I don’t know what the original was. I can’t find any information and the one that I took off was plywood. So someone had replaced the original at some pointI would try to be as faithful to the original wood construction as possible. What kind of wood was originally used?
Finishes have improved a lot over the years so I would go with a more modern finish that protects better than the original yet gives the same approximate appearance as the original.
In that case maybe a bit more info is needed. Where was it originally built? Any identifying info that may point to the construction materials? It was an army piece and many of those are well documented. Worth a shot, especially if it's been replaced before. There may be notes somewhere out there on that job. Never know.I don’t know what the original was. I can’t find any information and the one that I took off was plywood. So someone had replaced the original at some point
That would be the hint on "local" native woods. The above picture does show them in what looks like raw light colored wood. It was probably something real cheap. Preservation will still be key as no one is going to go out and oil it every year. I go back to something you can vacuum infuse.The correct answer is 'whatever your client wants'. If they leave it up to you: anything weather resistant that minimizes maintenance. If it's going to be painted, I'd use PVC. (My guess: it was probably painted. I can't imagine any soldier wanting brightwork on his AA piece).
The good news is the gun that the woodwork attaches to - if it's the same as your picture - was made by various Soviet Bloc countries and post WW2 China, so you can do a terrible job and it'll fit right in.
ZPU - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
-Mark
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