An SVT 40... There wasn't much concern about asthetics or fancy woodwork,not to mind quality wood on those in the first place.:D
Folks have reported ALL kinds of wood being used for Russian stocks and the most common seems to be a "pine" like wood.Is it a laquer based finish??Some were or oil based??Might be just best off stripping off the finish to bare wood,refinish and stain if it is a very light wood and re laquer ??

How does it shoot
BTW??Would be intrested in one of those as a classic rifle.:pac:

Vegeta wrote: »

http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums.yuku.com/topic/16467#.Up-8fOcgGSM

Second post suggests it might be shellac

Shellac is an easy fix - but remembe that there just might be a stain underneath it. Depending on what the stain is, shellac should adhere just fine. The shellac should be fresh and "cut" to a thinner consistency. It should be applied in thinner coats. Allow to dry well before adding another. About the only way to botch up a shellac finish is to apply it too thick or use an old mix.

Lots of light coats using a china bristle brush (not nearly as expensive as it sounds), but it's nice to have denatured alcohol on hand to clean the brush.

You can do maybe 2-3 coats a day, although best with one or two. A run or two isn't the end of the world, you can partly sand them off the rest can be fixed when applying the next coat, they sort of meld into each other.

I like to lightly sand between coats 300 grit or so will do it (240-400..whatever), then after the last coat is totally dry buff it with 000 steel wool for a truly great finish. Bronze wool, if you can get it, is even better, as the minute particles left behind from steel wool can turn an unsightly black, leaving smears in the finish.

For the first time I would do one coat, let dry overnight, lightly sand, then wipe with clean rag (or you will see the white from sanding) then repeat to 5-6 total coats. Then hit it with the steel wool and see where you are at...if not happy, sand lightly then another coat, steel wool and decide again. I like 6-8 total coats although you can just do 4-5 if you like and just stop when you feel happy...or are sick of doing it.

As to the shellac, the pre-mix stuff they sell at hardware stores is actually pretty decent, amber is probably the color you want.

But shellac has a pretty strict shelf life of about a year once mixed, so don't use up some old can that was sitting on a store back shelf for years. The stuff I have has a sell-by date on it - trust it, or risk getting a really 'flaky finish' in more ways than one.

As said, it's not the most water protective finish, but it's not as bad as people make it out to be. You might get some white [that's the 'haze' you noticed] if you let water really sit on it (I wouldn't use the stuff for a coffee table), but even if you do you can often rub that out with steel wool or do another light sand and a fresh coat.

Some people like to add a wax over it, I've heard of a number of people using the ooo steel wool to apply the wax...never tried it myself.

Other people like to pad it on rather than brush, personally I think that's better for large flat surfaces and much more likely to end with serious splotches....at least when I do it.

Avoid the newer foam brush, trust me on the china bristle brush, any hardware store should have them pretty cheap.

I probably made it sound way more difficult than it really is, it's pretty much forgiving as a finish and usually turns out really well.

The trick is to make it look as bad as the original finish.

tac

.

The muzzle-brake helps to tame the somewhat enthusiastic Soviet military surplus ammunition, but it's not a holiday, for sure.

PPU ammunition is softer, and shoots like a shower head in my cousin's 1943-made gun. The real deal steel-cased stuff is better, in fact, it's down to about 2-3" at 100m.

tac

kowloon & ROWA,

I agree on the use of Linseed Oil or some mixture of pine tar/beeswax and turpentine on stocks for the standing army before the war ..... but by 1941 it was all about numbers.

The Finns used a pine tar/beeswax and turpentine stock concoction on their birch rifle stocks.

BTW FYI Arctic Birch is one of the stabilest moisture free woods you can use for a rifle stock or knife handle.