Advice for cleaning an old stock

[TauZero]

I just picked up a Turkish Mauser (1903 model) dated 1935. The stock is heavily dinged up but solid and no chips or gouges. It's pretty dark wood and somewhat dirty. It feels waxy. I would like to clean it (not refinish), but don't know the bst way to clean pressed in dirt. Once clean, i want to oil it (Tung or linseed) and maybe wax it.

Any advice on simple cleaning, but not stripping.

 

[coyotehitman]

Dishwasher works well for me.

 

[LT.Diver]

Try some T.S.P. (Trisodiumphosphate). You should be able to find it at any hardware store, home center or paint store. Mix a little in some warm water and use a sponge or face cloth to wash the stock. It rinses off easily and shouldn't harm the finish.
After it's cleaned and rinsed you could try regular old car wax. I frequently use plain old Turtle Wax on my old guns. It works great on the stock and even on the metal. You get a nice mellow shine and a decent protective coat.

 

[Mojo-jo-jo]

Clean with Murphy's oil soap and water. Just like the jingle goes: "The dirt is finished but the finish is fine."

Tung oil is dark. linseed oil is light. Your choice. They were probably finished with linseed oil at the factory. Use fine steel wool on it after washing and before the first coat (washing will raise the grain) and extra fine between coats.

 

[huntinstuff]

TSP works extremely well. I would use linseed instead of Tung oil. Linseed you can heat out and remove it (majority). Tung is forever.

 

[rangerruck]

you could also , if it has some finish in it, go to Home Despot or such, and get the paint remover , that comes in the can. it is chemical, so wear glasses and gloves, or be upwind!!!! works great as well, as the crap comes bubbling out.

 

[Slamfire]

I have cleaned many old military stocks with Easy Off Oven Cleaner, or just any generic spray on oven cleaner, a toothbrush, and water.

This will remove all grease from the surface, and will remove whatever "surface" finish the thing had. Most military rifle stocks were dipped in a bath of linseed oil with coloring. Your surface finish is a combination of dirt, grease, old oil, and maybe some original linseed with coloring.

The Japanese used a lacquer, this is not common.

I recommend wearing dishwashing gloves, and goggles. And doing this outside next to the garden hose.

Take all the removeable metal you can off the stock. Don't spray oven cleaner on the remaining metal if you can.

I spray oven cleaner on the stock, let it sit for a couple minutes, and then rub the surface grease off with the toothbrush. Hose off cleaner, and repeat as necessary.

Do not let the oven spray dry on the wood or you will get a funny surface appearance. Do not dry the stock in a hot car!. I did that, and it cracked a stock. I dry the stock with a blow dryer.

To remove dings, set a standard iron to "steam". Put a wet cloth over the ding and steam the thing out. If the grain is not cut, you can steam out some big dents. If the grain is cut, there will always be the cut mark.

After the stock has dried, to remove the wiskers, go over the surface with 00 or 000 steel wool.

I will coat the surface with boiled or raw linseed oil. This takes forever to dry, but is consistant with what the US did. You can also purchase red colored stock finishes that duplicate the reddish color found on US stocks, or you can just let the linseed oil dry and have that European look. Tung oil should be an excellent wood perservative, I just have never used it.

 

[NavyLCDR]

+1 for the dishwasher.

Caveat- I have not tried this myself - but have read excellent reports from SKS owners who have used the dishwasher to remove the cosmoline from their SKS stocks.

Don't let the wife catch you...

 

[BamBam-31]

Hot soapy water should work fairly well for simple cleaning. Gotta remove the stock first, of course. Mix in a little Purple Power degreaser, and you'll pretty much strip the stock, making it ready for several coats of your favorite oil (Tung/BLO). I find Tung dries harder than BLO, btw.

 

[aka108]

I've use mineral spirits, then a SOS pad and hot water and then coat it with painters whiting, put in a plastic bag and let it sit in direct sun for a few days. Draws out a lot of oil. Then rewash, let dry, light sand and finish however you want.

