How to Restore Military Surplus Rifles

Strip your wood stock. Start by scrubbing it with steel wool to remove any dirt and debris. This should be followed by a wood stripper and the application of light sandpaper if you have a particularly damaged finish. Some find that heat treating with a hairdryer also works well on white spots, but be sure not to burn the wood.

Refinish the stock. Rust-Oleum wood-rejuvenating oil or similar woodworking products can be used to restore the previous finish if you don't have to strip it all the way. Start with one coat lightly brushed on and let it dry. Apply subsequent coats to achieve a darker finish, if desired. However, if you did have to completely strip the stock bare and sand it, then a good linseed oil-based varnish will do the trick. Several coats may be needed to achieve the desired color.

Clean and degrease all of the metal parts of your rifle. Start by using a good solvent/degreaser specifically made for firearms and steel wool. Particularly dirty or impacted weapons may need to have a soak overnight in a product such as CLP or Hoppes. Be sure to thoroughly dry the weapon before moving to the next step

Inspect your metal parts, action and barrel of your rifle to see if re-bluing is called for. It is up to the individual collector to decide how much of the finish is restored. If bare exposed "white" metal is found, however, it should be addressed to prevent surface rust and eventual pitting.

Re-blue the action and barrel surfaces as desired. If only "touch up" work is needed on a few areas, you can probably get away with one of the many gun blue pens available that works almost like a magic marker. An all-over refinish would require the application of liquid gun blue in subsequent coats to achieve the desired hue.

After both your wood and metal rifle sections have been refinished and dried, reassemble the weapon. Check for functionality and be sure to lubricate it.