Hello guys-
Bought an M-48 a while back. The metal is real nice and all numbers match, the stock, not so much. Makes me wonder if it was arsenal rebuilt and put back in the old stock like a Mosin. Any way I normally don't refinish my old military gunstocks unless they are really bad. Well this one is definitely really bad. I've stripped and refinished with Tung Oil Finish and didn't like the results. Just not that nice red that my other M-48's are. So I stripped the stock and tried Danish Oil in the natural tint and it still came out wrong. Kind of a yellow brown. Not happy. Now I know the stock is Red Elm, when I strip the finish and rinse the stock it is that nice red I was talking about. If you own an M-48 or 48A you know what I'm talking about. So I've stripped it one last time and what I want to know is-what the hell kind of finish can I put on that will bring out that nice red? Don't want a shellac or varnish, too glossy, want the refinished rifle to look like it hasn't been refinished. Or close to it. Any help would be most appreciated, thanks-
Bought an M-48 a while back. The metal is real nice and all numbers match, the stock, not so much. Makes me wonder if it was arsenal rebuilt and put back in the old stock like a Mosin. Any way I normally don't refinish my old military gunstocks unless they are really bad. Well this one is definitely really bad. I've stripped and refinished with Tung Oil Finish and didn't like the results. Just not that nice red that my other M-48's are. So I stripped the stock and tried Danish Oil in the natural tint and it still came out wrong. Kind of a yellow brown. Not happy. Now I know the stock is Red Elm, when I strip the finish and rinse the stock it is that nice red I was talking about. If you own an M-48 or 48A you know what I'm talking about. So I've stripped it one last time and what I want to know is-what the hell kind of finish can I put on that will bring out that nice red? Don't want a shellac or varnish, too glossy, want the refinished rifle to look like it hasn't been refinished. Or close to it. Any help would be most appreciated, thanks-