Please Help! Information on this German WWII Era K98 would be appreciated

[Badger]

IMHO. the stock has been refinished.....

Regards,
Doug

[browningautorifle]

I cant help others had a different opinion than yours.

I never gave you an opinion... I thought it looked clean and nice. I was unable to clearly state whether the marks had been altered or factory done, so I left it. Just thought you could save us time here...

[Anton67]

You are right, you never gave an opinion other than nice rifle.

Sorry, I didnt realize I was wasting everyones time.

[Aragorn243]

Anton,

You aren't wasting everyone's time but you did ask for opinions based on the photos from those that have more experience than you. You then discounted all of us concerning the refinishing of the stock. I personally own over 100 rifles and have quite a bit of experience with stock cleaning, etc and the signs of sanding and refinishing. I've cleaned up numerous stocks where this had been done. Others here have a lot more rifles than I do and said the same thing yet you just discounted it out of hand. It does give the impression you came here with a desire to hear something else and then shopped around until you found it in regards to the numbering of the bolt despite what the "experts" here had to say about it. No one is trying to minimize your rifle, it is a nice looking one, but in the world of collectibility, the K98 is one such that each tiny detail affects its end worth. Even a low end K98 is bringing $500-$600 these days. An all matching documented bring back in great condition can be worth thousands.

Now back to an earlier question. If it were mine, I would remove the finish which is on it now and put BLO or linseed oil on it instead. It will be "more" correct than what is on it now. High gloss is not standard on military rifles.

[Anton67]

I apologize if I came off that way.
I did not mean to.
I just couldnt believe looking at the stock that it was sanded because all of the waffen marks are still there and the stock numbers are also there.
So I guess I gave a knee jerk reaction without thinking that maybe it was lightly sanded to take out minor imperfections or make it smooth.
As for the re-finishing aspect I guess I was just not considering adding a coating of possibly tung oil was re-finishing.

I am frankly not sure what the vet put on the rifle. It is not wax. It is not shellac. It really doesnt seem like there is much on it but you can see the yellowing on the metal stock pieces.

Thank you for your input.
Based on your experience, do you have an opinion as to what the coating is?
Also, what would you use to remove it?

[Aragorn243]

Pretty hard to tell what it is from pictures. It could even be many coats of BLO but determination of that would have to be at your end. BLO won't be a hard coat which is what it looks like on the upper surface next to the barrel and on the metal parts.

My preferred removal method is spray on citristrip which you can find at Walmart and a lot of other stores in the paint removal department. It isn't caustic, is water soluble and does a good job of cleaning most finishes and even some dirt which yours doesn't have. It's also fast. Take the action out of the stock, place it in a shower or bathtub and spray a good coat on. Let sit for 20 minutes and wash off. A scrub brush might be helpful if the finish is thick. Second application if needed and rinse again. Generally dries in a few hours and you can start coating with BLO. One can will generally do three stocks.

You could try rubbing it with alcohol first. If it is a type of shellac, that should take it right off. Shellac along with tung oil and BLO all tend to have a yellowish cast.

A third option and maybe the easiest would be a rub down with light steel wool just to get the gloss off. It doesn't look bad as is, is protected, just a bit too shiny.

[Anton67]

Thank you very much for the helpful info.
I think the least method first would be the best.
I hate to mess with it too much.
Like you said, the stock actually looks nice - just too shiny.

[Aragorn243]

Yeah, I usually reserve the citristrip to the really nasty ones these days. Least is usually best with rifle stocks.