun then this isn't the hobby to get into. I can drink that much beer in a month. You don't see me refinishing my SVT-40. His is just a Mosin. And I think it looks way better then it did. But at the end of the day it's just a $150 gun. That's why people buy and build them. It's cheap entertainment.
 

Catt57

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Catt...is that Minwax Gunstock or Sedona Red stain that you ended up using? If the top coat was matte it would be similar in appearance to some of the beech (not birch like the Russian's) Polish Mosin stocks that you see.

It is the Sedona Red oil stain with Tung Oil varnish on top. I went this route for a few reasons. Mainly for durability as this is the one I plan to be shooting the most. Also this is a wiping varnish and is very easy to touchup/reapply or even add layers if needed. And of course, because I like it.

I plan to eventually repair the original stock in a manner that is consistent with the original re-arsenal methods so that is looks period correct.
 

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