# Gunstock refinish: staining surplus Bulgarian AK-74 stock



## Armchair Bronco (Mar 24, 2009)

I'm planning to buy an Arsenal SGL-31 AK-74. This is the modern 5.45x39 version of the venerable AK-47 (7.62x39). While I'm saving my money, I want to get started with a stock refinishing project for the AK-74.

I just bought a $25 surplus Bulgarian wood stock from Apex Gun Parts. It looks just like the one pictured below:










The stock is much lighter in color than the handguards. I'd like to refinish all 3 wood pieces in a Combloc Red finish, like this from Innovation Arms:










Is this doable given the lighter stock? If so, what are some tips? Is the stock beech, birch, or something else? Thanks.


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## Nandor (Dec 10, 2011)

i have refinished a couple of guns before and they looked better than the one on the picture. these guns usually European ash or beech. Iwas using two coats of mahogany water based dye stain ,sanded lightly between coats, than one or two coats of oil based mahogany stain . Top of that you can use wathever you want for topcoat, i was using three coats of poly. These woods have tight grain ,tend to blotch that is why i staind with water based dye first. Dye stains have to order online , they dont sale it in hardweare stores unfortunatelly.


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## Armchair Bronco (Mar 24, 2009)

Nandor said:


> i have refinished a couple of guns before and they looked better than the one on the picture. these guns usually European ash or beech. Iwas using two coats of mahogany water based dye stain ,sanded lightly between coats, than one or two coats of oil based mahogany stain . Top of that you can use wathever you want for topcoat, i was using three coats of poly. These woods have tight grain ,tend to blotch that is why i staind with water based dye first. Dye stains have to order online , they dont sale it in hardweare stores unfortunatelly.


Thanks for the info. What about stripping the old varnish off the surplus stock? What do you recommend for that?

Keep in mind that this is for an AK-74, not some purdy Over/Under shotgun with gold leaf and engraving. The AK-74 is a working man's gun, and the surplus stock I bought already has some permanent handling marks and various "character building" dings and dangs.

Typical Russian stocks in Comblock Red were made from laminated Baltic Birch (2nd picture), but the Bulgarian stocks tend to be solid wood (1st picture).

If I can get a darkish Comblock Red finish on the furniture and then pair it up with my brownish-orange East German pistol grip, I'll be more than satisfied.


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## Nandor (Dec 10, 2011)

You can use paint stripper to remove the varnish ,but since this is a gunstock not a big piece of furniture, i would just sand it by hand up to 320 grit. Beside the wood is old and this is a good thing because it has a nice patyna when stained, the look what you can never achieve with a freshly cut wood of the same kind. water based dye stains are very durable because they penetrate deep into the wood and you can get virtually any color you want.


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## ArmedFerret (Aug 24, 2011)

That's not anywhere near actual Russian "red" finish. Here's some Russian wood on one of my many toys to illustrate:










Sling and rug courtesy of Hamid at the Bagram bazaar. 

I did the following with Romanian laminate, although the process is the same for the beech typically used for Bulgarian stocks.

IF YOU ARE A WOOD FINISHING PURIST, STOP READING HERE. WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DISCUSS IS THE PROCESS FOR EFFECTIVELY REFINISHING AK RIFLE STOCK SETS, NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH REFINISHING TECHNIQUES FOR ANY OTHER ITEM. YES, I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND ALL THE THINGS "WRONG" WITH THIS METHOD. AGAIN, FOR THE ITEM AT HAND, THIS SIMPLY WORKS.

If you're going for a red finish, sand the wood thoroughly. Maybe even use a chemical stripper. Get all that horrendously thick lacquer off. Is it gone? Great. Now make a solution of about 15% or so bleach in water, and soak it (you may have to set something on top of the wood to get it to submerge in the water. Since you're using water and bleach, choose something non-ferrous and colorfast, or that you don't care if it gets soaked in bleach-water). Time will vary, so just keep an eye on it. It's not going to happen quickly though.

Once the wood is thoroughly bleached, it's going to look very very very sad. That's okay. Now you go through the gamut with sandpaper. At least to 220, if you want to go even finer that's....well, fine I suppose. Pun only slightly intended. 

Once the sanding is done, I like to soak in Iodine for a couple days. This gives it an orange-ish tint under the finish, and even with hardwood will result in some very cool effects. Once it's soaked to a level you like (and you can skip this step entirely if you really want, totally up to you), and have dried it and hit it with some 220 (or whatever grade you sanded to earlier just to knock down the raised grain from the iodine hot tub party) next is the Minwax. Sure, there's plenty of other stain manufacturers out there. Sure, they're probably nicer and all that jazz. It's an AK. Go with whatever's cheap....that's the point. :laughing:

I would say either Sedona Red or Red Mahogany; the Mahogany will be a deeper red, the Sedona will be brighter. Stain to your preference of color, then I like to hit it with a few thin coats of amber shellac to give it a hint of authenticity.


