# Firearms and Shooting > Projects and Home Builds >  Norinco .22 resoration

## tikka 7/08

Hi All, 

Recently purchased a Norinco .22 from a forum member (cheers by the way its a nice wee rifle) 

Took it out put some rounds through it and it shoots just fine. 

Ive never looked at restoring anyting before but thought it might be a good way to fill in some time over the next few months. 

This is where my knowledge ends ... (stop laughing now ...) 

So my plans were to strip it all down, Sand back the stock, re-stain/oil/varnish it. Then do something to tidy up the barrel/action etc. 

Put it all back together and call it my first project ....  

So now my questions .... 

Stock ... just sand away with some fine paper to remove the existing varnish? I have read online you could use some chemical solvent of some description to remove this easily? or is it best to put some elbow grease into it and just sand it back the good old fashioned way? 

The stock is in reasnoble condition with just the odd few scratches/dents, nothing too deep so im thinking just sanding lightly should remove 95% of these... dont think id need to use any filler but if i do what would be best to use? 

I would imagine there are specalist oils/varnishe's for use on stocks ..? any reccomendations? 

Barrel ... once upon a time it was blued but this has slowly worn away over the years .... what would be easier, re-blue it or remove it all and polish it up all nice? 

Methods/techniques or advise on the barrel and working parts would be appreciated ... 

This doesnt have to turn out fantastic or anything but I thought id give it a go to see how i get on ....

----------


## tikka 7/08

And now that i read my post again it seems really naff given the other topic's of conversation in this part of the forum.. hahahaha, 

Just so I am clear i have never 'tinkered' with my own rifles before, usually i shoot em and clean em. 

Thought itd be fun to give this a go ..... might lead to other projects if I enjoy it

----------


## ANTSMAN

paint stripper on the varnish, or else a random orbital with some 40 or 80 grit discs, as the stocks on them are over fat anyways,,,

----------


## tikka 7/08

> paint stripper on the varnish, or else a random orbital with some 40 or 80 grit discs, as the stocks on them are over fat anyways,,,


Beauty, thats probably the easiest part confirmed ... 

Know much about oils or varnish antsman? wouldnt imagine you would use a decking varnish or the like on a rifle would ya?

----------


## Barefoot

Yip paint stripper, for the first clean off.
Any checkering or difficult spots will take a few goes and use the toothbrush to help clean it off as well.
Wood is soft on norincos so don't press to hard with the sandpaper, and for gods sake go with the grain!
For dents try a wet cloth and a hot iron to try steam them out. May take a few goes.
the wood used is typically very blond so pick a wood stain that you like to get some colour in it.
I use a walnut stain. Then I finish with truoil, its sort of a oil/varnish combo sand with 600grit or finer between coats.

Haven't tried to reblue anything for years, was never any good at it.

----------


## tikka 7/08

> Yip paint stripper, for the first clean off.
> Any checkering or difficult spots will take a few goes and use the toothbrush to help clean it off as well.
> Wood is soft on norincos so don't press to hard with the sandpaper, and for gods sake go with the grain!
> For dents try a wet cloth and a hot iron to try steam them out. May take a few goes.
> the wood used is typically very blond so pick a wood stain that you like to get some colour in it.
> I use a walnut stain. Then I finish with truoil, its sort of a oil/varnish combo sand with 600grit or finer between coats.
> 
> Haven't tried to reblue anything for years, was never any good at it.


Wet cloth and hot iron ... sounds like i am in for a learning experience ... hahahaha

Im thinking the barrel and what not is where alot of time will be spent, was thinking i could sit there and buff it all off then polish it all up to a nice shine ....

----------


## ANTSMAN

on the stock, Tung oil or Tru oil,,,

----------


## tikka 7/08

Tru-oil Gun Stock Finish Kit 

Not too expensive ....

