collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.  (Read 3002 times)

Offline phishisgroovin

  • Washington For Wildlife
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 924
  • Location: In the heart of Ghetto Kent wa
Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« on: May 17, 2011, 10:57:52 PM »
Well, today i wanted something to do in the sunshine.
I remembers a buddy of mine wanted me to try and put together a step by step of a rifle makeover for another website.

My MAK90 looked like serious crapola (even though it was a FREE rifle from my Brother), so i chose it for my demonstration here since these websites i frequent are mostly assault rifle junkies unlike me the Bolt action junkie. But i figure hunting-washington.com has a few people with well loved rifles that may need a facelift also.

Here we go, Start with a rifle or pistol grips that really look like crap. SERIOUSLY, only beater firearms and well loved Hunting rifles usually need this treatment.

Take a photo of your beat up rifle or pistol sporting the crappy wood.


Now take the firearm apart, take ALL the metal away from the wood because the stripper will eat at most finishes besides parkerizing.

Lay out cardboard, i save nearly every large cereal box, Eggo box or whatnot just for these projects.

Lay out your wood on the cardboard.
Get a tooth brush, new, used but above all a toss away one, you wont use it ever again except for anohter makeover, NITRILE GLOVES ONLY, get some, i couldnt afford them today so i suffered and have a burned finger now. The acids in the Kleen strip are nasty and eat latex gloves..

Spray the parts liberally


Come back to them 15 minutes later and spray on some more, now put your gloves on.
Grab the tooth brush and work the parts over, spraying little by little as the goo dries up a bit.
this is the nastiest crap ever, but its bad ass on getting the job done fast!





Save your coffee lids, they are your friends when doing this type of stuff, now they are scrapers to scrape off the gel when you are done prushing all the stripper into the wood releasing the old finishes. No need in buying plastic putty knives unless you wish to be cool and only use the cool stuff.



my toothbrush i found in my tool box with the wrong type of gloves for the stripper, great for the finish spray though!


Brushing in the goo and releasing all the prior finish on the wood






ok, now that you have all the finish stripped, heres where you RUN these parts past your wife before she see's what the hell you are doing. Fill the tub with hot-warm water, dont forget to grab the dish soap on the way through the kitchen from the garage or patio.
throw the parts in the tub.


now, run back out and grab the tooth brush and the dish soap you forgot to grab on the way through the kitchen like i said to do.

coat the parts liberally with soap and throw them back in the water.

Scrub them well with the brush removing all the goo and rinse with HOT water (this raises minute little dings in the wood) it also opens the pores of the wood.

Rinse them well and let them completely dry.


Now while the wood is drying, lay out some clean cardboard, get your gloves on again, grab a wad of paper towels, fold two layer pieces into a makeshift brush and dip it in the stain. Apply the stain liberally and wipe it off FAST with the rest of the paper towels.
the longer the stain is on the wood the darker it will get.






here, i wiped the wood down really well and let it sit awhile. Usually 8 hours or more.
Today i chose to sand mine wet, i wanted the stain in the pores and grain and the sanded wood filled the grain well in doing so, but its a pain in the ass and i have blisters from doing it this way. BUt it worked well!



OK, i made a rack to hang the parts on, and sprayed a little bit of finish on the parts for a tack coat and let it sit 15 minutes.



Sprayed more coats every 20-30 minutes, the stuff i sprayed today dries to the touch in 30 minutes.



notice the runs? dont stress over them, usually just finish with your steps on extra coats every 30 minutes until you reach 5 coats.
You can wet sand the high areas after 3 days and spray on a single thin coat to finish spray to finish off the job if you are using oil base sprays. I used waterbase today, so i just let it be and it all leveled out for the most part, besides i am not worried too much about a couple runs with this spray, it flattened out well enough and this is just a fast makeover to complete this post foor you guys wanting to refinish your firearms yourself in the future







OH YEAH! make sure to choose a spray that has the blue spray buttons, not the type like the crappy red one i used today, the blue ones lay down a beautiful layer and its directional, meaning you can turn the nozzle to spray vertical or horizontal. i like the blue ones best.



the old fashioned one on the left sucks!



ok, this was completed in only ONE day, from ghetto mismatched pile of crap to hey --- thats a nice looking MAK90!
Enjoy! Have fun giving your firearms a facelift if they need it!
I only use WET/DRY sandpaper period! rinse it off and use it again!
220 grit, 320 and 600.

I started this rifle at 1:00PM, finished and back together ready to wast a crapload of ammo at 9:45PM Peace!





thanks for reading my stupid topic.
Phish.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2011, 11:33:16 AM by phishisgroovin »
TANNERITE needed for target practice on opening day of each hunting season.

Offline fair-chase

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2010
  • Posts: 1618
  • Location: Tri-Cities WA
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2011, 11:20:44 PM »
Looks good. I just have to pick your brain on something though. I recently did a similar project on a single shot 20ga. Using the same exact stain non the less. When applying the finish or clearcoat however I could never get it to set up properly. Feels tacky to the touch even weeks after drying. Tried using ultra fine wet sand and then fine steel wool to polish it out but nothing seemed to help. Any suggestions?