 

[John4me05]

If you want to remove the dents and dings pour some water into the depression and then lay a damp rag over it... Add a hot iron on top and it steam expands the woods... No hard to the finish or anything

 

[LB7_Driver]

Do NOT use the dishwasher or oven cleaner. They work TOO well and there will be damage to the wood fibers. I have used both methods, and they do 'work', though its like using a 12-lb sledge hammer on a nail.

Use either Formby's Conditioning Furniture Refinisher or Minwax Antique Furniture Refinisher. These products clean the wood without damage, allowing you to raise the dents with steam much more effectively. Just follow the directions, and don't be stingy with the stuff.

Brownell's has the painter's whiting (mentioned above) to draw out more oil that has soaked into the wood. This stuff is a fine chalk and it will get into the grain, lightening the wood. A light sanding with fine sandpaper will remove most of this, plus it mostly disappears with stain or other finish. The painter's whiting is not often needed.

Photos of an M1 Garand stock that went from trash to truly amazing:
- Before
- After
All images of this rifle, before & after

 

[Slamfire]

They work TOO well and there will be damage to the wood fibers.

Hey, what did you see or experience? What went wrong?

As long as I don't let the oven cleaner dry, all I have to do is steel wool the raised wood fibers and put linseed oil back in. It has worked great for a bunch of dirty military stocks.

I would not try this on hand checked pre 64 stock.

I will agree that oven cleaner is pretty strong stuff: all greases and oils are removed.

 

[LB7_Driver]

Hey, what did you see or experience? What went wrong?

As long as I don't let the oven cleaner dry, all I have to do is steel wool the raised wood fibers and put linseed oil back in. It has worked great for a bunch of dirty military stocks.

I would not try this on hand checked pre 64 stock.

I will agree that oven cleaner is pretty strong stuff: all greases and oils are removed.

The cellulose wood fibers are not damaged, rather the structure binding the wood fibers is damaged. It is this structure that you are relying on when you steam out dents.

In my experience, oven cleaner and dishwasher methods are very effective ways to clean the wood and remove grease. The downside is they are too harsh.

Using oven cleaner to clean your greasy hands will also work very well and very quickly. However, I'll bet you would choose other ways to clean your hands.

The furniture refinishing products I listed are actually good for the wood while being effective cleaners & strippers.

 

[Slamfire]

Using oven cleaner to clean your greasy hands will also work very well and very quickly. However, I'll bet you would choose other ways to clean your hands.

Oven cleaner would white those hands all the way to the bone!

 

[LB7_Driver]

Yup!
The cellulose fibers are much more resilient against the caustic agents in oven cleaner, though the binding structures in wood are chemically similar enough to our skin to be of concern.

The stocks I have done in the dishwasher or with oven cleaner came out useful enough and with no obvious damage. I did notice the grain structure on an otherwise nice walnut stock pretty much disappeared after the oven cleaner, though.

After taking the time to do a couple stocks with furniture refinisher and seeing the difference, I will be avoiding oven cleaner and the dishwasher for woodwork.

 

[Fatelvis]

The dishwasher method works great! I've used it on five stocks, (one SKS, one M1 carbine, and three Garands). It takes the oil and dirt out of the stock, and takes it down to bare, clean wood. If left in for the drying cycle, will raise any dings and dents. Wash the stock (minus all metal), just as you would wash dishes, even use the same soap.

 

[Slamfire]

I did notice the grain structure on an otherwise nice walnut stock pretty much disappeared after the oven cleaner, though.

A light sanding might have restored the grain. I left oven cleaner on, let it dry, and the surface turned gray. Had to remove the gray with sandpaper, then all was well.

 

[dfariswheel]

I once asked a state forestry wood expert about using oven cleaner to clean wood. He had several Phd degrees on wood.
He gave me a long explanation about how the chemical damages the wood, and why it should never be used.

