"Stock Refinishing Part 1- Removing the old finish"

[@madaboutpix]

if you have cosmoline in the stock leave, it in the sun on a hot day and wipe the oil that bleeds from the wood. a heat gun from a distance will make the cosmoline bleed out as well. then put rubbing alcohol on a terrycloth or microfiber towel and rub the stock down between heat gun treatments, the oil will get sucked up rapidly by the towel.

[@bootsytakes6]

You can just use a light coat of Krud Kutter and a soft bristled brush, say an old toothbrush, to clean the stock of any grease or oil that has accumulated over time. The heat from the water/steam is what penetrates the wood to loosen the fibers, the Krud Kutter helps to break the finish/ grease/ oils down, and the baking soda helps bring the contaminants to the surface for easier removal. Hope this has helped ;)

[@johnb.9758]

You mentioned cosmoline and using this method. For cosmoline the best method I have seen is the oven (or other dry heat source...like the sun if you live in Arizona). I've done three Mosin's that way and all three finished great. No sanding, chemicals, or abrasives. Just heat and wipe, heat and wipe, until there is no more cosmoline leaking out. Thanks for the video. The iron trick is something I am going to try on an old shotgun.

[@bootsytakes6]

Thanks. Using Bix Stripper is the easy and straight-forward method, but I've found that using this Krud Kutter and baking soda method makes for a much nicer finish in the end. I've read that using stripper "shocks" the wood in a sense, not a good thing especially when dealing with older stocks. It also leaves a nasty residue that's hard to get off without harsh cleaners before sanding and finishing.

[@GetJesse]

What kind of cat is recommended to go along with the mortar tub? Can someone help me, I'm stuck on this part of the process.

[@spencerbyrd2545]

Siamese works best, especially when paired with an M114 Mortar.

[@quattro4468]

Just get the milsurp cat even if it doesnt have matching serials. Theres aftermarket too but the ruasians produced enough cats for ww2 that you can essentially buy a crate full of brande new cats, never meowed, for irt cheap.

[@mannys9130]

+Quattro 4 Unfortunately though, no Japanese milsurp cats to go along with an Arisaka. :( R.I.P.

[@arvilmatlock7921]

Any pussy WILL work lol

It doesn't matter...pussy is pussy

[@bakerthree6r]

I remember buying an m91/30 in 8th grade. I watched this so many times. Must have been 7 years ago

[@ColMajor]

Excellent video guys! Krud Kutter is one of my favorite products when I clean & restore my military surp guns. I gave us using the toxic stuff years ago. Please be aware that most Russia, Yugo, & Swiss rifles you find packed in cosmoline K-Kutter will remove it just like you show in your video. However, underneath the grease the stocks are usually finished with shellac or varnish. K-Kutter will only remove about 25% of this. Acetone, denatured alcohol, or citrus strip will finish it.

[@mauser3846]

im glad u guys did this vid because i want to refinnish my dads US enfield of 1917. But he wont let me sand it because of the markings on the stock and i needed a way to get the finnish off with out damaging the markings and the stock is really nice it should clean up well.

[@garystorey]

Thanks alot. I just bought an Air Arms TX200 Hunter Carbine which had some minor stock damage that was starting to bug me. I had been told how to refinish and recondition stocks but I'm more of a visual person , show me how to do something and I can do it. This series of videos helped no end. All the best from England.

[@MrMadaket78]

I tried the Krud Cutter on my 1943 Mosin-Nagant. Guess my stock may have had a different finish but the K-C did not remove the finish. So I turned to acetone, using less than half a bottle I had the stock down to bare wood in 1/2 hour. Could be mine was fiinish in laquer or shellac, the acetone worked great. Did not have to mess with boiling water, or burning my fingers. Conditioned stock, applied 2 coats of stain, finish with Formby tung oil, and than couple coats of wood wax. Try acetone.

[@loboel264mag7]

I didn’t notice the author till I started watching the video. Lol. Your early years. We were a lot younger back then. Good work guys. That is why y’all have lasted so well.

[@silverstar4289]

Starting the stock project today. Bluing completed. Saved this for a long time.

