[Carb850]

Just got a shipment of de-waxed garnet shellac flakes. I will be using these to refinish the stock on my 91/30 Mosin. Next step is to pick up some denatured alcohol and maybe some acetone for stripping.

Any suggestions for a first time refinisher? I read that the flakes take nearly a week to dissolve in the alcohol so I have plenty of time.

If this turns out nice, I will posts some before and after pics. Otherwise, this never happened. :smile:

 

[Sangrun Hunter]

Sounds very interesting and I will be anxious to see how it turns out.

 

[Carb850]

Many years later I finally completed this project. Far from perfect but a bunch better than it was.

Before

After

 

[Sangrun Hunter]

Lookin' good!

 

[Oldgunner]

Just got a shipment of de-waxed garnet shellac flakes. I will be using these to refinish the stock on my 91/30 Mosin. Next step is to pick up some denatured alcohol and maybe some acetone for stripping.

Any suggestions for a first time refinisher? I read that the flakes take nearly a week to dissolve in the alcohol so I have plenty of time.

If this turns out nice, I will posts some before and after pics. Otherwise, this never happened. :smile:

Sorry I guess I?m just dumb but I?ve never heard of this method. De-waxed Garnet Shellac Flakes? Can you tell me a little more about this? I?ve used BLO and Tung Oil but never shellac, didn?t know you can make you own.

 

[Carb850]

Sorry I guess I?m just dumb but I?ve never heard of this method. De-waxed Garnet Shellac Flakes? Can you tell me a little more about this? I?ve used BLO and Tung Oil but never shellac, didn?t know you can make you own.

:thankyou: for the compliments.

I know very little about this, so take it all with a grain of salt.

I went with shellac because I wanted to keep it as original looking as possible. I would not have done anything to mine if it was not for the flaking handguards. They looked awful in person. The reason I mixed my own is because I wanted Garnet shellac and you can only find clear or blonde locally.

All Shellac comes from flakes, but it seems to have a lifespan once dissolved. By mixing your own you are sure to get a fresh batch and you can control the mixture. I used a 1.5 pound cut and found it to be a little too thin. Took about 10 coats to achieve the color shown. Before the last coat I went over it with some fine steel wool just to remove the orange peel.

I have never did any wood refinishing and found this to be really easy. If I were to do much of this, I would like to experiment with some dyes to get a little more red hue. Like I said, far from perfect but a lot better than it was.

More info can be found at
http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/ShellacFlake.html

 

[GBob01]

Looks like you did a really nice job. It looks alot better than that before pic.

 

[Custer]

I was figuring on just taking the shellac off with denatured alcohol and then BLO the stock.

Does that sound like a reasonable approach?

 

[Sangrun Hunter]

I was figuring on just taking the shellac off with denatured alcohol and then BLO the stock.

Does that sound like a reasonable approach?

Sure, you can do that and you could probably use a furniture stripper as well. It won't look like the original finish, but it is your rifle to do as you wish.

 

[Carb850]

I have seen several Mosin Nagants with hand rubbed BLO finishes. They do look nice that way. I just prefer seeing a shellac finish on Russian wood stocksets.

I figure the BLO is a more durable finish.

 

[Custer]

I have a 91-30 that I think is going to lose its shellac over time so I will have to do something about it.

I also have a RC K98 with the typical poor shellac job that is now flaking. I'll probably have to remove it, too.

Don't really want to but I am afraid that's the way it goes.