I just picked up a really nice all matching M44 yesterday. This rifle is collector grade with no signs of use other than storage marks, the blueing is darn near 100 percent if not. It took me about 4 hours to get all the cosmo off but I think I have all the nooks and crannies cleaned out now.
But of course the beech stock is covered with the Russian arsenal orange varnish which the Russians put on everything for some reason. The varnish is flaking in a few spots which really doesn't bother me much. I mean it's a very nice rifle but let's face it, it's just an 80 dollar M44 Nagant.
What I'm interested in doing is removing the arsenal installed varnish and getting the wood all the way down to raw dry wood and then going back with several coats of good old BLO. My stock is very nice with strong cartouches and there is some very good grain structure. One thing I don't like about it is that you can see where it was once wrapped in wax paper which somehow brought out the orange look of the varnish in a barber pole pattern. It's obviously not any strange effect of the wood grain itself, it's definitely some effect of being wrapped up or taped up for storage.
Ok, the question is what chemical do I need to use to get the old varnish completely off the wood without removing any of the wood itself or damaging it. I will never put more than 4 alt steel wool on a stock. And anyone who puts a piece of sandpaper on a stock should be beat over the shin with it
I'm thinking about starting with pure acetone and working my way up to some more serious strippers from the hardware store. I may even go with some of that wood bleach that I've been reading about on here to get the color down to a nice blonde and perhaps a very light stain to bring the grain back out.
Anyway, I'm just looking for advice on varnish stripping chemicals. Thanks in advance.
But of course the beech stock is covered with the Russian arsenal orange varnish which the Russians put on everything for some reason. The varnish is flaking in a few spots which really doesn't bother me much. I mean it's a very nice rifle but let's face it, it's just an 80 dollar M44 Nagant.
What I'm interested in doing is removing the arsenal installed varnish and getting the wood all the way down to raw dry wood and then going back with several coats of good old BLO. My stock is very nice with strong cartouches and there is some very good grain structure. One thing I don't like about it is that you can see where it was once wrapped in wax paper which somehow brought out the orange look of the varnish in a barber pole pattern. It's obviously not any strange effect of the wood grain itself, it's definitely some effect of being wrapped up or taped up for storage.
Ok, the question is what chemical do I need to use to get the old varnish completely off the wood without removing any of the wood itself or damaging it. I will never put more than 4 alt steel wool on a stock. And anyone who puts a piece of sandpaper on a stock should be beat over the shin with it
I'm thinking about starting with pure acetone and working my way up to some more serious strippers from the hardware store. I may even go with some of that wood bleach that I've been reading about on here to get the color down to a nice blonde and perhaps a very light stain to bring the grain back out.
Anyway, I'm just looking for advice on varnish stripping chemicals. Thanks in advance.
