How do I ...(GG special perhaps)

[Bob_The_Student]

Gents, I picked up a Bubba'fied SKS and did not realize that not only did it have a painted stock but the all the metal was painted also. Now this Bubba was a special Bubba because he painted an all matching rifle. My question is how do I remove the paint with not f'ing up the bluing. Also, if possible, I would like to eventually try to remove the paint from the number matching stock also without sanding, is that possible? If any of you have proven processes that will work please advise. I thought I had a stock to only deal with but it was just me not looking close enough at the photos.

[Matchka]

Any clue on the type of paint?  What solution strips paint s-l-o-w-l-y, and doesn't affect the bluing? Maybe the blue is already toast? The effort to de/un-bubba (word of the day) a painted SKS might depend on other value added factors (arsenal, serno, etc.)

[running-man]

I would try the mildest stripper possible and go from there.  Maybe something like citristrip?  Try on a small area first to see what it's doing to the bluing underneath?  Honestly, I don't think it would affect anything too badly, though I think you may wind up with a dull finish on the stripped components because that's what reprocessing any bluing seems to do irregardless of how it's done.  On the stock, any chemical you put on is going to probably pull up the original finish too.  Not sure you're going to be able to salvage the original finish on the stock, you can varnish or oil it after the fact to try and get it back to looking stock.   

You might also try a heat gun and see if the paint will soften and then be able to be removed with a putty knife & other tools.  Slow and painful process, but anything underneath the paint might be better salvaged in this way.

Good luck Bob, would love to see some before and after photos of this project. 

[Greatguns]

Hey Bob, post some pics of the action and the stock disassembled. Would like to see what all got painted and what all got left alone.

Realizing I am pretty much reiterating what the others have said, I will give my $.02 worth anyway.

Action generically, What is it exactly (early, late model, /26\, Russian, etc). Is it rattle can or Cera-kote? If Bubba simple rattle canned the action over the bluing it may not have stuck very well so maybe a little #0000 wool and a buffer wheel will clean it up. If he took the metal down to raw then it may be more difficult, but an acid bath may take care of it either way. If it is Cera-koted I am not sure what you would need to do as that is more like an epoxy type thing and much more difficult to remove. All in all, an acid bath and re-blue may be where you end up.

As for the stock, as mentioned, a milder stripping agent or a heat gun carefully applied so as not to dip into the original finish underneath would be where I would start. If you do end up getting into the original finish, continue stripping it the same way, #0000 with the grain as lightly as possible to clean it up then refinish as close to OEM as possible. At least you should be able to salvage the number on the stock.

[Bob_The_Student]

Here's the photos. So as I previously said it is all matching only thing I can't tell because of paint and condition is the tube and piston, yes even the rear sight matches.

Here you go a butt load of photos. The stock was partially abused but it's solid perhaps that was the cause of the spray on tan.

[Greatguns]

Okay, now that we are seeing what is going on, here is what I would do; If it were mine and with the tools I currently have available to me.

I would strip it down and start with the smaller parts that have paint on them.
Gas tube(w/HG and rear ferrule removed), Rear Ferrule, Bolt carrier, Receiver cover, (Disassembled FCG)Trigger housing, Trigger, Safety, Bayonet, Magazine, Rear sight leaf(may be easier to replace the slides than trying to clean and re-blue them), front sight post and seat barrel.
Each part would get wire wheeled to remove paint then cleaned off with Brake Kleen. The bolt carrier and bayonet would get oiled and left raw as when original or polished and oiled depending on what I thought looks correct to the year and arsenal. the other parts I would re-blue using Birchwood Casey Super Blue.
The barreled receiver would potentially get the same treatment, but if I couldn't get into the crevasses well enough I would probably send it off to get blasted. Then bring it back to finish with the cleaning and re-blue process.(making sure to clean the bore and chamber as well as checking the muzzle/crown for burrs during that time)
Once all the parts are be-blued to my liking and oiled up, reassemble and take it out for a test drive. If you are not comfortable doing all that or not equipped you could take it to a gunsmith. I imagine it would be $200-$300 to have them do it depending on if you stripped it down and reassembled it yourself or not.

As for the Stock, same as what has been mentioned before, take all the hardware off then strip and refinish. That's about your only option on that.

[Larry D.]

It's dangerous as all gitout, but gasoline will usually get the job done.
Mineral spirits, acetone, nail polish remover (generally acetone or acetone lite) will work as well.

[Bob_The_Student]

Thanks, GG.

On what parts, Larry? I won't use gas talking about acetone or mineral spirits.

