i want to restore the finish on my PU Mosin Sniper

[Patrick Chadwick]

I'm not an expert on Mosin-Nagants, but I have had some experience with shellac. It looks fine on "don't touch it, it's antique!" furniture, but is an inappropriate finish for a tool that has to stand up to less-than-kid-glove handling.

The photos show that the finish on your rifle is flaking. No surprise. Frost FUBARs shellac.

I also have a Mosin-Nagant sniper from 1942. It is for shooting, not for being admired, and also has a flaking finish (but not as bad as yours). It looks as if the finish was sloshed on by a Stakhanovite worker used to painting railroad ties, so, like you, I thought of touching up the bald patches...

Basically - forget it!
It IS possible to touch up the patches IF you have the proverbial patience of Job and a lot of practice.
You MUST try out the dyed shellac on a test piece before using it on your rifle, otherwise the result will be a piebald finish!
And that means you really need a test piece of wood that matches the present stockwood - best would be another Mosin stock.
BUT after you have spent a lot of time to match in the patches, you will soon find new flaking, because the frost has ruined the bonding of the shellac to the wood. So more patches to touch up... and more... and more... and more.
Just like paintwork, if a finish is flaking off all over, the only long-term solution is to remove it ALL before starting.

So having got it all off, why on earth go through the tedious process of re-applying a sensitive finish to a rifle?

After all, if you read up on this topic on the Mosin forums, you will see that there is a body of opinion that the shellac finish was NOT generally applied in wartime production, but was a late "quick and dirty" refurbishment method. I am simplifying here to save space - please read up on it yourself for all the "ifs" and "buts".

In the end, after trying a sample patch, I left my rifle alone, thus dodging both the work and the "originality" problem. But if my stock ever gets to look as patchy as yours, then it's all going to come off and be replaced by linseed oil!