[@RandomPoolGuy84]

I used a clean parkerizing tub with a propane heater, which keeps the water boiling, and some detergent. I stripped the old finish off with a scraper and placed the stock into the boiling water with two cups of powder detergent. The stock floats on top and the portion of the stock in the water has all of the oil pulled out. Let it float for 90 sec., then pull it out and flip it over for another 90 sec. Let it air dry for 10 minutes and begin sanding.It's a more expensive set up, but much faster.

[@bootsytakes6]

@ tlareng If you literally boil the stock, it can cause the wood to swell excessively and parts may not fit properly without a lot of sanding and refitting. A hot water treatment as shown won't affect the wood enough to matter. It just helps pull the stain/ grease/ oil out and also dents and some scratches. Careful though, it can also pull out serial numbers and any cartouches that you may want to keep intact.

[@jamessliman]

hi fellas i just wanted to say thanks for this series of videos ive actually watched it three times because i have an old over and under 12 gauge and ive wanted to bring the stock back to life and the way you have went threw every step was really helpful cant wait to start mine now. cheers and a big thanks all the way from Ireland just finish watching gun gripe i cant wait until the next video and get to the end of this series there a great help keep up the good work. james.

[@Turrbulence]

I used some of Break Free's Powder Blast cleaner and it removed all of the cosmoline, and the old finish along with it. Nothing but bare wood left. It took a long time, but worked just the same.

[@edvinandersson]

"Your gonna need gloves, 'cause it's gonna get messy. Espacially if your working with a stripper" Totally misunderstood that at first!

[@sherlync2096]

The crud cutter turns it into a trout looking stock. Great job Meow.

[@dinkidow2915]

Thank you for this upload. I have 4 rusty guns that's been sitting around since Hurricane Katrina. They're my dad's guns and I want to surprise him when I bring them to New Orleans. Been looking everywhere for some good tips. Thanks again.

[@ShitboxFlyer]

How did it go

[@MrMadaket78]

Krud Cutter does work great on grout, since I still had a almost full bottle I cleaned the tile and grout bathroom floor, really cleaned the grout.

[@dantheman7624]

Use easy off oven cleaner it draws of oil and strips off old varnish. Than rinse it in hot water than let dry. repete as needed. Easyer process.

[@Igori_84]

Have you ever seen a Merkel 200 or 201 or 203 from the 1930s with a barrel length of 81 cm? 12 or 16 gauge. Luftwaffe pilots used these pistols for skeet shooting training. This trained the skill of taking the correct lead during an air battle.

[@TubeSteakTaco]

12 years later and this is still my go to video

[@spfn88]

Used some of that citrus based paint stripper to refinish my yugo sks stock, it worked great got a nice cherry gel stain to rub in and then applied some tung oil let fry for three to four days then added extra cherry for a darker stain.

[@RhodeIslandWildlife]

Tried KrudKutter ona a really beat up 1897 stock that somebody had gone at with a file and 80 grit. It worked great! thanks for this post.

[@SSSDiaz7]

actually I tried some mineral spirits and a soft and ruff bristled brush, I didn't want to risk leaving that chemical on for too long so about 2-3 minutes soaked down from a spray bottle, and then the brush, after about the 3-4 time around I started to make progress and cut through all those layers of Cosmo and old finish it was tuff, but at the same time you got to be gentle. I used boiling water in between the spraying to wipe off the chemical, and at the end I rinsed off the entire stock.

[@markbrennan1756]

I have restored a WW2 Mauser Rifle with Tung oil my grandpa brought home as a souvenir from the war he took from the dead nazi it saved his life because his Thompson keep jamming during the battle. Tung oil work best than linseed oil.

[@chicofireblade5465]

i just found this video looking for how to refinish my rifle stock, but the dude who cant not pet the kitty is what kept me watching lol. I knew this was the video for me.

[@amaya1000rr]

Hey Bro, I tried to post a video response of my Yugo SKS 59/66 that I refinished using your vidoes as a guide. Not sure why it not showing up but I'm still new to youtube so maybe I didn't do it right. Anyway I'm really happy with the results and today I started work on my M38 Mosin-Nagant. Just wanted to say thanks for giving me the inspiration to take on this project & keep up the good work.

[@thenkk4914]

Holy hell this is an old video, but quite helpful for me redoing a marlin stock. I started watching this channel in 2014 when I started getting into guns

[@BoomerTactical]

Dude, I just did my Eddystone and the stock came out beautifully. Thanks!!

