cleaning stock

[shattered00]

I have a wooden stock on my Winchester 74 (around 60 years old). What sort of product should I use to give the wood an extra boost? I don't want to refinish it. Cleaning it is my main priority. My only concern is that I don't get something which makes the wood a bit greasy or slippery. Thanks.

Edit: I was told that Danish or Tongue Oil would be appropriate. Is there anything better?

 

[Limeyfellow]

Boiled Linseed oil works too where you just hand rub it into the stock. Tung oil works well and more resistant to heat but also leaves a layer like shellac on the rifle. The other big difference is tung oil doesn't redden over the years like linseed oil will, so after several years wait your rifle should keep its basic colour.

There are some good stuff that will also take out the dirt and grease out the layer and replace it with just the oil. I had good luck with some stuff called Kramers Antique Restorer on really old wood finishes. It requires a fraction of coats that BLO or tung does and will cut through the dirt.

You could also add a lacquer or shellac finish. These can then be smoothed out and made nice simply by an application of rubbing alcohol that slightly melts the top layer and lets you polish it.

I would avoid the polyuethane finishes. They are hard to fix such they get dented or scratched and to fix it would require a helluva evil job stripping the stuff instead of simply rubbing in more oil and applying heat to take out the dent though if you did it only tends to require a good furniture polish to take care off it, but I find they get sticky when they heat up and rather shiny. Theres also other varnishes that some are using nowadays but has the same problems of polyuethane.

 

[shattered00]

Thanks for the info. After having broken the gun down, I used brake cleaner to remove the grime that had built up on the metal parts of the gun. In my absent-minded state, I reassembled the rifle, forgetting to wipe off the barrel and other parts which are in contact with the wood. Now the parts of the wood that were touching the metal are black. Is this reversible and will it damage the longevity of the wood? These parts are not visible when the rifle is assembled, but I don't want them to rot faster than normal.

Also, is there a better choice for cleaning this rifle than using brake cleaner? I have no clue as to what parts of the rifle I am supposed to lubricate, so I am loath to use CLP all over the rifle. I know Hoppes is good as a solvent, but I want to clean it and protect it.

 

[dfaugh]

Brake cleaner is a REALLY good solvent for removing oils/grease, but as you've found, it not gentle with wood. I usually completely strip my stocks and start over, but if you just wanna remove accumulated gunk, Mineral Spirits (available at paint/hardware stores) works well. Usually it will raise the grain of the wood, so I rub it with fine (0000) steel wool, then I use Tung Oil. The first one or 2 coats may also raise the grain a bot, so I use the steel wool between...Don't get in a hurry, let each coat of Tung oil dry 24 hours. The Tung oil will leave a semi-glossy finish, which can be made a bit shinier by buffing lightly with the 0000 steel wool...If you want a really shiny finish, use some Carnuba wax on top of last coat (better quality car wax will contain Carnuba.)