----------


## scoped

Or, use boiled linseed oil from the local hardware store on your stock, first few coats 50/50 with turps and a few more 100% . Just make sure its dry before you apply the next coat. May take a day or a couple of days per coat. Turns out mint tho

----------


## turner nz

I wouldn't go to hard out on the norinco stock as there pretty junk wood well mine is...I'd look into carving up your own stock now that's fun and a good challenge just use some pine for 1st attempt or some macracarpa as I'm currently doing myself. I did the same stripped the norinco stock down looks ok but there not well shaped. Just my 2 cents

Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk 2

----------


## tikka 7/08

> I wouldn't go to hard out on the norinco stock as there pretty junk wood well mine is...I'd look into carving up your own stock now that's fun and a good challenge just use some pine for 1st attempt or some macracarpa as I'm currently doing myself. I did the same stripped the norinco stock down looks ok but there not well shaped. Just my 2 cents
> 
> Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk 2


Yeah I stripped it all down lastnight for a good look and they really dont seem that robust.... (it is only a.22 at the end of the day, not like they have alot of recoil to deal with or anything)

I have a mate in the fibreglass business so i could chat to him about making me a mould but thats probably going to abit of an extreme ... was just a strip down and tidy up as a wee project ...

----------


## ANTSMAN

mate, just strip her down, sand the pistol grip a little skinnier, chop the barrel short and re thread, bingo, super handy !

----------


## tikka 7/08

> mate, just strip her down, sand the pistol grip a little skinnier, chop the barrel short and re thread, bingo, super handy !


Yep, dont want to get all carried away on a cheap bunny buster...

----------


## greghud

you dont want to post up some photos so i can see what your dealing with?
the wood on norincos is generaly crap, but you sound like your learning that, point is you can polish a turd, i often stick the stripped stock into the dish washer, 2 reasons. 1 it raises bumps and dings realy well. 2 it will suck out the oil that often soaks into the grain of the wood so a new finish will take well.
if it only has a couple of little bruises, then a soaked tea towel and a firm press with a hot iron will work, but it wont get the oil out.
linsead oil is an exelent finish for a number of reasons, it will penitrate deeply into the wood preventing moisture entering and warping the wood, it darkens the wood naturaly over time, you can (and should) apply another coat at a later date and "refresh" the finish, but mostly because you can repair a ding down the track very easily.
remember one thing, you cant add wood back on, think about it before you do it. 
watch when you sand the edges especialy the barrel channel and inletting, you dont want to roll the edge as it will look like a "home job" 
heres a couple i have done reasently.




worst case senario, you can paint it and have a "sinthetic" looking stock, so dont worry too much about a cheapy stock.
have fun. any questions please feel free to ask.
greg

----------


## turner nz

Wow nice job Greg those stocks look great! 

Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk 2

----------


## tikka 7/08

Wow Greg ... those look awesome. 

Not sure i can post a picture once i have a finished product, with your pictures in the thread - mine will look rubbish hahaha. 

I do have some pictures I was trying to load up thismorning but my work computer has admin issues so ill do it tonight when I get home. Overall the condition of the rifle (and in particular the stock) is not that bad.

----------


## greghud

i didnt want to show you up, rather to inspire you, i am often inspired when i do up an old firearm as they can turn out realy nice. 
that first one started out as a hand in, when the prevous owner decided he didnt want to spend the money to get it going again, it looked like this.

it was going to the cops to get cut up when i decided i would give it a go.
it cost me nothing, but i have ended up spending a couple hundred on it in parts and bits. but the end result is very satisfying.
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

Trying to get some pics up but aparently the files are too large ... 

Nah Greg that is very inspiring... Ill share the pics through the process .....

The paint stripper is doing its job as we speak ..