[@mitchellworkman]

to get the tiger strips, proffional gun finisher scorch the tiger stripes on using a bunsen burner, but it does require great skill.

[@collateral1207]

i used som krud kutter then i found some old paint remover back in the workshop cabinet and omfg it worked a miracle!! now just to add some tung oil finish 5-6 times

[@Phil4013]

My girlfriend says she agrees with you about "strippers having a negative effect on wood". ha... ha babe..

[@antoniomontana9430]

Awesome girlfriend with a sense of humor :D

[@tlareng]

Do you ever have a problem with parts fitting the stock after its been around alot of water? I would think the wood would warp or move with the high humidity?

[@familyman1110]

In the paint dpt at HD we use krud cutter as our main cleaner

[@jasonhenson1991]

I like that. Never thought of using Krud Kutter. I was just so used to Bix Stripper. Nice work!

[@jfriar]

15 years later. Still helpful... 😊

[@Wolfwood428]

@OntarioPrepper stiff bristled usually means a stiff bristled plastic brush.

[@philipdiaz3010]

2 seconds into a gun video and I'm like, "KITTEEEEEEEEEE."

[@joehunt1980]

another good way to remove the oil from the stock is to spray it with easy off oven cleaner, leave to soak for a few minutes, give it a scrub with a nail brush and wipe off with a rag. it draws the oil right out from deep in the wood and drys out fast. using rubber gloves is a must! it tends to dry your skin out too! haha

[@citationxbjfv]

yes only to use regular stripper ,couple of time sand it ,put the base and the finish ,do you think it will be the same results? or it is better the hot water method...

[@Gorbachev]

When I de-shellac'd a mosin nagant I used nothing but 0000 steel wool and a toothbrush and a half gallon of denatured alcohol. It was a sticky mess but I had fun.

[@bootsytakes6]

@skiley100 Also, the only undesireable experience I have with removers is the smell which is easily counteracted with a good respirator. Krud Kutter does not contain lye, a product harmful to wood, and is why I chose to recommend it's use here. Older firearms were normally packed in cosmoline which needs a good degreasing agent to get it out of the wood, hence biodegradable Krud Kutter.

[@TexasLeverGunner]

Yeah. Boiling water will weak those tougher finishes like the mar-shield finishes on marlin stocks, but it still won't cut it. lol. The method in this video though is one similar to what I use and works great when it comes to cleaning the stocks! Y'all make some great vids and everytime I watch one it just reminds me of how I need a better camera. lol

[@Kirk284831]

if you have oil in your stock, you can remove the oil by putting acetone on it

[@DankDaddyz]

Man look how young you guys sound and look this is a classic!!

[@mesothelioma5024]

Is there a better alternative to using hot water like mineral spirits?

[@samatardavidbndphotofilm]

So you're not using the wood stripper?

[@leesherman100]

to evanms1:Take the bare stock, put it in a sealed plastic bag, preferably clear plastic. Place it on the dashboard of your car. Park the car in the sun, hotter the better. Drive the car as usual for a few days. Texas or Arizona sun is the best. Between the sun and the glass glare the stock will sweat out the grunge after a week or so. You can actually see the results.

[@wakeoftheflood2]

I have an old Crosman airgun from the 1960's, it has a kind of varnish finish on it, would this method work to take that off, or should I use stripper for the varnish? thank you great video

[@citationxbjfv]

what about, just remove the old finish with a remover ,put the base and finish,, do i have the same result? or do it with the hot water process will be better?

[@dantheman7624]

Just use EZ-OFF oven cleaner. spray it on, work it in with a tooth brush, let it set 5-10 mins, rinse in hot water and let it dry, then repeate 3 or 4 times. Very eazy.

[@uselessmayhem]

no a stupid question, can it just be sanded down, smoothed out the tru-oiled? Or do all the steps from the krud kutter and out have to take place?

[@akdude182]

@KiwiTomCrawford one thing you could do is strip the finishput a very small amount of apoxy in the scratch then sand over it and fill the scratch in with the saw dust.you my have to do this a few times but it will get the jod done if you do it right.

[@smokepeddler]

Love you guys, always useful info

[@davidbelew4225]

I watched this series of videos and followed the instructions to a tee as best I could. One word of caution; at one point the question is asked if this method could be used to simply clean the stock as opposed to stripping it. The answer was this could be used to simply clean and remove cosmoline etc.... I will say that if you use Krud Kutter it WILL strip the stock. No problems for me and it worked out great but just some fyi.

