1969 romanian 22 trainer stock refinishing Q's

smooth_operator

I currently have two of these rifles and plan on refinishing their dinged stocks. Does anyone have any ideas as far as refinishing these? I have yet to devulge myself in this practice and haven't got the slightest clue where to begin. Also, Im not looking for a collector grade finish, these stocks are dinged from use and I just want something that will look more decent.thanks,Smooth

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Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.

tideman

Smooth, I've refinished several of the Romanian mdl. 69's. It's not a routine refinish job. The finish that was applied to this rifle must have been made in a steel mill. 1st: Strip the old finish with the BEST stripper available to you locally. I prefer "Dad's". Repeat the process at least twice [3 times is better]. 2nd: DO NOT SCRAPE the old finish off the stock. That only drives the remaining finish deeper into the pores of the wood. [Then you'll never get the wood to it's natural state.] Flush the stripper with a solvent/mineral spirits solution until the stripper is completely removed. 3rd: Let the stock dry completely. That means several days at room temp. 4th: Then, and only then, will you be able to apply your desired stain, sealer, etc. to complete the job. I've tried to find out what was used on these great little shooters but I've had no luck.However, they are worth the effort. Don't get discouraged and, GOOD LUCK!Tideman p.s. It goes without saying to do this job in a well ventilated area.

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"Don't shoot to stop 'em, Shoot to Destroy 'em!"

jonk

I agree; start with a strong stripper. Then, steam any heavy dents out as best as possible with an iron. Sand, sand with lighter sandpaper, steel wool, wet with water, steel wool, wet, etc. until no grain rises. Then finish as desired; I like a 50/50 polyurethane linseed oil mix. Takes a while to dry though.

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"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

Der Gebirgsjager

Strangely, I also have two which I am contemplating refinishing. Having been in the business for a long time I've probably got some equipment you don't have--but maybe you can beg, borrow, steal, etc.; or, improvise, adapt, and overcome. First, since mine are not particularly greasy, after removing the actions from the stocks I'm going to use a #2 cabinet rasp to take out the deeper dings. These are kind of spendy--they're available from Brownells. I'm going to use my Jerry Fisher inletting scrapers to smooth the finger grooves on the side of the forend. They have rounded heads and will maintain the roundness of the grooves while maintaining sharp edges. Next I'm going to use my Makita palm sander and 80 grit sandpaper to cut everything else down to smooth. Sand with the grain. Then I'll use 120 and 220 grit paper. Next I'll use 320 wet or dry. Best to use a sanding block where you can, but some curves require fingers. By now there should be no dings, dents, or marks of any kind visible. Now, if your stock will be exposed to wet weather you should "whisker" it, which involves getting it wet with a sponge and rapidly drying it over a gas burner. Keep it moving so as not to scorch it. This will cause little particles of grain to raise up. Sand them off with the 320 W&D. Repeat. Mine appear to be birch or some similar wood, and I have had varied success with conventional wood stain. Some work somewhat, and some not at all. One thing that will work if something like Formsby's doesn't is a brown leather dye. This is, or course, assuming that you want a brown stock. If you desire a blond finish, skip staining. Either way, now you're ready for the finish. Birchwood Casey's Tru-Oil is nice. So is Chem-Pak Pro Custom Oil. Both are pretty labor intensive requiring numerous thin repeated coats and drying time. I use them on custom rifles, but as I recall, I paid $39.95 each for these Romanian .22s. I think I'll hang mine up and use Chem-Pak Aerosol Gun Sav'R Custom Oil Gunstock Finish, Satin. This is wonderful stuff. It doesn't run and can be rapidly recoated until the desired thickness and finish is obtained. It also comes in gloss, but you have to be a little more careful, as in my experience it will run if applied too heavily. I apply one coat with the fore end up, and the next with the butt up. Usually five or six coats will give a very satisfactory finish. Another plus is that the surface drys so rapidly that it picks up very little dust out of the air. Here's an opportunity you won't want to pass up. Extra mags are available from Zander's Sporting Goods 1-800-851-4373 at $7.95 ea. They claim to have 483 in stock--I'll be ordering two extras Monday. Unfortunately they are wholesale only, so you may need a dealer friend to help out. Let us know how your project turns out.

smooth_operator

Thanks for the input guys, it is really appreciated. I bought these rifles for tinkering and in doing so, found that they are good shooters. If I can only find a scope ring that would fit these extremely narrow rails... I'll be halfway done. What brand if any do you use?-Smooth

blackgun

Century Arms has the scope rings you need.They are made by Kwik-Site.

smooth_operator

I tried contacting century arms already and to my disappointment was told the following:1) There is a $50 minimum limit for all orders.2) They only sell to dealers.If anyone has an idea where I can find one at a reasonable price, I would gladly appreciate it.-smooth

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Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.

Der Gebirgsjager

I had not as yet looked into scope rings, so did not know about the Kwik-Site option. My distributor carries that brand, and I can as easily order 4 sets as 2 and mail them to you. You may, however, be able to buy them directly from Kwik-Site at 734-326-1500.

wundudnee

Wood is like metal, a lot of times it wants to return to it's original configuration. A steam iron and wet rags will bring out many dents. I worked in a power house and had access to live steam and all the time I needed. If you need to do any scraping, try breaking a piece of single strength glass like a picture frame glass. When it breaks it gets a wire edge on one side of the edge. It works good to remove feather. Birchwood Caseys or Formsbys are both good products. After you get the stain you want apply either, or rub in linseed oil many coats. Between applications rub lightly with 0000 steel wool. When you get what you like one coat of some good paste wax. I like refinishing old gunstocks, old pickups and old tractors because they nearly always look better when your done

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" Everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects" Will Rogers

smooth_operator

out of curiosity, how much do these specialized rings cost? I saw them on gunbroker just a few minuites ago for $13+3 shipping. Has anyone else tried installing other brands? -smooth

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Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.