----------


## tikka 7/08

hope this works .. took forever

----------


## greghud

oh gee, i did say you can polish a turd but err.....................
what is that black thing on the front of the stock? better check if it is plastic, as the stripper will react to it.
the blobs of purple crap in the action are cheap stain, it mite be an idea to try to clean the stock up and get it consistant colour so you can stain it to a even colour.
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

> oh gee, i did say you can polish a turd but err.....................
> what is that black thing on the front of the stock? better check if it is plastic, as the stripper will react to it.
> the blobs of purple crap in the action are cheap stain, it mite be an idea to try to clean the stock up and get it consistant colour so you can stain it to a even colour.
> greg


Yep that black bit was plastic of some description, that is gone, 80% of it is now stripped with paint stripper and the varnish is pretty much gone. 

Now I intend on giving the raw timber (internal) a light tidy up, dont want to go sanding in there incase it no longer has a snug fit but i just want to dig all the shit out of there. 

Next part I assume is to sand very lightly with a fine grade sand paper and or 000 steel wool....

----------


## greghud

pity you wernt closer, i would give you a hand.
the bedding area is a bloody mess but if it works then so be it, i would remove all that crap and some material then bed the action. but i dont want to over extend your capabilities, just yet  :Wink: 
so did you remove the front plastic tip? what is the plan there? 
looks like its heading in the rite direction anyway.  :Thumbsup: 
greg

----------


## greghud

ok next step, 
i would lightly sand with arround 180grit sandpaper. then give it a wipe with a wet cloth to see where the dings and bruises are.
circle with a lead pencil so you get them all then send your wife to look for some new shoes so you can steal the iron  :ORLY: 
a cotton hand towel works well but a wet towel (not dripping but just about dripping wet) over the bruise and press the hot iron down onto the towel. it will sizzle and steam so be carful not to get hit by the steam. hold for a few seconds then lift off check it it should have raised the bump nicely, if it is not quite back to flush hit it again, keep doing that till your happy with the bumps, you will be supprised how well it will work.
then when your done, leave it someware to dry, then give it another sand with 180 go over it marking any bruises and hit them aain as above.
sanding from 180 to say 400 grit (the higher the number the finer the grade of "sand" ) work carefuly to make sure you remove any scratches caused by the previous grade of paper. 
once your happy, the stock should be then cleaned so all sanding dust is removed, i use a damp towel then let it dry again. when wet it will show you what the grain and figure will look like when your done applying the finish you choose.
thats when you start on the finish, what ever type you decide on will depend on the method required.
let us know what you choose and how you go. 
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

Greg.. all this help is very appreciated ....  

Ill have more of a crack at it tonight, ran out of time lastnight as the wife was sick of sitting inside by herself while i mucked about in the shed hahaha. 

Yeah i dont think ill bother with bedding the action.. its just a cheap 22 for my brother to blast some bunny's at some point. 

Yep that plastic bit is gone, dont exactly know what it was... under it was just the same stain/varnish as the rest of the rifle so im just going to leave that as timber in the finished product. 

Tonight should see the remaining varnish come off, a quick sand, get the old iron out and have a crack at lifting these dings out. Have a crack at sorting out the raw interanal timber. -- will get a picture up of the raw stock... 

I note from previous in the thread the areas I need to be careful with are around the top edge (next to the barrel) as to not round them off. 

The area at the rear of the action (where the bolt slides in and out) was abit rough and im hoping to get that back to a nice smooth finish, same with around where the bolt handle pushes down in the cocked position. 

I have ordered a Tru-oil stock finishing kit (mainly because im lazy and it comes with everything i should need) - that should arrive early next week

Ive decided not to bugger all with the blueing, i have sent the barrel off to an engineer mate to chop down and re-tread for me - this should remove most of the shit looking areas. Help required on this subject though 16" or 18" barrel? --- still hoping to have some reasnoble accuracy - 150meters would be the max this wee thing will be used out to. 

Lastly things like the trigger guard, floor plate and can are all looking abit rough, thinking ill just paint these things, they are easy to remove and maintain if I have to repaint at some point in the future.... 

