howtomain

Updated 3/21/08

BASIC FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS,
TECHNIQUES & TIPS

MATERIALS LIST:
Sand paper	Recommended, 2-3 sheets of 150, 180 & 240 grit Garnet paper.
Steel Wool	#0000 super fine grade. This is used to final polish the stocks before applying oil.
Oil	Exterior Oil Finish, made by Watcto. This should be available at most hardware stores. This was reccomended to me by one of the techs at Rustoleum, th ecompany that. had bought the Varathane brand. The Varathane Natural oil finish which I had previously reccomended, is sadly no longer available. Rostolem, claims that this Watco product is pretty much the same, regarding ease of use, and pretective properties
Rags	Clean cotton cloths or old socks are preferred for oil application.
Wax	Orange Oil Carnuba based wax for finish upkeep. Howard Feed-n-Wax recommended.

First
sanding:

Since the stock kits are already machine sanded to 150 grit, starting with 150 grit hand sanding will quickly bring
the wood to a smooth uniform surface. Sand with the grain until the grain becomes clear, this means that you
can see the grain darkening a bit, and the figure becoming more visible. This happens when the small sanding
scratches and the dust is removed and the surface is smoothed down flat.

Note: Tear the sheets of paper in half length wise, then tear the 2 pieces into three even smaller pieces. Fold
the smaller pieces twice equally, this will let you gauge the condition of the paper easily and allow a better hold
while sanding.

Small scratches and indents in the wood will be made visible from the sanding dust that collects inside them.
These can easily be removed by sanding across the grain. Sand across the grain inone direction dragging the
paper across the scratch or indent. As the flaw fades, gradually drag the paper so that you are back to sanding with
the grain. This will pull all of the fine scratches back in line with the grain. If the flaw is stubborn, use 150 grit,
then re-sand with 240 grit. It will be apparent if you need 150 grit, 240 grit will easily smooth over the 150
surface.

Note: Take care as to not "melt" the corners or ends of the stock down with overly aggressive sanding, unless of
course you want to custom profile these areas.

This process raises all of the hairs of grain that have been pressed into the wood after the initial sanding. Simply
wet a cotton cloth with water, wipe the wood until it is entirely wet, not soaked, but covered completely. Let dry
thoroughly.When it is dry, you will see that the wood has a rough fuzzy feel to it. The hairs of grain will be
sticking up, and any flaws that you may have missed on the initial sanding will become visible.
You are now ready for final sanding.

Start with 240 grit paper, once again, sand with the grain until the grain becomes clear and smooth. You are using a
fine grit so you can apply more pressure to acquire a super smooth flat surface. Use the same instructions for
removing small scratches and indents as described in the initial sanding. But, only back up to 150 grit unless you
missed a larger flaw. Go back with 240 until it matches surrounding areas. This is the final sanding so take your
time. If done properly, you can achieve an outstanding finish by making sure the grain is very clear to the eye.
You will see where any dust has settled into fine scratched areas. To remove these, drag across and then with the
grain with 240 grit. It will polish the surface and remove the dust and flawed area.

When you are satisfied with the 240 final sanding, polish the stocks with the #0000 steel wool. Buff it hard, it will
put a nice shine on the wood as well as remove any remaining dust. Make sure that the entire part is buffed smooth
with the steel wool.

Instructions are on the can of the Watco Exterior Oil Finish, but I will elaborate.
You want to soak each part heavily with the oil on the first coat. You can even dunk the ends of the parts into the
oil then let the oil ooze down into and onto the part while rubbing more oil in with an oil soaked cotton cloth. The
ends of the stock will pull in lots of oil, so don't be afraid to soak them several times. Right after the first coat,
apply more oil with the cloth.

Rub in another coat every 15 minutes for an hour with the cloth, you don't need to drown the wood, just make sure
it has a good coat covering the entire stock.

