Below is a post I made in the "other" refinishing thread that was banished to the workbench from the collectors forum. This post got lost in the excitement of the deep discussion around the ethics of refinishing. I am interested in other people's experiences with shellac finishes on these rifles.
Lots of Albanian M44s that flew off the shelves at AIM recently are candidates for refinishing because of the extensive modern damage.
You can maintain most of the unique character of these well used M44s by removing the remaining old shellac finish with just alcohol and paper towels; no strippers or abrasives.
My post.....
One reason for refinishing a Mosin with shellac is to prove to yourself how impractical a field finish it is. Refurbished rifles seem to have just one very thick coat of shellac which, for whatever reason, was applied after the rifles were fully assembled (almost all examples have shellac on the rear sight, magazine and trigger guard). One thick, or up to 6 thin coats (1.5 lb.) are required to get the proper film build. Stocks take 2-3 days for the shellac to harden enough for very gentle handling; several weeks until the finish is hard enough to resist fingerprints and several months before it is really stable. If you shoot 20 rounds (1/30 seconds) from a rifle with a 2 week old finish it will bubble and soften. Even after a month a warm rifle will take a "fabric imprint" from the inside of your gun case. Industrial production may have included force drying but there are limited opportunities due to the very low softening point of shellac. My conclusion is that shellac is a pretty impractical finish for rifles in service but if fine for long term storage.
To get the proper gloss you need to steel wool (000 or 0000) the whole stock vigorously about a week to 10 days after applying the finish. It is still soft so use gloves and avoid gripping tightly. After several months (or more) steel wool again to refine the gloss and diminish the brush strokes.
Lots of Albanian M44s that flew off the shelves at AIM recently are candidates for refinishing because of the extensive modern damage.
You can maintain most of the unique character of these well used M44s by removing the remaining old shellac finish with just alcohol and paper towels; no strippers or abrasives.
My post.....
One reason for refinishing a Mosin with shellac is to prove to yourself how impractical a field finish it is. Refurbished rifles seem to have just one very thick coat of shellac which, for whatever reason, was applied after the rifles were fully assembled (almost all examples have shellac on the rear sight, magazine and trigger guard). One thick, or up to 6 thin coats (1.5 lb.) are required to get the proper film build. Stocks take 2-3 days for the shellac to harden enough for very gentle handling; several weeks until the finish is hard enough to resist fingerprints and several months before it is really stable. If you shoot 20 rounds (1/30 seconds) from a rifle with a 2 week old finish it will bubble and soften. Even after a month a warm rifle will take a "fabric imprint" from the inside of your gun case. Industrial production may have included force drying but there are limited opportunities due to the very low softening point of shellac. My conclusion is that shellac is a pretty impractical finish for rifles in service but if fine for long term storage.
To get the proper gloss you need to steel wool (000 or 0000) the whole stock vigorously about a week to 10 days after applying the finish. It is still soft so use gloves and avoid gripping tightly. After several months (or more) steel wool again to refine the gloss and diminish the brush strokes.