Once again thanks to everyone for their input ... I realise this is just an old shitty rifle but as my first little project I am enjoying it thus far... (if i like the finish ill be nagging the farther in law for his old 30-06 since he doesnt use it anymore and look to fix up something that has abit more value than this Norinco)

----------


## greghud

truoil is good gear, i am sure you will love the finish.
barrel length is one of those arguments that realy never ends, esencialy, the shorter you go the more speed you loose. but the longer the barrel the more cumbersome it can be to move thru scrub or in and out of car doors etc.
for my way of thinking a suppressed .22 is best used with subsonic ammo, or why bother to suppress? with that, the realistic range of the rifle and ammo combo is probabaly 60 to 80 mtrs max, the bullet is realy dropping and running out of energy after that. 
so why not cut it back to a nice short carbine length so it points nicely and can be used with the suppressor installed whilst not be in the road when getting in and out of the car, etc.
a 16 inch barrel would have the overall length with the suppressor included, over 20 inches. that would be as *long* as i would want it. so you could go shorter if you wish. 
dont worry about loosing velocity or accuracy, the speed drop is not enough to worry about and accruracy is usualy as good or better with a shorter and stiffer barrel.
one thing for your mate to watch when threading the barrel, there is the occaisional norinco barrel that the internal and external walls of the barrel are not true, it is best to cut the barrel then check that the barrel is turning in the lathe with the internal wall of the barrel set true for threading. i have seen one or 2 that were visualy off center to the external by millimeters.  :Wtfsmilie: 
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

That pretty much confirms my thinking from some reading I did online, will chop to 16" plus the length of the supressor. 

The 150m is wishful thinking then ... i have a bulk box of .22LR federal stuff and afew sub boxes, Probably just smash out the bulk box and stick with the sub stuff. 

Yep he has done this afew times but ill mention just to make sure he knows what the story is. 

Hoping this all comes together nicely.

Ill get some pics up tonight of the progress

----------


## tikka 7/08

OK, so varnish all gone. Very very lightly sanded.... Identified all the bumps and nicks and ready to have the iron treatment. 

Wife to be has arrived home so that will have to wait for tomorrow night.

Here are the pics of the very lightly sanded first step. Not all of the darker spots are actually dents, 90% of them are but I assume some of the dark spots left are just deep oil/varnish that have not been removed from the first light sand ...

----------


## GravelBen

> The 150m is wishful thinking then ... i have a bulk box of .22LR federal stuff and afew sub boxes, Probably just smash out the bulk box and stick with the sub stuff.


150m is a looong way out for a 22, I've taken rabbits and hares out to about 120m with subs and that was aiming about top of the ears to hit them in the chest - in one case a foot out the side for wind as well (trial and error got that one, lucky it couldn't hear me). Just get plenty of practice and gradually push the distance out as you can.

Good work on the restoration, I'm sure it will turn out much nicer than original.

----------


## tikka 7/08

> 150m is a looong way out for a 22, I've taken rabbits and hares out to about 120m with subs and that was aiming about top of the ears to hit them in the chest - in one case a foot out the side for wind as well (trial and error got that one, lucky it couldn't hear me). Just get plenty of practice and gradually push the distance out as you can.
> 
> Good work on the restoration, I'm sure it will turn out much nicer than original.


Yep it may be a long way off but we all love a challenge haha. 

The glass that came with it isnt very flash but i cant afford to upgrade it at the moment. 

Thanks for the encouragement... will spend some more time on the weekend getting it ready... apparently the wife was not impressed when she got home i was sanding it up in the kitchen... haha

----------


## tikka 7/08

Morning all, 

So progress is coming along quite well with the stock. 

I have a question though, Lastnight I attacked it with the iron and managed to get 95% of the dents etc out. Gave it another light sand back in preperation for round 2 with the iron. 