[Bob_The_Student]

Acetononoaenoeoen, werked'dk wellse. Ushoul'd usne' in wellll ventialtedei areaad'j 

OK, that acetone is no joke, unless you laughed at my first sentence (If that can be considered a sentence). It's like "light fuse and get away" type stuff. I started using it and forgot to open windows, in the basement to boot, so I lost a few brain cells. It worked well and melted bubba's paint job right off the metal with some slight scrubbing on some parts. It also melted my latex gloves off.  Sorry, I grew up when you didn't wear a helmet on your bike and seatbelts were something u tucked into the seat (most can relate). Other than me being a dumb dumb it went well.

I am concerned about the stock paint removal. Should I try acetone on that or just a wood stripper? Mineral spirits did not do a damn thing to that paint on the receiver. I know this is probably unrealistic but what are the chances I can remove ONLY the black bubba paint and not the finish?

PS - I didn't catch this at first but Bubba made this full-auto also...





I will get photos of the parts later (could be days or weeks lol) they are soaking in WD-40 after they got rinsed from acetone then hot water.

[running-man]

Acetononoaenoeoen, werked'dk wellse. Ushoul'd usne' in wellll ventialtedei areaad'j 

OK, that acetone is no joke, unless you laughed at my first sentence (If that can be considered a sentence). It's like "light fuse and get away" type stuff.

Ugh, to be honest, I'd much rather use gasoline vs acetone!!  I'd use neither indoors though! 
Kerosene trumps them both, too. 

Glad to see it's on it's way.  What did bubba do to the bolt for 'full auto'? I must be missing something in the photo.  Is the FP welded in place?

No idea about the stock, you may just be resigned to refinishing it because if the paint was that hard to takeoff the metal, it's going to be that hard coming off the wood.  You may be surprised with heat though, sometimes certain kinds of paint will soften enough to peel right off... 

[Greatguns]

Looks to me the bolt is just so dang dirty that the pin is stuck.

I almost mentioned Kerosene.

As to the stock, I believe it is going to need a refinish. As mentioned, heat gun or stripper then #0000 steel wool as light as possible. If the raw wood looks to have a decent grain and look you might try several thin applications of Tung oil. I did an M59/66 like that once and it turned out gorgeous.

[Bob_The_Student]

Yep, firing pin was just gunk'ed stuck in the "full auto" position. Slam fire jamboree. I had to use a punch for it to back out. Cosmoline, it looked like or bubba greased it.

I'll try a heat gun and see what happens with the wood. I bet it will need to be completely stripped, just a guess.

[Bob_The_Student]

Scrubbed and cleaned for the most part. This is what the metal looks like as of now. The trigger group and mag are in pretty good shape along with the receiver. The dust cover, bolt carrier and gas tube are basically in the white. Can I just blue those or is there a crap load of prep for cold blueing? The receiver and barrel were not cleaned up totally yet just the barrel has been cleaned so I have a little to do on that yet.

[Greatguns]

From what I can tell on the receiver cover, bolt carrier, and gas tube need a little polishing before they are blued, unless it is just the pic that is grainy.
Again, I would run those on a wire wheel grinder. It will  help smooth out the surface and leave a dull sheen similar to a matte finish. The carrier you can leave that way or follow up with a buffer wheel to give it a polished finish. After the wire wheel spray them off with the brake cleaner to remove any residues and then you can cold blue them. Blue to color consistency that you like, rinse in cool water to stop the process, dry off, then run some clp over it all.

That's the process I have always used and I've always had good results with it. Just my $.02 worth.

[Larry D.]

As for that stock, it depends on how aggressive you want to get.
Oven cleaner and a trash bag is one step above a belt sander. It'll generally strip everything off of it and dry out the wood.
You'd need to completely recondition the wood from the ground up.

That method would be the last resort.
We already have the suggestions for doing it the proper way.

Good to see it's coming back to life for you.

One last thing....get some chemical resistant gloves. It in your best interest.

[BMont]

Hey Bob you might try Citristrip gel on the stock and see where that takes you.  Ive used it before and works pretty good.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CitriStrip-Stripping-Gel-Non-NMP-64-fl-oz/1000705432

Let is sit for just a bit and wipe off ... repeat.

[Bob_The_Student]

Thanks for the tips on the stock. I think I will start with the top handguard and see what happens. Then move to stock after I see what happens with handguard.

With the wire wheel is there any particular I should be looking to get? Should it be done with low speed? Besides sitting in the same place can I do damage to the pieces? I never used one. Thanks

[Greatguns]

Thanks for the tips on the stock. I think I will start with the top handguard and see what happens. Then move to stock after I see what happens with handguard.

With the wire wheel is there any particular I should be looking to get? Should it be done with low speed? Besides sitting in the same place can I do damage to the pieces? I never used one. Thanks

Just get you a 5-6" bench grinder at Harbor Freight and replace one of the wheels that come with it with a fine wire wheel. You could also use a dremel tool if you have a smooth jaw vise to hold the parts with.