Touch up 91/30 Finish

bdevaux said:

The finish on 91/30 has some flaking finish, mainly near the barrel bands. I would like to keep the rifle as "correct" as possible, so I wanted to touch up with Shellac.
Has anybody bought the Shellac flakes and know a good source to buy them and which color to get to match the typical arsenal refinish.
Thanks

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What would a Mosin be if it didn't flake it's finish?

Depending on how much Cosmoline was absorbed by the wood, you may have trouble having the finish adhere. Try regular old fashioned shellac, shellac flakes are the same thing without the solvent. The only advantage the flakes have is you can control the thickness (viscosity) of the shellac better.

I actually took my Mosin down to the guts, stripped the paint and shellacd myself. Looks like you would imagine they did when issued and i love it.

If I decide to shellac the whole thing instead of touching it up, is there a trick to spreading the barrel bands enough to slide them without damaging the finish. I think that is most of where the damage came from. Based upon the amount of shellac on things, my gun appers to have been shellaced fully assembled.

I think I have a bulk of the cosmoline out. It spent a lot of time in the sun when I first bought it and I have been hanging it near the wood stove this winter to get the last of it out.

I thought I needed to buy the flake shellac so I had a better chance of getting the "right" color, but if run of the mill shellac from the store works, that works for me.

Thanks

I think their shellac was made of Vodka and beetles.

PaulyFu223 said:

I think their shellac was made of Vodka and beetles.

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You forgot toenail clippings!

Looks great !! Nice job

Definitely looks nice, almost a dark blonde color. +1

Only that it is bit light otherwise looks good!!!