Question I have is this... after the second light sanding most of the darker spots you can see in the last picture i posted have come off, but i have these horisontal lines that run through various parts of the stock. They are dark in colour (unlike the rest of the now light timber colour on the stock) 

Is that stain still in it? they dont appear to be uniform with the rest of the grain.. 

I dont have a picture right now but the last round of pictures I loaded up show in picture 1 these 'dark lines' I am asking about.. is this just a case of sanding back further to get them out, hit it with more paint stripper? try and steam them out? 

Ill try and get a picture up shortly 

Cheers

Marty

----------


## tikka 7/08



----------


## tikka 7/08

Please excuse my retard questions, I cant say I have ever done much work with wood... but as you can see with this pic the dark sort of flecks running horizontal through the wood. This is a picture of it wet so i could see what the grain is going to look like once complete.... I thought i would have a milky/cream colour plain looking bit of timber not something with these little bits of brown all through it 

(as you can see im not even close to being finished sanding but thought i should check before i go crazy sanding to try and get what i think is more stain deeper in the timber out)

----------


## greghud

is it the lines in the wood i circled?

heheheheheehehee
thats the growth rings in the wood, you will sand thru the stock to get those out. 
greg

----------


## greghud

re the colour, there is no real 'figure' to the wood, and with the plain light wood i would look at a dark walnut stain to give it a rich traditional look.
but thats just me.
greg

----------


## ANTSMAN

the norinco sticks are fairly thick aye, so if u have some dings, you should be able to use a more aggressive sand paper without losing too much wood,   :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## tikka 7/08

lol, good news is I have 99.9% of the dings out. She is all sanded up and looking nice.

There are two or three little bits that just seem to be shit timber... There is no sanding through them. 

Hopefully tomorrow the finishing kit arrives and i can start chucking some stain at it. 

The small bits of metal work that I wanted to tidy are all in primer ready to go. Barrel should be back tomorrow too so it should start to take shape by the weekend. 

When I am re-assembling I was thinking that i would lock tight some of the screws etc.. they were all quite loose when I took it apart..

----------


## tikka 7/08

> re the colour, there is no real 'figure' to the wood, and with the plain light wood i would look at a dark walnut stain to give it a rich traditional look.
> but thats just me.
> greg


Yep walnut is the stain I selected when I ordered the kit. Will soon see how this comes out  :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## veitnamcam

Dont overtighten or locktight your action screws

----------


## tikka 7/08

> the norinco sticks are fairly thick aye, so if u have some dings, you should be able to use a more aggressive sand paper without losing too much wood,


Exactly how I got the smaller ones out. The iron and wet cloth did a magic job on most of it but the rest I just nailed with some heavy paper till they were gone

----------


## tikka 7/08

> Dont overtighten or locktight your action screws


Ah ok, how tight are we talking? When I strip down the tikka I usually give them quite a good bit of force. 

When i dis-assembeled the norinco it was like 1/8 of a turn and they were loose enough to use my fingers to undo the rest of the way...

----------


## veitnamcam

Just snug em, with shit bedding like the above picks it can help to play with tension on the action screws while shooting some groups to see where it shoots best :Wink:  Over tightening will just crush the wood and tweak the action while rounding out your screw heads :Yaeh Am Not Durnk:

----------


## turner nz

yep if i tighten my norinco action down to much and i mean doesnt take much, the bolt stops operating  :XD:

----------


## greghud

when staining, remember that the end grain of the wood will soak the stain in more readily than the cross grain, so be careful to apply the stain sparingly in the front of the grip, top of the forend, in the bolt handle slot and inside the inletting, it will darken unevenly.
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

> when staining, remember that the end grain of the wood will soak the stain in more readily than the cross grain, so be careful to apply the stain sparingly in the front of the grip, top of the forend, in the bolt handle slot and inside the inletting, it will darken unevenly.
> greg



mmmmmm, it would appear that my 'being careful' was not careful enough... 

Stain went on, kept the amount of stain on those areas to a minimum. 2 coats to the 4 on the rest of the stock. they still appear quite dark compared to the rest ... 

this picture doesnt show it but this was just after the last coat was applied ...

