Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Refinishing a Brno ZKK stock

Good day chaps.

I started stripping the finish off my old ZKK, it had a blond stock with a red/dark brown fore-end.
I thought it rather ugly and wanted to go with a darker stain and probably will use boiled linseed oil although I've never used BLO before.

Anyone have any suggestions on a stain colour?

Test the stains in the barrel channel until you find one you like...

Absolutely do not use BLO!!! It is garbage as far as gun stocks go and will likely not even cure for you. You are inviting failure and a bunch of extra work.

There are scads of great options for finishing stocks and BLO is nowhere close to making the list.

So what finish do you use if you detest BLO?

I have used a bunch of different ones and posted many here over the years. My favorite is an epoxy base with a good oil finish on top selected according to the particular wood.

Quick and dirty is spar varnish for several base coats, then thinned with good oil for a bunch of coats. Apply it heavy, wait 10-15 minutes and wipe DRY.

BLO is the dregs of the oil production. It is treated with driers to make it cure and inhibitors to keep the shelf life up. That can and does create issues.

Good oil purchased at either an art store or a good paint store is far better.

What did I tell you?

JollyOldDiggerNick,

Using BLO is a TERRIBLE choice for refinishing stocks in my experience. - IF you have much more time/patience than money, RAW LINSEED OIL works WELL.
(Remember this little "ditty": BLO forms a thin skin; raw soaks right in.)

I've done any number of "blond" to "dark & handsome" changes to various stocks over the last 4 decades.

SO FAR, the BEST method (that I've yet found) is a through stripping/cleaning/steaming/re-sanding & refinishing with the color of MINWAX that you like. = You will discover nice GRAIN that you didn't even know that existed. - About 2 years ago, I traded for a really "Plain Jane" & "beat-up looking" Serbian "clone" of a KAR98 Mauser.
After a through cleaning, steaming out the dents, re-sanding & coating with MINWAX, the guy that I got it from came to visit, looked it over & exclaimed, "Where the H did you get that beautiful stock."
(I like RED CHERRY best to darken European "blond" stocks.)

yours, tex

Chem-Pak Pro-Custom oil. Brownells sells it.

Skip the hardware store oil based stains and go straight to aneline dyes. Much more UV resistant, won't muddy the wood, and to use a hackneyed expression it helps make the grain pop, and any bloody finish in the world can be applied atop them. You're welcome.

Thanks for the heads up on BLO.
I’ve used truoil in the past but never really cared for the look I got using it.

A mate of mine suggested danish oil, anyone ever heard of it or used it?
I have about 70% of the old finish stripped off as hope to have it completely clean tonight.

Satx I love the red cherry look too! Incidentally bought some the other day

Are you enjoying summer?

I've had good luck with tung oil, but I have tons of patience and will take the time to lay on 15 or 20 hand rubbed coats.

1minute,

100% CORRECT. = Nonetheless, I don't have that much patience to properly do an oil finish.

yours, tex

Art store. I never thought about that. What type of oil do you recommend if you don't mind me asking?

Two primary finish oils are available, despite the claims they are absolutely equal in every regard as finish. Tung oil is not used for food because many are allergic to it. Therefore some of the finest oil is tung simply because it is available as high grade oil. Most of the best linseed oil is used as food. Manufacturers use them interchangeably. "Tung oil finishes" often have no tung oil in them at all. And that is no reason to be unhappy.

At art stores they have very high grade oil and even if it is identified it is no guarantee it is the named oil. Use Japan drier if using it straight. Modern JD is not heavy metals-based, so it is food-safe.

When doing quick and dirty spar varnish finishes with oil I start with a tiny can of fresh varnish and apply several coats. Apply heavy and at 10-15 minutes wipe dry. After several coats top off with the oil. Continue coating and thinning until satisfied.

If using straight oil I will still use several coats of spar varnish for the base.

Back in the bad olde days fresh oil was hard to get and expensive. Hand rubbing was required to make it work. Apply heavy, wait a bit, and dry works better, faster, and far easier while also making a superior finish in every way. Anachronism is fine if you are doing it for your own enjoyment, but it is not the best way to apply finish.

Raw linseed oil will not cure without driers added.

Various oil finishes will work reasonably well, but all oil-based finishes will absorb water vapor faster than bare wood. They are far from waterproof and most will turn white if wetted.

Danish oil is generally low in solids, high in solvents, extremely easy to apply, and very slow to build, with poor waterproof characteristics. It is a poor choice for a stock finish IMO&E.

TruOil is not a bad finish and with a proper rub-out with your choice of mild abrasive can produce an incredible eggshell luster that is mighty classy.