On the fourth coat, just use enough oil to break up any tackiness form the previous coat. Make sure the surface is
slick, meaning that the cloth glides across the surface smoothly. There should be a thin coat when done. After
applying this last coat, immediately wipe the stocks dry with a cotton cloth. You want to see a uniform sheen after
doing this. Do it again with a clean cloth to absorb any wet spots you may have missed. Let dry for 24 hours. This
finish will dry just fine in extreme cold climates.

You do not need to buff with steel wool. I recommend applying a stock wax as mentioned in the materials section
as a nice protective coating. It will help preserve the finish, and enhance the sheen of the oil finish.

If you want to go for a higher grade oil finish, apply Tru-oil, Tung oil, or Danish wood oil in very thin coats over
the existing finish. Remember to do this before you apply any stock wax.

The trick with the high grade is to apply numerous very thin coats as to avoid having to do any steel wool buffing
of the finish. Only apply one coat per day. You can put as many as you want, but probably 6-10 additional coats
will give you a show piece. You can wet sand this final finish with 1000 grit wet dry paper and a little bit of the
oil you used for the high grade finish. This will flatten out any uneven surfaces that the oil buildup has created.
This is why lots of very thin hand or cloth rubbed coats are recommended for such a finish. Less rub down work at the end.

Here are some stain recommendations from a few of my customers as well as our own formula.
This is my new full proof stain formula. It is by far the easiest staining method I have ver used.
Materials: RIT clothing dye, available at supermarkets, fabric and drug stores. I happen to use the powder form
but you can get it in liquid form as well. In powder form they cost around $2 to 2.50 per color. Denatured,
Ethyl alcohol, also available at drug stores, cost, around $1.50 per bottle, reason, it evaporates faster than water
and raises the grain less, making it easier to lightly de-fuzz the stained finish before oil or clear coat application.

Mixture and method: I used Scarlet red and Sunburst Yellow, it created a red finish with a little orange. I suggest
you might try Red and Orange or even some Brown to get the authentic looking AK stock color. The store
I went to happen to be out of the Orange, so I went with the Yellow.

Mix 1 Tsp of Red and 1 Tsp of Yellow dye into some sort of cup. Hint, if you can grind up the dye a bit before
adding the Alcohol, it will help it dissolve more completely. Add 9 to 10 Tsp of the Alcohol and mix together.
Hint: You can also control the color by how much Alcohol you add, more =lighter color, less=darker, experiment.
Note: Only apply stain after you have taken the stocks through the grain raising process and final polish sanding
as listed above in the sanding suggestions. Apply the stain, I used a rag, you can use a sponge brush, but you
don't need to. Apply one coat, check the color, more coats=darker color. The color you see is the color you get.

When you are happy with the color, let the stock dry for about 10 minutes. Using some 600 wet dry sand paper
lightly sand down the slightly fuzzy surface or the stock parts. Sand lightly so as not to go through the stain.
This process will make the surface clear and smooth again, ready for oil or clear coat.
Final coat: I used an oil finish as listed in the finishing suggestions above, 4 coats of the Watco .
Finish, then 2 coats of Varathane Diamond grade Water based semi-gloss interior grade clear coat.
Note: let the oil finish dry for 24 hours before applying the clear coat. Also, Laminate is very thirsty for oil,
soak the wood well with oil on the initial coats as well as in between coats. You will see the shine go away as
the oil is drawn into the wood The wetter the better. When applying the clear, wait at least 2-3 hours before
applying the next coat. The optimum air temperature to apply the clear will be listed on the can.
Also, you can apply as many coats as you want, it will help if and when you wet sand
the final finish. I did not wet sand as I wanted to get the semi-rough finish as found on military stocks.

The beauty of this formula is that it is inexpensive, any one can do it, you can control the color, and, the stain
will not fade or dilute when applying oil or clear coats. Pay attention to detail, make sure the stock set is
properly sanded and prepped before staining / dying. If you do this, you will create a beautiful finish.

Good luck.

Raise
the grain:

Final
sanding

Steel
wool

Oil

Done

High
Grade

Stains