----------


## greghud

dont worry just make the rest of the wood as dark. i think it needs a bunch more stain. darker, DARKER!
option 2 is if you are useing the walnut stain that comes with the stock finishing kit from birchwood casey, it is water based. so you could use warm soapy water and scrub the stock to remove the stain and start again.
option 3, stick it in the dish washer.
option 4, gloss black spray pack. NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO.
heheheehehehee
just stick more stain on. it will be fine.
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

I gave it two more coats in the end .... Started with the stock oil lastnight, got two coats on and its starting to look quite good. 

The guy from the local gun shop said just rub it in with my fingers, keep rubbing till it gets/feels hot. 

The parts that were darker -- around the grip and forend are still quite abit darker but I think I like the look, rather than being the one colour it seems to give it some depth... 

Anyway, the barrel is back, the steel work (trigger guard, floor plate and can) are all painted up nice in a matte finish black. I have polished up the bolt and removed all the blueing. I have pretty much everything to put it back together. 

Another 7 coats of oil and I hope to have it all back together for a bunny shoot on sunday (have a feeling the oil may not have had sufficent time to dry but I still hope, its sitting in a wee room with a heater and fan going so every 3 hours or so its getting a new treatment of oil)

----------


## ANTSMAN

It looks a million times better than orig mate! Pics of finished plse :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## tikka 7/08

> It looks a million times better than orig mate! Pics of finished plse


Hahaha for a little cheapie there was nothing wrong with it to start with. Hopefully i can get another 2-3 coats of oil on tonight and some more on saturday. 

Put it all together late saturday night and get some pic's up for those who are interested.

Already started looking for another project to do for my brother.. Eventually ill get him upgraded to something he can use to drop something bigger. 223 or larger should get him out there but not screw my wallet too bad.

----------


## tikka 7/08

And here she all is finished -- well mostly, just needs a final polish up ... Get a bipod and flashlight mounted then itll be done ...

----------


## tikka 7/08

I'm mostly happy with the finished product .... there are afew dark bits of stain that I was warned would happen but as careful as I was they still happened. 

As above just a wee bipod and a mounted flashlight and im good to go. 

Here are afew pic's to remind everyone of how it started life ...

----------


## GravelBen

Nice work! Looks a completely different gun.

----------


## greghud

nice work, now to get you started on bedding, and you will be making stocks from scratch in no time.
greg

----------


## tikka 7/08

> nice work, now to get you started on bedding, and you will be making stocks from scratch in no time.
> greg


hahaha, Because the wife enjoyed me sitting there sanding and ignoring her for hours on end for this simple fix up... 

Thanks a heap for your help on this Greg. I totally enjoyed it ... I am now looking for something else to have a go on ...

The next one will be a wee bit flasher than a little .22 so I may yet need your help with bedding a stock next time  :Have A Nice Day: 

Actually thank you to everyone for your input... helped heaps.. No doubt ill be back very soon asking more questions  :Have A Nice Day:

----------


## veitnamcam

That come up sweet :Thumbsup:  Nice job

----------


## gimp

Wood looks way better. Need to grind down the grip cap to fit.

----------


## distant stalker

nice work(wrote a reply about an earlier question then saw it was now redundant...hard reading on here on your phone at times...
well done with the restoration you will be pleased with it I'd imagine

----------


## distant stalker

I'm looking at it on my phone but looks as though those dark parts are from the way the grain runs and if it is from the grain it will always happen. the varied look keeps it looking natural and gives more character. I like it

----------


## tikka 7/08

Thanks everyone.. yep im pretty happy to be honest. Afew wee bits to buy or do and its all done... anyone got an old rifle that needs a fix up job let me know. Would quite like a .270 to add to the collection

----------


## ANTSMAN

Super!

----------


## Toby

Nice job.

----------