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

Well Ferret, at least you didn't try mixing iodine with any of the essential oils used in shellac and cause a violent erruption lol. :thumbsup:


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## Armchair Bronco (Mar 24, 2009)

ArmedFerret said:


> ...
> 
> I did the following with Romanian laminate, although the process is the same for the beech typically used for Bulgarian stocks.
> 
> ...


Thank for another detailed explanation of a perfectly reasonably approach to refinishing my Bulgarian surplus furniture. Much appreciated!

The iodine step is something I've never heard of, but it sure sounds like it might be worth a try. I'm assuming that I'd need to purchase enough of it to fully submerge the stock, correct? If nothing else, I'll be well prepared for nuclear fallout from a dirty bomb with a gallon jug of iodine in the garage.

You also said that the bleaching process might take some time. Are we talking several hours or several days?

As I noted on another site, I don't mind if the furniture looks like a mix-n-match fiesta. My goal is to actually have as many different Combloc parts on the gun as possible. Here's what I'm planning so far:


AK-74 : Arsenal SGL-31, so I'm starting with a quality *Russian* gun with some US parts & a US barrel for 922r compliance
Furniture : used *Bulgarian *furniture with mismatched wood as noted above
Swivel : *Romanian*
Swivel screws & Tang Screws : *East German*
Pistol Grip : East German
Muzzle Brake / Flash Hider : Chrome-lined East German Zig Zap muzzle
Sling : *Polish*
30 round Magazines : Bulgarian (and probably others)
Finally, I'll need something that's *Hungarian* to round out the Combloc list, and maybe also something from Yugoslavia (although technically Yugoslavia was not part of the old Warsaw Pact)

For the furniture, I'll be trying for a darker red stain across all three pieces, but I know in advance that it'll be tough to get a consistent shade and finish. That's not a problem. As you noted, it's an AK for crying out loud! :gunsmilie:


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## Armchair Bronco (Mar 24, 2009)

Speaking of iodine, here is a finish option from Innovation Arms called "Iodine Orange". You can see from the unstained parts on the wood that these guys did NOT soak the wood iodine as you've suggested, so it's an iodine stain in name only.


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## ArmedFerret (Aug 24, 2011)

For the bleaching, if you're only soaking it may take a day or two. If you want to accelerate that, get a good stiff scrubbing brush and have at it. Wear rubber gloves though...the thick kind for heavy cleaning. Protect those hands; never know when you might become a watch model. :laughing:

For Hungarian stuff, magazines and/or pouches. Their 20-round tanker mags are nice. Yugo, mags as well. The rest of their parts aren't interchangeable. 

My yugo:










carvings are original from the soldier who carried it in the little disagreement that went on in that region back in the 90's.


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## Armchair Bronco (Mar 24, 2009)

ArmedFerret said:


> My yugo:
> 
> ...[snip]...
> 
> carvings are original from the soldier who carried it in the little disagreement that went on in that region back in the 90's.


Wow! What an interesting specimen. You've got one of the most unusual and unique "modern era" (post-1974) AK's I think I've ever seen.

The carved stock and handguard are exceptional as is the patina on the metal. The 1990's were a crazy, mixed-up time in the Balkans, but after the Wall came down in 1989, the smart money was on outright civil war in the former Yugoslavia.

My undergraduate degree from 1986 is in "Central and Eastern European Studies", so I'm surprised it took me this long to begin yearning for some kind of AK. But I didn't get bit by the gun bug until just 5 years ago, and my initial focus was on trap shooting and shooting my 1954 M1 Garand. Sadly, to raise money for my AK-74, I'll probably have to part ways with my Service Grade Greek CMP M1.

I'd love to learn more about the history of your Balkan AK. It is a de-milled parts rifle or some kind of NFA import? Did you just luck out with the stock (like some folks do with M1 Garands from the CMP) or did you know about the carvings in advance?

I'm sure you must have a pretty cool collection. :thumbsup:


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## ArmedFerret (Aug 24, 2011)

Garand you say? Always hate to see someone offload something like that to a questionable future. 

I have a C&R license so if you DO decide it needs to go, I could give it a good home with plenty to eat. 

As for the collection, it can be described as "eclectic". :laughing:

At the risk of a total thread hijack (apologies, but hey--i like to show this one off) here's Mrs. Ferret's personal Polish Tantal:










All my rifles were built back in the 2005-ish time frame, when Romanian parts kits (barrels intact, before ATF decided a law that had existed for decades suddenly meant something different) were plentiful at $99 each. Man I miss those days....oh well, on to a new hobby. Enjoying the woodworking so far, and the Mrs. seems to enjoy the fact she gets new furniture for the low low price of putting up with plywood and lumber in odd locations around the house. :laughing:


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