Hey, tell me if this would look terrible or not.

[AxAxSxS]

I actually burned this with a heat gun, got nice and dark-

[dubkitty]

there's almost always something cheaper than you'll pay at StewMac. i buy stuff from them, but if i can i shop elsewhere first.

[Mudfuzz]

there's almost always something cheaper than you'll pay at StewMac. i buy stuff from them, but if i can i shop elsewhere first.

so true. they use to be cool back when there wasn't many other options.. for a long time it was them and lmi...

[dubkitty]

my favorite Strat has a StewMac body c.1991.

[kosta]

Looking good Achtane! And man, that Strat looks sweet AxAxSxS! Never thought of putting a polished chrome guard on a natural guitar. Pretty sick.

[skullservant]

Woooooow its looking amazing dude!

[Achtane]

The grass throws the colors off a bit; it's not THAT red/yellowish.
Second coat of oil on.
Maaaan I wish it were a one or two-piece alder body, but I won't be too critical. Anyway, I think it looks pretty durn good for what it is.
I think I'm putting the oil on too thick, but I do like working with it. Apparently my tack cloth didn't remove everything after buffing 'cause I can still see steel wool fibers hanging off and it's driving me nuts. I'll buff it again, hopefully knocking out the slightly-embedded fibers, and then make super sure that it's wiped clean next time.

I actually burned this with a heat gun, got nice and dark-

This is badass! +1 on the mirror guard, too...I was afraid to go elwood-style on this one, although I was considering lightly going over it with a torch

[skullservant]

I think I put the oil on too thin when I put it on the Telemaster looking back at it haha Looks excellent with the oil man!

[Mudfuzz]

That
is
NOICE!

[dubkitty]

looking real good! the multiple pieces look almost like a neck-through with the finish on. i may have to go with tru-oil for the Musima.

[Achtane]

Thank you thank youuuu
Buffing it a little with the steel wool did get the leftover fibers out, and after wiping it thoroughly there were no more problems. Third coat's done, and I applied it with my (gloved) fingers this time. Seems like the way to go up until the final coat where I'll use a coffee filter or something to even it out. I think I'm going for 7-10 coats.

Dubkitty, you should go for it, man. It's a pleasure to use, especially when compared to temperature/wind/humidity-sensitive shit. The easiest technique so far seems to be dipping a finger into the bottle, wiping a bit of oil on a spot of five inches or so, and just rubbing it into the wood . If you have an iron elbow the oil will eventually warm up and maybe it's a placebo thing but it feels like it's working better that way
Then just pick a new spot and feather the oil into the previous spot. Looks superfine while it's drying, too.
It dries in the sun in just a couple of hours, but inside takes like five or six.

[kbit]

Looks awesome

[AxAxSxS]

Yeah thats going to be a looker for sure. Well done man

[Achtane]

So, turns out I was putting it on too thick, and all it took is one decision to apply it in the sunlight (so it'd dry faster) for it to turn into a tacky, runny mess that I had to wet-sand back down to layer one. That was dumb. Oh well. Should only be another week or so to finish the body, and I've got plenty of time before it's possible to get the electronics and stuff.
Apply it SUPER thin...and in a million layers...indoors

Uhh...in the meantime I finished another stain and oil jawn, but it's not a guitar.

NSFW: show

I refinished my Mosin-Nagant M1891/30, glorious rifle/hammer/spear/club/walking stick/wolf-scarer/multitool of the proletariat. Nothing fancy about it, but it can take anything that the hardworking state laborer can dish out and more.
Look, Soviet chicks are all about it.


There was a brief internal conflict about the decision to refinish this. Collector types aren't gonna dig it, but I ultimately decided to go for it because:
a) There were ~37 million of these made. They're not exactly rare and probably won't ever be anyone's retirement. The only real value is in how much I like it; however, I'll preemptively apologize to whoever digs this up 1000 years from now, assuming we're still around by then.
b) I still made sure to carefully preserve all of the arsenal markings. Actually, more appeared after I stripped the original finish. Booya.
c) I'm sick of the cosmoline endlessly bleeding out of the stock and all over me.
d) It's mine, you nerds.

PHOTO JOURNEY TIME

They were finished with shellac and thoroughly slathered inside and out with cosmoline, a greasy preservative that acts as a super effective rust preventative and is the reason these are still usable after they've been sitting in storage bunkers or under an old Russian lady's farmhouse for 60 years. It's a mess and a pain, but also a blessing.
All of the metal on mine was manufactured in 1931 and assembled the next year. The stock is post-WW2.


It's so easy to disassemble that even the most malnourished and uneducated peasant could do it. Two bolts and a couple of bands hold the entire thing together, and you can use the firing pin calibration tool or the end of the giant screwdriver bayonet to do it.



I rubbed the stock with denatured alcohol to melt away the shellac, no problem. It only took about 30 minutes. Afterward I wiped on and washed away a small amount of Mean Green to get rid of as much absorbed cosmoline as possible.


Stripped. I VERY lightly sanded the stock to knock down the raised grain, trying to avoid messing up the markings in the wood. Some of them are barely stamped in.


The dyed stock, two coats from the same batch of dark walnut stain. I have a knack for taking blown-out, mistimed, poorly angled pics. The stain looks pretty dull until you slap some oil on it, at which point...


BAM, SON
With my new oil-wipin' knowledge it went on without a hitch.
Apart from looking fine as hell the oil imparts an iridescent quality to the wood. When the sunlight hits it dead-on, it gets all luminous.
The wood grain and markings are much more visible now.
No more greasy cosmoline, either, and it's no longer needed. Regular maintenance will take over from where it left off. You can beat the crap out of Mosins and they'll keep going forever.


Before/after




Although...that last one is kinda dark

[dubkitty]

that is arfing BEAUTIFUL.