another RC98

[Jim]

I recently acquired an RC98. For all my interest in Mausers, this is the first "German" Mauser I've owned, (unless you count the 1891 Argy- made in Berlin) This one has it's origins in Erfurt I believe? The side rail hasthe "MOD 98" in fancy script and I always admired those. So when I saw one available, I picked it up. I know the controversy concerning Russian shellac. Normally a traditionalist, I chose in this instance to remove the shellac and oil the stock. I did that many because the stock was nearly black. This must of been one of those repeatedly treated with old motor oil... Btw, The stock is not high shine finished, that was just light reflection. Look at the picture of the butt stock for a more accurate view of the stock finish.
Anyway- some pics...

Information

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[kar98k]

"ax" coded rifles are kind of hard to come by. more so for ax 41's. and yes, it's from Feinmechanischewerke Erfurt. they would later change their name to Erfurter Maschinenfabrik, or "Erma" for short. nice pick up

[ww2freak]

Nice ax 41. I have one too (also a Russian capture). What a great gun. The finish is starting to peal on the handguard. I'm considering refinishing it to a more original look versus the dark Russian shellac. It's pretty accurate. From what I've heard, the ax 41's are pretty rare. Great find once again

[Jim]

Thanks! I always wanted one of these because I really like the old fashioned script on the "MOD."98. So I was tickled when this one showed up at the local gun shop. I had no idea it was at all rare too.

Concerning the finish, its shellac was pretty rough so I decided to go ahead and and refinish it in oil. I know there's two schools of thought on the finish in these. But I decided to do it as I did since its never very likely to gain more value as one version over the other and it looks best this way since the shellac finish was so far gone.

If you're interested in preserving your shellac finish, it's not that hard. Shellac finishes are easy to repair since it dissolves and blends with any new coats, unlike oil. Remove any loose or flaking shellac with coarse steel wool. Brush or spray on some fresh shellac over any bare spots. Let that dry about 24 hours and buff any area divisions with steel wool and then recoat entirely. You can brush it on or spray. If you need color, you can add any alcohol based tint to the shellac to match your rifle.

[ww2freak]

Your welcome The only reason I may refinish mine is to give it a more German look. I am going to get started in reeenacting so I need a mauser with the original issued look. Do you have an idea on what kind of finish I should use if I do decide to refinish the rifle? My shellac is pretty worn and I'm pretty sure the Germans didn't even use shellac on their rifles so I don't necessarily want to keep a similar finish to what it currently has. So that being said, does anyone have an idea on what is the best finish to put on the gun to give it the german issued look?

[Aragorn243]

I just used BLO on mine and it came out pretty nice. Photos on page 2 of this thread:


Russian Capture k98

[ww2freak]

Thanks Aragorn243! What about using a lacquer thinner on the existing finish and then using birchwood casey's tru oil on the stock? If you check out iraqveteran's video on youtube on gun stock refinishing, his end result is really nice. I think it's video part 4. IMHO it looks pretty good. I've made up my mind and either way, I'm refinishing the stock tomorrow. I think I'll put up a thread on the project start to finish so that you all can enjoy it. Wish me luck as this will be my first stock refinish. I've done my research though so if I follow directions, it'll end up fine. Thanks again you guys for all the help

[Jim]

If you want an issue look, stay away from Tru-oil. That will give you a real high gloss remchester look! For reenating, strip the shellac, denatured alcohol will just wash away the stuff, then finish with some 50/50 mineral spirits diluted BLO. Rub in a coat for about 20 minutes or until you don't see the stock sucking it in. Let stand for 5 or 10 minutes then rub it down real good with a dry cloth. you do not want to get any surface shine. Two or three sessions will take care of you. You just don't want the stock looking dry, not "finished" looking at all. In good truth, I recall reading an excerpt from an original German military manual and the recommended treatment was an equivalent of mineral oil or linseed oil- not "BLO," that's linseed oil with chemical dryers added. But if you're careful, blo will do.

One warning about blo- DO NOT throw blo soaked rags into trash container. Blo "cures" and that generates heat- they can spontaneously combust. Be sure to hang them out to dry before disposing of them!

[ww2freak]

I did refinish the stock with tru oil and it really gave it a good look and I used steel wool to knock the shine down to a dull finish. Now it looks really good and I uncovered three swastikas on the right side of the stock that you couldn't see before with the crappy flaking shellac. They're very lightly pressed into the wood but hey...it's better than nothing and you can actually see them with the new finish on. The finish is a lot darker than you normally see on a k98, but the wood was really dark when I stripped it so I guess that could be why the end result is darker than normal. Thanks for the advice though guys. If I ever have to refinish another mauser k98, I'll try your method Jim. Thanks again