Refinishing WASR stock

[Celraysoda 7]

So I have been on a medical leave from work for almost a month now and I'm getting bored.

 

I have a WASR 10 that has the plain, dull wood stocks. Anybody have any luck refinishing, staining and varnishing them to look more like the nice darker, shiny ones I see?

 

-Thanks

[RecessedFilter 222]

I've done some sets. If you do it quickly, it will come out decent but if you take your time with sanding and staining, it will come out really nice.

 

It's pretty easy. Strip the furniture of metal parts then bleach the wood, sand it, choose your dye/stain colors you want and apply, sand some more, stain, sand, stain, finish with a polyurethane or no poly and your all done!

[Celraysoda 7]

I've done some sets. If you do it quickly, it will come out decent but if you take your time with sanding and staining, it will come out really nice.

 

It's pretty easy. Strip the furniture of metal parts then bleach the wood, sand it, choose your dye/stain colors you want and apply, sand some more, stain, sand, stain, finish with a polyurethane or no poly and your all done!

Sounds pretty simple. Any hints on what grit sandpaper? Spray polyurethane or brush?

 

Thanks!

[RecessedFilter 222]

Sorry I wasn't so detailed about it!. Those are the steps and IMO, unless your refinishing a set to have it put on a rifle that's going to be into a museum, those steps are what's involved.

 

I like bleaching the wood so it's white and it seems to take in color better, but many skip that step.

 

For sanding, it all depends on how rough your stock set is (literally). If there are lots of dings, scratches, gouges, etc, then start with 40 or 50 grit and start sanding down to level out those dings and whatnot. Then switch to 80 or a 'medium' fine grit then finish with 120 to get that nice finish. Once your done, you should be able to run your fingers on it and it feel nice and smooth.

 

Start with your stain or dye. It's pretty straightforward, smooth even brushes and make sure to dab your brush a little to get the excess off before applying each brush. If you put it on really thick, it may dry with drips but it's also hard to make it even when it's applied thick.

 

After you apply your stain, let it fully dry and then LIGHTLY sand it with 120/fine/140very fine grit sandpaper. You don't need to sand it for 15mins apply force. Just lightly sand it to smooth it up again. It should just take a few mins.

 

Apply another stain. Then sand again. And keep on doing that until your satisfied with the product. More staining applications will thicken the stain and usually make it a little bit darker. I'd suggest staining 3-6 times, 6+ if you want a thicker stain.

 

Finish with whatever you want. Canned polyurethane is thicker and will usually leave a thicker layer. Spray poly goes on light and I've found you have to apply spray poly with a lot more coats than canned. Make sure to let it dry before doing another coat. If you want a shine, make sure it's a gloss' poly and if you want a more natural look to it that's not shiny, look for 'matte' poly.

 

Good luck and make sure to post pics! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I'm not an expert wood refinisher but I've done quite a few to know what I'm doing.

[RecessedFilter 222]

I forgot an important tip. Make sure to take a dust-free cloth and LIGHTLY dampen it and wipe the wood down between sanding and staining. If you don't do this step, you will stain/poly over the little bit of sanded-dust/sawdust? the sandpaper produces. So it's good to wipe it down to remove all that little dust and anything else that has accumulated on it.

[aguilar64 9]

Here are some instructions:

 

http://wasr-10.com/how-to-refinish-AK-furniture

[T Bill 649]

Get a can of Birchwood Casey Tru Oil for the stock finish.  Multiple coats that you can do for a gloss, matte, or dull finish with steel wool. YouTube can help here.

[Celraysoda 7]

Great tips! Will start removing the furniture tonight. Thanks!

[jermz1987 243]

Here is my Wasr 10/63, I refinished the furniture with Minwax Red Oak. I really like the way it came out. Considering it was the first time I've done something like this. The picture doesn't do it justice. it looks a lot better in person.


BEFORE


 

AFTER

[MedicYeti 96]

Thanks for the thread. I was thinking about pulling my WASR apart, redoing the wood myself and considering a coating of the metal.

[jermz1987 243]

If you end up doing it post some pics when its finished.