Is the iodine what gives it the hologram effect???

@@Or3guns -- All wood gives you a hologram effect. You need a finish that soaks into the wood as well as builds a protective layer. This is why I suggested diluting amber shellac into alcohol. The alcohol thins the shellac out so it's easier for it to soak in to the wood. You MUST keep the gun out of moisture in order to preserve the finish. -- Iodine helps give you the color. There are MANY ways to get color though. My comment is 5 years old now, so I have better ways of doing it now. -- You can use a shop towel to wipe Gunstock stain on the stock to get a red-ish color. Then after a day of cure time, wipe it with a shop towel wetted with rubbing alcohol. This will reduce the intensity of the stain and clean the pores in the wood. Then, add coats of Tung oil, or Antique oil. This should take about 8 coats. It's more moisture resistant. You can get a water-proof setup with Epoxy, but you need to use water or alcohol based dye. I simply haven't experimented enough with that process to make any suggestions though. My epoxy work is typically done on surfaces that are already attractive and we're just trying to preserve that appearance.

@@Dr_Xyzt Cool thank you so much for replying. When you say gunstock stain do you mean the gunstock 231 color stain? Did you thin the iodine at all and how did you apply it?

@@Or3guns Yes, gunstock 231. No iodine at all. Stain it and let it sit overnight. Wipe excess with an alcohol dampened shop towel. If you want it more brown, you can put a light coat of black walnut on first. Gunstock stain has a bit of red in it. Apply coats of Minwax Tung Oil or Antique oil as instructed on the can.

@@Dr_Xyzt You only do 1 coat? I'm going for an orange color with maybe a hint of yellow/redish/brown

Did you do it?

Of course!

Does it look orange or is it kinda brown like his is?

The shellac he mentioned in this video is actually pretty thick. It will give you the brush strokes your looking for like the Russian's. The advantage the chips have is they have a longer shelf life and you can mix up as much as you need and not waste any.

@@Or3guns Yeah read that too. I ordered amber and ruby shellac to test it out on my bare stock. Hope the results will be good. That stuff is expensive... And I was wrong, you mix it with ethanol/alcohol not with turpentine...

@@majormassenspektrometer Ya it's super expensive. That's the only thing stopping me from ordering a bunch of different colors of shellac's and dye stains. So you must of went with the flakes then? Are you gonna use both or mix them or do some testing and pick the best one?

@@Or3guns I've been reading on the internet about original russian AKM finishes for about three days now and if you google for it, you get some pretty good advice from it. What I want to try out is from a website from which the author makes a pretty knowledgeable impression. For Izhmash Finish he writes to use 2.5-3.0lb cut pure shellac (ruby) and apply 2-3 layers max. For the Tula finish one should use dark pine tar as a 50/50 mix with turpentine, apply it, let it dry then rub the excess pine tar off with a turpentine soaked cloth and after that apply ruby shellac. That is what I want to try out. I ordered some different coloured flakes like ruby and amber. Just want to try out different things. I also got Swedish dark pine tar and turpentine to go with it. Just for trying it out I spent more money than I'm comfortable with but what the heck you only live once.

@@Or3guns Will do that! Good luck with your testing!

I believe it’s ether clear or colored. if it’s brown then that’s the one you want. There isn’t any different shades, just the one brown color

​@@CSZerinoHow do you get the hologram effect like the Russian's???

If I use straight iodine will it turn out orange or is it kinda brown too?

What kind of shellac did he use?

I do not believe they use birch on russians just yugos. Minwax gunstock oil stain gets it close with a gloss poly top coat. Iodine it first.

So you used iodine first then minwax gunstock? What color did it end up with?

Roy Villanueva yes I did I only used the shellac for the color

@@ThatNikeKixKid You applied one coat of Poly after the shellac dried up?

What color did it end up? Did you get the hologram izzy finish???

@@Or3guns it turned nice dark with 3 color shade of wood showing...but I did another just yesterday with red iodine on laminated handgaurd...kept applying till it got dark as it would go..light buff with 00 wool and true oiled it with 7 coats...thats the closest I've got to real Russian look..it shows yellow orange and dark red..i will definitely use the iodine on a butt stock...theres nothing on KZfaq about iodine..but it works well...

@@dougshelton69 Dam I wish I could see it. How did you apply the iodine exactly? Did you soak it or did you thin it? Did you have any problems with the iodine guming up? Or did you apply it like wood stain and leave it on for a while and then wipe it off? When I tried applying straight iodine it kept gelling up on the stock and I could only get so much on it and so dark. You're right there's basically nothing about iodine on KZfaq unfortunately

@@Or3guns I used Iodine tincture ups 100% (2% iodine) from Walgreens...i just applied with a cotton patch..it dried rather quickly and about 7 coats it was dark..let stand overnight..then finished it..what brand were you using? I ordered a unfinished stock from aoa to do next...

@@dougshelton69 The brand I'm using is MedLine Ready Prep Povidone Iodine 10%. I got it from a hospital when I had surgery. But I have an unopened bottle of Walmart's Equate brand. It's Povidone Iodine 10% too. Whatever that means. Maybe I should try that kind and see if it's any different.

Look closer, he's there

Of course I agree as well but to keep things original

Me: excuse me do you guys have the iodine? Store employee: not today meth boi

Umm you might be getting confused with colors.. this video is to achieve a original Russian factory color (Izzy finish) witch is a gold/iodine colored finish... not red nor brown, If your looking for a red color you could possibly find videos just like the one you tagged in your comment for directions. Russian red isn’t an original color but more of a custom color people do with a cool name.. but no my furniture is a replica of an original Russian color not brown or red.. hope I was able to help

@@ThatNikeKixKid my bad....thanks

اخمس غير مرغوب بامريكا .... متعب مع الرمي المتواصل. .

​@@stoegerstewie8351 What are you saying???

@@Or3guns he asked about under folder stocks, I replied it ain't really sought after in America, as in Africa and Middle East, about half of all AKs have under folder stocks.