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Post by volkssturm on Apr 30, 2015 21:35:22 GMT -5
So, I found a broken Kar98 (I think it's a Dboys) with a wood stock and decided to try a minimalist (i.e. cheap as possible) conversion. I sanded down the stock, which had that horrible red-orange paint on it. I don't know what kind of wood it is, but it doesn't stain well. Some parts take up the stain, others don't. I started with Minwax "gunstock", then tried Minwax "Red Mahogany". It has a very mottled appearance, light in some place, dark in others. I'd rather not resort to painting it. Any suggestions?
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Post by insterburger on May 1, 2015 5:58:45 GMT -5
This is a timely thread for me, as I have two of these stocks that will need staining.
Hopefully we will hear from someone who has done these, but my understanding is that using traditional stain is not the way to go. Supposedly gel stain, which is designed for staining non-porous/non-wood surfaces, works best.
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Post by aldrich on May 1, 2015 11:47:15 GMT -5
I had a similar problem on something I was staining. I used a gel stain. While it fixed the issue it did have a bit of a sticky texture to it. The stain I used was decently old though so perhaps it hadn't aged well.
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Post by volkssturm on May 1, 2015 13:24:01 GMT -5
I picked up some Minwax Gelstain. Doesn't seem to come in many colors, at least at Home Depot. I picked "hickory" as maybe the closest to walnut. Anyone know what the original Kar98 stocks were? Beechwood maybe? Anyway, the Dboys wood isn't too impressive. There were a couple small defects that were filled in with what looks like Bondo and the toe of the stock is actually a separate piece glued on.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 1, 2015 20:03:08 GMT -5
This is probably going to be counter intuitive but whatever soft ASH the Asian market uses on most of their "real wood" stock seem to respond best to applications of layers of brown and black shoe polish until your desired finish is achieved. Then once dried and set, spray with a clear protective over spray. The blending of the polish should help camouflage the inconsistent surfaces present although it will never be as nice as you'd probabably like.
I have seen German WW2 rifle stocks in a wide variety of shades from blonde to dark dark brown.
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Post by insterburger on May 2, 2015 6:18:44 GMT -5
2nd Bat is right about the variety of finishes on originals. It should be noted that the German troops apparently liked to slather their rifle stocks with linseed oil, which would in turn tend to pick up and hold dirt, so darker brown finishes are more the norm on original, issued rifles. Either because of the wood or how they were treated, some originals get as light as a rich dark honey color, but the very blonde stocks are over-sanded modern fantasy pieces from the much-maligned Mitchell's Mausers or others of their ilk.
The vast majority of German WWII stocks were laminated wood, and the distinctive striping would be extremely difficult to convincingly replicate in gel stain or shoe polish. The good news is that the laminate lines often get lost in a very dark, field-used finish, so darker rather than lighter is probably the way to go on these.
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Post by volkssturm on May 2, 2015 10:12:53 GMT -5
Back in ROTC we were still schlepping M1's (and some M14's). I recall being in the arms room cleaning the lollipops ies after a field exercise (corrosive primer ammo, you had to come back three days in a row and run solvent down the bores to get all the crud out) and the supply sergeant giving us some linseed oil to wipe down the stocks. Ah, the good old days, before everything was plastic.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 2, 2015 12:45:22 GMT -5
I too had both M1s and M14s as issued weapons in ROTC although in my case most of the M14 stocks were beat to piss composition stocks. I remember we didn't have blank adapters so the M1 bolts had to racked each time whereas the M14s did have, so they were semi automatic. I don't recall having selector switches on the M14s?
Wood is definitely cool relative to the pseudo wood plastic stocks even when finished quite well. Let us know how things come out. I didn't realize that most German stocks were laminants. Light blonde finishes would not make sense from a camouflage perspective and I detest seeing parade ground perfect looking rifles with impressions.
Linseed oil darkens over time so during the war the stocks were probably somewhat lighter than those same rifles as seen today. With Black and white pictures its really tough to guage.
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Post by insterburger on May 2, 2015 14:48:21 GMT -5
I didn't realize that most German stocks were laminants. Yup, whether due to a lack of suitable hardwood or superior performance (less warpage, etc.) depends on who you ask, but laminate stocks began transitioning in during 1937, and by 1938 they had completely supplanted the solid walnut stocks used from 1934. Once in a while during the war some plants produced limited runs of solid wood stocks-- I guess they were working with what they had-- but they were few and far between. Probably more than 99% of German cupped-buttplate stocks-- the kind DBoys copies-- were laminated wood.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 2, 2015 19:26:11 GMT -5
Was that true for the G43 as well?
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Post by volkssturm on May 3, 2015 14:11:24 GMT -5
Bottom is before (with the Minwax Gunstock and then Red Mahogany stain). Above is after two coats of Minwax Hickory GelStain.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
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Post by 2nd Bat on May 3, 2015 19:25:18 GMT -5
I think that looks great. Should work nicely for a Bar 98 project.
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Feb 25, 2016 15:12:00 GMT -5
After fitting and finishing a DBoys wood stock for use with a BAR 10 it is currently a hodgepodged mix of wood and resin filler. I will soon be at the stage where I am going to attempt various stains and finishes and will share what I come up with. Typically in those areas where there is filler I have to do extra steps to blend things with the finish I achieve elsewhere. The area through the neck area tended to blacken a bit from palm sweat reacting to the lindseed oil and this helps camouflage things a bit.
I am going to apply a fairly dark stain as this seems from pictures to be most correct for solid wood Mauser stocks. Laminants were reportedly cheaper to produce, more regid, lighter and given the huge number of stocks produced these advantages added up. Alas mine will all depict solid stocks.
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