[@johnstephens5208]

David Belew ffggury gygy UK? n. uvyvgnkkuggbg.ggyhgujrhiknuooihucugyyuyyhdoohh6

[@leroywinnie8300]

I think your cat is pissed for using the morter tub because he wants you to put the kitty litter back into it , lol.... Great job ...

[@jersey1979]

Will using this method (Krud Kutter and hot water) get the cosmoline out of the wood of the barrel of a Mosin Nagant 91/30? thanks

[@Solingen1000]

what does the baking soda do?

[@burrmanchu687]

Won't the boiling water have a chance of warping the entire thing?

[@stekrirade]

also, i have been looking for gun cleaning kits for the 91/30 and i dont know what brushes and brush size to get. i have looked at hoppes 9 kits and all i seen was bronze brushes and i didnt know if it would be good to use on the mosin.

[@TheDcgj45]

I have a very old 1903 springfield. the stock is very oily and almost black in places the oil has almost soften the wood in places. Do you think this would help?

[@machinegun3133]

can you use krud cutter indoors ?

[@bootsytakes6]

@skiley100 These videos are geared more towards folks who are not professional furniture restorers. This method uses common household items to clean and degrease older surplus stocks, simple preparations for sanding, and a common method of sanding and finishing with stain and readily available and easy to use oil. I have no aversion to using chemical strippers, I have a couple gallons of Bix Original Varnish & Stain Remover in my shop, along with various dyes and finishes not mentioned here.

[@zero48411]

Would this be a good method, for refinishing a Mosin? Would it be effective on removing the shellac?

[@strt6ranger938]

i would say no...i tried that with an SKS. Was originally a natural wood color but wanted it to be Ebony. Did what you said and it seemed like the stain wouldn't soak into the wood After 3 coats it looked the same as the 1st coat

[@SSSDiaz7]

Now I just got to let it dry, I live in South Florida so 1 good day of hot sun in the low, mid 90's should be good enough. Dry it for about 36 hours I suppose. Anyways I subscribed to your channel so I can see all your Mosin nagant videos, they are all very informative. Hopefully in the future fans can just send in their parts for you to mod/fix/finish them, as a business. lol perhaps its possible.

[@stekrirade]

what if you just want to take out the dirt and grime on the stock, what would you recommend doing?

[@bootsytakes6]

Are you referring to using a different removal method, such as a chemical stripper like BIX, or just referring to the Krud Cutter? As far as the hot water goes, hot water will clean anything and just does a better job than without. Also the hot water is part of the steaming method if you are doing that step.

[@coder807]

is it ok if I sanded some of the stain off of the stock and steamed the rest out after because i was mislead and sanded before i did anything

[@toddbunn]

if i had a big enough pot would you recommend dipping it in to clean and pull out dents?

[@opie7afe]

im thinking my steam cleaner i have for auto detailing(small home unit) would work for this, as it is a fairly dry steam and can use a cleaner not as strong due to the steam. my worry is warpage. then again i did throw an sks stock in the dishwasher when i had it and cleaned it perfectly and did not warp, i doubt steam would warp a mosin stock.....going to try steam when i get my mosin. bet i could use steam for the metal parts as well. but i have an ultrasonic so i could go either way.

[@Hubscharber]

@Iraqveteran8888 They way I did mine was simply remove the old nasty finish with stripper, sanded a little bit with high grain paper and #0000 steel wool to get it extra smooth. Applied 3 coats of Minwax Golden Pecan stain, then sealed it with Woodoc (not available in USA) sealant. All this took about 2 1/2 days with each coat having 6 hours to dry and cure. Now stock was only cheap pine, but I think the same results could be achieved with any old military walnut.

[@evanms1]

i have a mosin stock with so much cosmoline in it the the inside of the stock is black...any tips on getting it all out of the wood?

[@NungaNunga12]

Well im thinking of refinishing a mosin nagant stock, will the krud kutter damage the metal where the sling goes?

[@claireelliot6846]

Y'all have came a long way

[@stekrirade]

i heard you can use orange glo to clean the stock, what is your say on that?

[@evanwindom3265]

Doesn't using that much water risk raising the grain of the wood?

