Originally Posted by
canebreaker
That's looks great.
Glad I could help.
I have a sks rifle with the red stain. I used steel wool and paint remover on it 3 times to release the stain. I finished it with walnut stain gel and steel wool. I was low budget at the time so the only poly I had was high gloss.
Another trick I learned in wood works. If the wood is dented and naked of a finish you can place a few drops of water on the dent and let it sit over night. The wood will collect the water and swell, dent gone. The dented area will be higher
than the rest of the wood so some sanding will be needed.