Offline phishisgroovin

  • Washington For Wildlife
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 924
  • Location: In the heart of Ghetto Kent wa
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #2 on: May 17, 2011, 11:26:58 PM »
Looks good. I just have to pick your brain on something though. I recently did a similar project on a single shot 20ga. Using the same exact stain non the less. When applying the finish or clearcoat however I could never get it to set up properly. Feels tacky to the touch even weeks after drying. Tried using ultra fine wet sand and then fine steel wool to polish it out but nothing seemed to help. Any suggestions?
after i stained mine i wiped it completely and let it sit for two hours, then i sanded with wet/dry sandpaper till i had blisters to lift out bare wood under the stain and only have the grain darkened by the stain. I shook the spray on finish for over 4 minutes to make sure all the hardeners that usually go to the bottom were mixed up well.
I used the spray on the left with the red button over top of the minwax stain, it dried in 30 minutes flat. you might have to strip yours and start over. sorry.
TANNERITE needed for target practice on opening day of each hunting season.

Offline fair-chase

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2010
  • Posts: 1618
  • Location: Tri-Cities WA
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #3 on: May 17, 2011, 11:37:58 PM »
I used same minwax finish but in wipe on instead of a spray can. Not sure how much of a difference that would make. I thought I applied it thin enough using cheese cloth as my applicator and removing all excess. Guess I will give the spray a shot next time.

I may start over. Just not right now. I also re blued the barrel while I had it apart and now wish I would have done a zinc coating. Will be a good project for next winter.

Offline phishisgroovin

  • Washington For Wildlife
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 924
  • Location: In the heart of Ghetto Kent wa
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2011, 12:21:24 AM »
I used same minwax finish but in wipe on instead of a spray can. Not sure how much of a difference that would make. I thought I applied it thin enough using cheese cloth as my applicator and removing all excess. Guess I will give the spray a shot next time.

I may start over. Just not right now. I also re blued the barrel while I had it apart and now wish I would have done a zinc coating. Will be a good project for next winter.

that answers it all.
When you buy the can of finish to brush on, ALL of the hardeners are on the bottom of the can, meaning you have to buy a few stir sticks and SLOWLY (VERY SLOWLY) mix the finish without causing bubbles in the can. you have to mix the hardeners fully or it will never dry at all.

So what you ned to do (simple) go buy Nitrile gloves, get some laquer thinner and wipe all the goo off the stock completely and then mix the finish slowly like i explained and rub it back on over the thin layer left on the stock, the hardeners will mix in fairly well and the finish will harden for you.
TANNERITE needed for target practice on opening day of each hunting season.

Offline Skyvalhunter

  • Washington For Wildlife
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Explorer
  • ******
  • Join Date: Oct 2007
  • Posts: 16006
  • Location: Sky valley/Methow
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2011, 06:05:31 AM »
Good job!! Good thing you have 2 wheel barrows to haul the animals out you are going to shoot with your refinished gun!!
The only man who never makes a mistake, is the man who never does anything!!
The further one goes into the wilderness, the greater the attraction of its lonely freedom.

Offline fair-chase

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2010
  • Posts: 1618
  • Location: Tri-Cities WA
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2011, 08:34:15 AM »
Thanks for all the help I appreciate it. Again, good job on the work it looks much better.

Offline phishisgroovin

  • Washington For Wildlife
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Longhunter
  • *****
  • Join Date: Dec 2007
  • Posts: 924
  • Location: In the heart of Ghetto Kent wa
Re: Step by step rifle refinish in a day.
« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2012, 07:47:54 AM »
anyone refinish a rifle using this?
TANNERITE needed for target practice on opening day of each hunting season.

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

KODIAK06 2025 trail cam and personal pics thread by kodiak06
[Today at 12:36:40 PM]


Ground blind for blacktail by Griiz
[Today at 12:26:20 PM]


Bow mount trolling motors by GWP
[Today at 12:18:57 PM]


Archery Elk Advice by nelsonfirst
[Today at 11:08:32 AM]


DR Brush Mower won't crank by EnglishSetter
[Today at 11:05:03 AM]


Oregon special tag info by Judespapa
[Today at 10:56:27 AM]


MA-10 Coho by Sneaky
[Today at 10:53:12 AM]


Ever win the WDFW Big Game Raffle? by Big6bull
[Today at 10:10:07 AM]


Unknown Suppressors - Whisper Pickle by pickardjw
[Today at 09:12:31 AM]


10 kokes by 206
[Today at 07:51:31 AM]


Hoof Rot by fowl smacker
[Today at 06:28:53 AM]


Honda BF15A Outboard Problems by Sandberm
[Yesterday at 08:18:08 PM]


Idaho General Season Going to Draw for Nonresidents by JDArms1240
[Yesterday at 08:16:36 PM]


Eastern WA-WT hunting from tree stands?? by addicted1
[Yesterday at 06:47:44 PM]

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2025, SimplePortal