[@neeedmorecoffee]

If it fits...just put your stock in the dishwasher on high temp wash. and yes add soap! stripped my M44 stock like a champ!

[@xxReaverXXCerberusxx]

You helped me refine my stock, you won yourself a subscriber. Now if only I can take my Mosin Nagant with with me to PT and basic.

[@MrMosinNagant1937]

damn this is an advanced way to finish it lol i never thought of a iron all i did was clean it used some steel wool threw some stain on it and then sealed it. lets pretty good.

[@frugalgunsmith]

water,crudcutter? does warped stock sound good to you?use paint remover.

[@yrusonoitall]

Help... I can't remember how to remove the bar that runs between the hand-guard, it takes a screwdriver on one side of stock, and on the other side looks like a screw with two holes in it.

[@bootsytakes6]

Yeah, regular stripper will work ok, then sand and finish. I just prefer to use the Krud Kutter/ hot water method, it's what works for me and shows the best results IMHO.

[@jomikalatinofortrump7661]

strippers affect the wood in the wrong way, fucking hilarious

[@brk932]

Well, they do. But only the top layer.

[@GC_Rallo]

He was making a joke, meaning stripper as in a naked dancer and wood as in, well you know.

[@brk932]

So was I ...genital herpes

[@NLINE7]

I once have hair piece, wind would blow off head.

[@MrWhiteafro]

how do u reblue the metal cause my 91/30 is turning silver from all the shooting i do

[@ronpaul2008rocks]

Oh, No! I've even heard that crud cutter is too harsh. I'm trying to study how to clean my 03 stock -- that's why I'm watching.

[@TexasLeverGunner]

Krud Cutter and this method is only good for stocks with some type of oil finish or thin coat of shellack like on our mosins. Any stock with a heavy coat of polyurethane or epoxy is most certainly going to require a chemical stripper to get it completely off. Great vid though. Always enjoy the vids man...

[@myslash09]

Your video game me the courage to refinish an old spanish side by side that my father pasted down to me. I needs to come out perfect because my dad is still with us and he will be less than pleased if i ruin the gun. LOL Just one question where the finish was worn off on the but end it looks like water stains in the wood. It's not bad but is there a way to get them out. Thanks Sal

[@moldymuffin111]

Hey I know this is a huge pain but I just bought some krud kutter and I'm not sure if its the same as shown in this video, it looks a little different but I think its the same. Could send me a message with a few of the descriptinos or ingredients or whatever on the the back of that? if not I understand its a pain.

[@Rebornhell]

What would be a good alternative here in Denmark? Could you use something like "Cillit Bang"?

[@jrjyates85]

Is it ok to use brake cleaner to strip and get all the oils and stuff out of the wood?

[@jrjyates85]

Ok, thank you. I was worried it would damage the wood but I wasn't sure if it would hurt the bluing of the metal.

[@tommystone4563]

I use Easy-off too remove the old finish and oil from the stock, it works great...

[@jasonlopez4855]

I use orengeoxie from Daller tree store. It will take it all hand greas off. No traditional wood working. From stock video's.

[@bjpw1234]

Does anybody know how to remove laminated finish??? I need to reshape a laminated hardwood stock (It isn't symmetrically machined) and then refinish it with non-laminated finish. I need to find a way to remove the laminated finish without sanding it because I heard that you shouldn't sand laminated finish. I also heard that Easy-off oven cleaner hurts the integrity of the stock if it's used. Would this method work? PLEASE ANSWER IF YOU KNOW, for I am in desperation!

[@malakov5]

Im about to go to a gun show in hopes of getting an old Kar98k stock. Is there anything that I should look for in particular? Does a darker stock mean it's in worse condition? i.e. More cosmoline?

[@tomdixon9803]

What's the name of the product he's using? I didn't quite catch it.

[@MrTailspinstu]

after sanding the stock of my mosin I can still see dark blotches in the wood grain in the area of the forward handgrip and on the stock behind the tang is this body oils that have permated the wood as they are in the area that the rifle is gripped...if so what do I do ? keep sanding or stain over BTW great & very proffesssional videos you guys do ,thx and congrats.

[@grimblemonster]

will the bakeing soda take the vinish off?

[@Alexander.s.arreola]

great video and keep them coming brother I'm doing my m44 today watching this video