How to Restore Military Surplus Rifles
Restoring a military surplus rifle can be an enjoyable hobby and make your weapon more appealing. With your rifle, keep in mind you have two elements: the wooden stock and the steel action, barrel and metal parts. Each of these elements has its own separate restorative processes to complete to produce a refinished rifle.
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Things You'll Need
- Solvent/degreaser specifically made for firearms (Hoppes #9, CLP or Break Free)
- Liquid gun blue
- Wood-rejuvenating oil
- Sturdy plastic container (cat litter or waste oil pans) to place parts in
- Assorted screwdrivers and/or armorer tool (may be required)
Instructions
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Read the manual. Disassemble your weapon as completely as possible. Before you attempt this step, you may want to make sure that you have a good illustrated reference book or manual on hand that shows the entire field stripping and reassembly process for your particular weapon.
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Strip your wood stock. Start by scrubbing it with steel wool to remove any dirt and debris. This should be followed by a wood stripper and the application of light sandpaper if you have a particularly damaged finish. Some find that heat treating with a hairdryer also works well on white spots, but be sure not to burn the wood.
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Refinish the stock. Rust-Oleum wood-rejuvenating oil or similar woodworking products can be used to restore the previous finish if you don't have to strip it all the way. Start with one coat lightly brushed on and let it dry. Apply subsequent coats to achieve a darker finish, if desired. However, if you did have to completely strip the stock bare and sand it, then a good linseed oil-based varnish will do the trick. Several coats may be needed to achieve the desired color.
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Clean and degrease all of the metal parts of your rifle. Start by using a good solvent/degreaser specifically made for firearms and steel wool. Particularly dirty or impacted weapons may need to have a soak overnight in a product such as CLP or Hoppes. Be sure to thoroughly dry the weapon before moving to the next step
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Inspect your metal parts, action and barrel of your rifle to see if re-bluing is called for. It is up to the individual collector to decide how much of the finish is restored. If bare exposed "white" metal is found, however, it should be addressed to prevent surface rust and eventual pitting.
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Re-blue the action and barrel surfaces as desired. If only "touch up" work is needed on a few areas, you can probably get away with one of the many gun blue pens available that works almost like a magic marker. An all-over refinish would require the application of liquid gun blue in subsequent coats to achieve the desired hue.
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After both your wood and metal rifle sections have been refinished and dried, reassemble the weapon. Check for functionality and be sure to lubricate it.
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Dispose of used chemicals, rags and containers properly
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to remove such metal parts on your wooden stock, such as sling swivels, before you apply your rejuvenating oil. For this you may need a screwdriver or armorer tool, depending on what rifle you have.
Before doing any work on any firearm always make sure that it is unloaded completely before beginning any work.
When using any chemicals, be sure you have proper ventilation and safety equipment.
Some products like kerosene or brake cleaner are often mentioned in online forums for cleaning gun actions. These are not specifically meant to clean firearms and their use should be avoided for safety reasons.
Do not attempt to re-blue or refinish the inside of the barrel or the throat of the chamber of the rifle. This could lead to an unsafe blockage.
All rifles, especially surplus military weapons, should be examined by a competent gunsmith prior to firing.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit cleaning a rifle image by caraman from Fotolia.com reading instruction manual image by Leticia Wilson from Fotolia.com chemical waste image by Antonio Oquias from Fotolia.com
