IUHoosier429
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The AES-10B I picked up a few weeks ago came with stripped furniture, which was just asking to be refinished. I've played around with different dyes, stains, sealers, etc. on various AK wood sets, which I find fun and rather cathartic. It's very difficult to go completely wrong, and usually fairly easy to remedy if you truly hate your results.
I'm a fan of the darker Tula "Russian Red," as well as the Izhmash "Iodine Orange." With this RPK set, I tried for something sort of in the middle. The process went like this:
Disassembled the gun and removed all metal hardware from the wood. Lightly sanded with 120-grit paper, followed by a light 220-grit sand. Wiped down with tack cloth. Meanwhile, whipped up a mixture of one shot glass of Tangerine Orange liquid Rit, one shot of denatured alcohol, and four shots of Zinsser Amber Shellac. Added five drops of Scarlet Red liquid Rit. Stirred and let settle for a few hours.
With a two-inch chip brush soaked in the alcohol and allowed to dry, I applied five light coats of the mixture onto the wood, allowing it to dry for about two hours between each of the first four coats. Before the second through fifth coats, I burnished the wood with 0000 steel wool. Following the fifth coat, I allowed the wood to sit for 24 hours.
After a 24-hour cure, I again burnished the wood, this time with 00 wool, and applied a light one-directional coat of just shellac. Let dry for four hours, burnished with 00, and applied a second coat. Same format, followed by a third and final coat this morning. I'll reassemble the furniture either tomorrow or Tuesday. Here are a couple before & after pics - overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (the wood's a bit lighter in person than the second photo captures). That scarlet red is strong stuff! I have another RPK set that I plan to try for lighter, more iodine look down the road.
I'm a fan of the darker Tula "Russian Red," as well as the Izhmash "Iodine Orange." With this RPK set, I tried for something sort of in the middle. The process went like this:
Disassembled the gun and removed all metal hardware from the wood. Lightly sanded with 120-grit paper, followed by a light 220-grit sand. Wiped down with tack cloth. Meanwhile, whipped up a mixture of one shot glass of Tangerine Orange liquid Rit, one shot of denatured alcohol, and four shots of Zinsser Amber Shellac. Added five drops of Scarlet Red liquid Rit. Stirred and let settle for a few hours.
With a two-inch chip brush soaked in the alcohol and allowed to dry, I applied five light coats of the mixture onto the wood, allowing it to dry for about two hours between each of the first four coats. Before the second through fifth coats, I burnished the wood with 0000 steel wool. Following the fifth coat, I allowed the wood to sit for 24 hours.
After a 24-hour cure, I again burnished the wood, this time with 00 wool, and applied a light one-directional coat of just shellac. Let dry for four hours, burnished with 00, and applied a second coat. Same format, followed by a third and final coat this morning. I'll reassemble the furniture either tomorrow or Tuesday. Here are a couple before & after pics - overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out (the wood's a bit lighter in person than the second photo captures). That scarlet red is strong stuff! I have another RPK set that I plan to try for lighter, more iodine look down the road.
