I finally purchased my1st K31 at a gunshow today for $165.00. Its a Beech stocked model. It has a troop tag under the butt plate that matches the stock, but not the bolt , mag or receiver, which match each other. The stock appears to be about 90-95 % stripped and the wood is in excellent shape. Not chewed, no real nicks or scratches to speak of. The metal is very good and the bore is amazing. I would like to complete the refinish job , and could use some guidance. I have never attempted to refinish a gun before, but this looks as though most of the grunt work has already been done. Does anyone out there have any expertise they would be willing to share? I tried to attach pics, but the system would not accept them.. I will keep trying!

1st question you need to answer is what kind of look your going for?
Keep it as close to original as possible?
Natural color of the wood or add a stain?
High gloss or low gloss satin finish?
Oil finish ( pure tung oil, boiled linseedoil, danish oil ) that soaks into the wood?
Surface finish ( shellac or some type of poly )?
Just a few things to ponder before you get started.

I would like to keep it as close to the original look as possible.If there are upgraded/updated materials to accomplish this it would be preferable. This is not to say that I'm not open minded to alternatives.

Original is good! I strongly recommend you not add stain unless you are looking for a completely different look. I have one on which the previous owner tried to change beech to walnut. It looks pretty good, but beech grain takes the stain unevenly. I think it wound up looking like elm.

OK, original it is.. Question is, how do I get there from a stripped condition?

If it were me, I'd use Tung Oil Finish. However, that's not original. Maybe Guisan or Candyman will come along and offer some info.

bone- Now that you know for sure the finish you want, you could just pm candyman and ask for his imput. He is the moderator in the stock care and replacement stocks section of our forum, and a great guy to get advise from. He's always ready and willing to help

I believe shellac is the correct finish for a K31.

After careful consideration I have decided to have it refinished to original spec, instead of trying to do this myself, and potentially trash it. Does anyone know of someone out there they could recommend?

Do as ziba said - "ask candyman".

Bone
Most of the Beeck K31s were finished in a amber color Shellac. A few did get oil but not many.
Shellac is a good finish but not a very strong finish. It takes a week or two to get a good Shellac finish.

Now Formby's Tung Oil Finish is a varnish and not an oil and can be applied to a stock and be made to look like a clear Shellac finish.

You can PM or Email me for info on how to get the stock to me and what the cost would be. I will need pic's of the stock before I can give you a price.

Here is my Email address; garybihm@cox.net
More info viewtopic.php?f=168&t=45907

bone- This may help if your still having trouble posting pics.
viewtopic.php?t=19003
Still can't post pics? pm me your # and i'll walk you through it by phone.

Original finish of the beech stocks was indeed just shellac, it dissolves in alcohol that makes it easy to work with and to get most off without sanding. The dark stains in the wood could be bleached with some wood bleaching product, I use a chlorine solution cleaning product myself that I bring up on the spots for only 30 seconds or so and then rinse it off to do it all again till the stain is gone. Ironing the stock gets out most of the dents and a beech wood filler can be used to fill up the remaining ones like those close to the buttplate.
If you never worked with shellac before do some Google searches to learn more about it, the basic product comes as flakes that are already a bit dirty looking that is why I never use any additional coloring. The flakes should be dissolved in alcohol and what you get is a easy to bring on fast drying kind of varnish.

Success !

Guisan.

This is a great site. Many thanks to all for all the guidance you provide on a regular basis. I am a new collector of Mil-surp rifles, and I'd be embarrased to tell you all how many times you all have saved me from stepping in a hole, or otherwise doing the wrong thing. Thanks again.. Rich

I ended up refinishing with several coats of Tung oil using 0000 steel wool in between coats. It came out much nicer than I would have anticipated. I took Friday off and went to the range. I was shocked at how nicely it shot. I am hooked!!!