Refinishing questions

[Forever_frost]

My dad handed me one of his rifles today. It's been sitting in the barn for years and it is coated with rust and dirt and grime. When I rodded the barrel today I actually got dirt to come out. Just blows my mind there being dirt in the barrel of a rifle that this man owns but with the big C, I'm guessing his mind has been elsewhere.

So, nitty gritty. My job is to see if I can get this thing back functioning and looking good. It's a cheap Marlin Model 60 22 with a barrel tube feeder on it. The stock is chewed to hell and needs a refinish. I spent most of the day with a very small Drimmel and wire wheels, a bottle of CLP and a rag going over this thing and I'm making some headway.

How do you strip a stock down and refinish it? I'm pretty sure he'd notice if I popped another stock on it (he's very strange about me actually spending money to fix his weapons, it bothers him and I really don't want to see him try to find the money to pay me because his honor requires he does so). I'll have pictures up here presently but I'll be picking yall's mind on this one. I'm good at cleaning weapons, I can even do minor repairs on an AR or a M2 but this little pop gun is beat all to merry hell.

[Mach1Run]

Last couple I have done I used that citrus strip stuff to take the old finish off then hit it with sand paper to get the grain back down. My 91/30 i used some stain from home depot to get the red color I wanted, buffing it down with 0000 steel wool between coats, then a poly clear on it. My sks I used one of the oils instead of stain and it came out nice. The last one I did didn't have any color go back on it. I liked the color of the wood so I just sealed it with clear after stripping it.

I redid the metal on the 91/30 and the .22 myself, sanded and wire wheel the old off. Polished it up, then cold blued them. The cold blue is easy and nice but not as dark as I had hoped it would be initially.

I don't have any pics of the SKS but
Imagine any 91/30 "good condition" ordered online and that's how this rifle started.
\


This is the model 25 I redid. First pic is how I brought it home from the pawnshop, second is the wife unit shooting the finished rifle.

[Forever_frost]

Before:









3 Hours later:

[KBScobravert]

Looks like a million bucks already.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[likeitfast55]

Dam nice job!

[Forever_frost]

I had to load Youtube to see how to tear it apart. I'm covered in old gun oil, carbon and I'm pretty sure the bolt was thrown in a fire at some point from the scorch marks on it but I pulled out my dental tools and pipe cleaners to do it up right. Total time: 10 hours.

Now to do the stock. More pictures to come. So to do the stock, hit it with what grit sandpaper? I want to have this done before the old man's 76th birthday on Jan 31 (also my son's projected birthday)

[helosailor]

Looking good so far. I'd say to start out with some 220 or 240 grit (with the grain, wherever possible), and see how it does at stripping the finish. Then, after the finish is completely gone, go with progressive steps up to maybe 600. It really depends on the wood type as to how fine. If the wood has any dings in it, CJ has some tricks for that.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

If the wood has any dings in it, CJ has some tricks for that.

Wet cloth and an iron if I recall correctly.

[Forever_frost]

I appreciate it guys. I'm picking up some stripper (not strippers, wife cut my hookers and blow funds) for this on payday and am thinking after I get it taken down, going for a pecan stain

[inline 6]

Any kind of paint stripper on wood is going to raise the grain very bad. I would sand it all off before I ever used paint stripper on wood.

[Forever_frost]

Well then, sanding it is. By hand or do I get to use one of my sanders?

[Sleeper]

I'd do it by hand.

[Forever_frost]

220 grit by hand, try to work with the grain. Got it.

[Sleeper]

I like to finish with 400 grit. Id do finer but its all i have access too.

[TeeShock]

Any rust in the barrel?