Stock finish on Type 99's

[Aragorn243]

Did the Japanese cut corners on the stock finish as the war progressed like the did most other things?

I've been looking at photos at various sites and see differences in finishes from the nice heavy reddish finish to a dry thin look.

While it seems like a lot of the "last ditch" rifles have the dry look, I've seen some that seem to have the shiny finish as well.

Did they ever use oil as a replacement or ship them out unfinished? The reference I found on oil finish was that the soldiers and sailors on the ship ride home sanded them off and put oil on them but that doesn't make a lot of sense. Why remove a solid finish just to replace it with oil. They did also make not of the "rash" that a lot got from the dust so it is possible.

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[seabot2]

I recall reading somewhere the Japanese used tung oil on the gunstocks. This oil type varnish was impervious to some harsh enviroments.

[riceone]

The finish on the T99's was made from the sap of a tree or vine much like poison ivy. The best I can spell the name of it is Ushira. Thats why when sanding the GI's broke out with the rash. I had a friend bring me some from Japan and I was not careful with it and broke out just like poison ivy. I broke out when I applied it to the stock and again when I sanded it off. They never did use tung oil on the 99 stocks. On some of the later 99's the finish was rough and that may be the reason the GI's sanded and refinished the stocks. The finish used is still used in Japan on some wood products.

riceone

[seabot2]

Riceone, did you mean urushi ? Urushi is a Japanese laquer . It is also known to give people rashes.