Jump to content

How to Tiger Stripe your Saiga - The Hard Way


Recommended Posts

th_letsgotoschool.jpg

 

 

 

Buy a chunk of Pacific Coast Curly Maple.

 

Remove everything that isn't an AKM stock set.

 

th_block.jpg

 

Buy a 'Job Pack' of every grit of sandpaper that is made. You're gonna hafta do better than home depot for 600 grit wetsand in bulk.

Find a woodworking store if you can.

Also, since you can't find some of this stuff just anywhere, get some:

100% Tung Oil. (Not Tung Oil finish, or anything, 100% TUNG OIL)

Dye based stain (not pigment) Mohawk brand alcohol stain work for me (or no stain, which is usually the best idea.)

Shellac flakes.

Shellac solvent alcohol (basically denatured ethanol, but hopefully not loaded with methanol like the cheap stuff.)

Wax

mineral spirits

 

Sand until perfection with 100 grit, raise the grain.

Sand until perfection with 150 grit, raise the grain.

Sand until perfection with 220 grit, raise the grain.

Sand until perfection with 320 grit, raise the grain.

 

One sure way to get the grain to raise is to get the wood soaking wet and then force it dry with a heat gun.

Take care note to burn the edges and corners.

 

 

If you decide to use a stain, you will want to use a dye stain and not a pigment stain.

Wood is like a bundle of tubes.

Dye stains fill up the tubes.

Pigment stains fill in between them.

 

I used Mohawk brand deep penetrating alcohol stain.

The color is 'oxblood', but you can't see very much that even looks remotely that color.

Note, alot of sanding happens after the staining.

 

I diluted the stain with some ethanol.

I'd wet down the wood with the stain, and then chase it deep into the grain with clean ethanol.

 

In curly figured wood, the tubes are going up and down in a wave.

When you surface it flat, you expose the ends of the tubes.

 

When you are looking down the end of the tube (end grain) you see the dye.

When you are looking at the side of the tube (flat grain), you don't.

 

 

Soak down with a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and 100% Tung Oil.

Wet sand using the Tung/spirit mix and 320 wetsand paper.

Wipe clean with a cloth, add a touch more tung and rub it in.

 

Soak down with a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and 100% Tung Oil.

Wet sand using the Tung/spirit mix and 400 wetsand paper.

Wipe clean with a cloth, add a touch more tung and rub it in.

 

Soak down with a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and 100% Tung Oil.

Wet sand using the Tung/spirit mix and 600 wetsand paper.

Wipe clean with a cloth, add a touch more tung and rub it in.

 

Ok, switch to pure Tung without the spirits.

Rub in a few drops, buff, let cure.

Rub in a few drops, buff, let cure.

Rub in a few drops, buff, let cure.

Rub in a few drops, buff, let cure.

 

It should now look like this.

 

th_pkas.jpg

 

th_P9240083-1.jpg

 

th_P9240082-1.jpg

 

th_31bb5d98.jpg

 

th_P9240097.jpg

 

th_P9240089.jpg

 

th_P9240083.jpg

 

th_P9240082.jpg

 

th_P9240074.jpg

 

 

Now, to bring out the figure.

 

The french polish

 

Waxing

 

(Ug, tired of typing, I'll finish in a bit)

 

 

th_7.jpg

 

th_6.jpg

 

th_4.jpg

 

th_5.jpg

 

th_3.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Honestly, these pics suck.

I've got to get more lighting so really show the sparkle.

Also, I will post a vid when I can so you can really see the figure shift as the light moves.

It's a real mind blower.

Try opening these paied shots in two different windows and shifting back and forth between them.

It's a pale substitution for seeing it in motion but it will give you some idea.

 

rsbs2da8.th.jpg

 

rsbshz0.th.jpg

 

rsdc8.th.jpg

 

lsbs2je8.th.jpg

 

lsbslj0.th.jpg

 

lsqt9.th.jpg

 

My mom got out a bunch of pieces of flair from her trips to Russia.

 

I found these, 2 performances, One at the Bolshoi the other 3 days later at Tchaikovsy Hall.

 

But the second performance might have well been on a parallel world, occupied by poeple that look the same, but are all very, very different.

 

yolantavo1.th.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 5 weeks later...

Glad to help. I saw a stock that was light/dark laminate and thought it looked like crap, it was TOO light/dark. But the dark brown would have kisked ass with the light wood dyed OD. Put a flat urethane on that puppy for weatherproffing.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for all of the kind words.

 

I've been looking at my S-12 handguard thinking that it would be much easier to make than the standard AK setup.

So, that is going to be my next woodworking project.

I don't know when it will be, I just do what the voices in my head tell me to do.

Also, I'd like a metal mag instead of the plastic.

That will complicate the project.

(I think the voices are telling me to go to the guy with the CNC sheet metal break.)

th_ls34.jpg

 

 

I'm not a big fan of water based stains.

I'm not sure but I'd guess that most are pigment based and not dye based.

So it's more like applying a thin layer of paint over the top than changing the color of the wood itself.

I know I'm picky, but with dye you can see the grain of the wood.

Hmm, if it's a nasty Romy stock and you don't sand it down past the original stain then maybe you wouldn't want to see the grain.

 

I had been thinking along the same lines, using a laminated stock set and staining it OD, Ranger green or Coyote brown.

I'd recommend RIT DYE powder.

You can mix any color you want then, and they have quite a nice selection.

Also, it's cheap.

Put some dye in a coffee filter and run alcohol through it.

This will bring the color along but leave the salt in the filter.

You could use denatured alcohol or even rubbing alcohol.

You can buff it out with 0000 steel wool which will give more contrast between the light and the dark areas.

 

The real trick is to get the wood nice and sealed up without being glossy.

I'd stick with 100% Tung Oil, either straight or mixed 50/50 with mineral spirits.

Buff it down with 0000 steel wool to dull it out at the end.

 

Years ago I did an SKS stock with a walnut colored stain and "Daly's SEA-FIN Teak Oil."

I buffed it with steel wool while the last coat was still wet.

That turned out very matte. Zero gloss.

 

Here are some pics of my SAR-3.

Lower handguard was new, buttstock and upper hg were from a G kit.

I used crimson and yellow RIT dye but the new LHG was too light so I added a bit of black to it.

It is still too light.

Finish is some uber varnish from a boat building friend.

I won't use any kind of varnish again, too much work.

With the Tung Oil I can use a scrap of cloth, no brushes and no CLEANING brushes.

th_PA140119.jpg

th_PA140116.jpg

th_PA140111.jpg

Edited by Aloxite
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Chatbox

    Load More
    You don't have permission to chat.
×
×
  • Create New...