I also saw several valuable old rifles that were badly corroded by oven cleaner.
Remember, when you put something ON wood, it also goes IN the wood.
What goes IN, eventually leaches back OUT.
The oven cleaner leaches back out of the wood and attacks the metal, corroding it badly.
This may take some time, and the first sign of trouble is when you notice rust working it's way up from the wood line.

People go to great effort to keep moisture out of wood, but never think about how much water soaks into a stock put in a dishwasher.
I've also seen nice stocks come out with cracks.

The safest method of cleaning up a grease soaked stock is the above mentioned Whiting.
Whiting is Calcium Carbonate, a fine flour-like powder.
Mix the whiting with a solvent and paint a coat on the wood.
The solvent will soak in, dissolve the grease and bring it to the surface.
Where the whiting works is, other cleaners can bring the grease TO the surface, but they can't REMOVE it. Whiting wicks the grease up OUT of the wood and holds it.
The whiting will turn all colors of brown and orange as it absorbs the grease.

If you can find a non-inflammable solvent, you can paint on a coat of whiting and solvent, then apply MILD heat with a heat gun.
The heat will cause the grease to "boil" to the surface where the whiting will soak it up.
Brush of the dirty whiting and repeat.
Using whiting, you can return a black piece of wood to it's natural color with only 2 to 4 treatments.
All the old time furniture and stock makers used whiting because it doesn't harm the wood like harsh chemicals and cleaner will.

 

[Fatelvis]

I wouldnt use the dishwasher method on a collectable, valuable stock. It does wonders on a shooter rifle's stock, just let it dry for a couple weeks before applying Tung or BLO. I've had my refinished stocks for 3-11 yrs., and no water or soap has leached back out yet!

 

[alamo]

Don't use the dishwasher or over cleaner. If you want to learn how to do it right, peruse the "C&R Rifle Stock Cleaning and Preservation Forum". You can learn how to do it right over there.

http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums.yuku.com/forums/101/t/C-R-stock-cleaning.html

 

[Omaney]

Gotta go with the Formby's man...It's great stuff. It will revitalize rather than refinish...no I do not work for Formby's.

 

[Franco2shoot]

I'm with Slamfire1...

I have had good experience with Easy Off Oven cleaner going all the way back to the 60's when I used the product to strip off paint/varnish/lacquer et al. from clock cabinets, and various furniture. Just use it sparingly. I found it to be easier to control than the commercially available paint removers which either sank too deep into the wood, or required too much elbow grease to get the old goop off. Odor is the only drawback, but once you have the furniture where you want it and wipe off with a damp cloth your GTG.

KKKKFL

 

[Slamfire]

I once asked a state forestry wood expert about using oven cleaner to clean wood. He had several Phd degrees on wood.
He gave me a long explanation about how the chemical damages the wood, and why it should never be used.

I also saw several valuable old rifles that were badly corroded by oven cleaner.
Remember, when you put something ON wood, it also goes IN the wood.
What goes IN, eventually leaches back OUT.
The oven cleaner leaches back out of the wood and attacks the metal, corroding it badly.
This may take some time, and the first sign of trouble is when you notice rust working it's way up from the wood line

Having toured a paper plant, and seen the massive chippers, pressure cookers, and the equipment it takes to break wood down, I really doubt that a quick exposure to oven cleaner is going to do much.

But this is testable. I have cleaned each and every greasey military surplus rifle that went through my hands with oven cleaner. I still have a few from the mid 80's that I can recall were grease pits.

Soon I will risk my life, by getting into my attic, and finding one of these. I am thinking of the blued Long Branch. It was in new condition, any rust should show up, especially as it not been touched for over twenty years.

Will let you know, as I am curious to determine if Mr Forrest ranger's mind was not effected by passing the time with clear moonshine out in the deep dark woods.

 

[Soybomb]

Everyone has their own home brew idea. I'm of the opinion that many of them are a bit too brutal for my tastes. If the stock is dinged up use a steam iron and a wet rag to steam some of the dings out of it. Most of the crud seems to come out with a good steam cleaning. I'm fond of finishing it with several coats of tru-oil.