PSL Furniture Refinish Project Update #2 I've decided to keep my PSL for the time being, however I've never really been to fond of the shitty Romanian finish. And thus begins my refinish project. Day 1 Disassembly of the furniture was easy except for removing the buttpad. The PSL has two springs in the buttpad that help with the recoil. In order to remove the buttpad you have to press down to compress the springs and then twist the sling adapter to remove it from the buttpad. Once that was done, I bought some KleanStrip And applied it with a paintbrush Let it sit for 30 minutes and used a plastic scraper to remove the nasty finish. Going to let it dry overnight, then sand with 220 grit followed by 330 grit. I will update the thread as I progress Today I sanded and then buffed with 0000 steel wool and started to apply the stain. After 3 coats you can really see the wood grain, in a couple hours it's going to soak in RIT dye overnight (12hours) which should give it the deep russian red color Soaking in RIT Scarlet Red dye for 6 hours each side. After a 12 hour soak Next step is to let it dry for at least 48 hours then apply the varnish
I used the kleenstrip aerosol can on a ishapore I was stripping the nasty paint off of. I thought I'd be smart and just put on rubber gloves so I could hold the piece and really work down into the small parts. A few minutes after starting I felt my fingertips burning and quickly ripped the gloves off and made for the garden hose. The kitchen gloves I used are now all stiff and disfigured at the fingertips. Use caution Looks like that should refinish nicely!
I have some chemical resistant latex gloves, or at least I think they are. I got that shit all over them and had no problems.
Nice, my WASR came with that same stock and I never figured out how to get that butt pad off. I did a half-assed job refinishing the romanian furniture I bought and I've thought about redoing it and trying to get the color even but I realized i don't care enough to get it done.
I did this too. I was refinishing an M14 stock. Shit was so caustic that when I touched the shower head, it melted it. Burned like FUCK.
ROFL I have been fortunate enough to not have to deal with stripper but I'm glad I've read this before doing so! Oh, and nice so far. I'm interested to see how it goes. I like the finish on mine OK but it could be smoother I think and I really would prefer that dark red version of the furniture. I suppose I could make mine that way with some time
Count me in chemical burn crew. Fucking stripper is some ultra nasty shit. It fucked me all up when I was refinishing some furniture for my old place. Why Russian Red? I mean, it looks cool and all I suppose, but that's a Romanian rilfe and everyone is doing red AK's. I think Majestic Purple (or a derivative) would look good.
Can't wait to see the end results. I love that deep russian red. I've been eying The psl's on classic arms the last couple of days.
I also recommend citristrip.... makes the house smell like oranges and strips that russian finish right off.
Classic arms is where i got mine but a friend got one from AIM. Apparently it shipped out pretty fast, even in the chaos. I am a fan of the deep red. I think Henderson has the option on furniture but they didn't have any in stock last I looked. That Sedona is NIIIiiiiiice, but I too am looking for that darker red.
personally I've never liked the red, but for doing what you want and doing it the right way. Looks like it'll be very clean.