Cleaning up an old turk stock--HELP?

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

Okay, I have an M38 Turkish Mauser that needs some work. She shoots fine, and has a really shiny bore. The thing is, I wanna know how to clean the stock up. Here's what she looks like now:



Any ideas anyone?

 

[highorder]

You can always start with mineral spirits and a rag, or perhaps some 0000 steel wool.

 

[MichaelK]

Doesn't look as bad as mine was when I started. Here's mine after I refinished the stock.

After you remove the stock you could sponge bath it in mineral spirits or acetone, whatever's cheaper. Then let it air dry for a couple of weeks. Putting the stock in a warm (150F) oven for 30 minutes will help sweat out a lot of the oil that you remove with the solvent.

I started by sanding it down with 50 grit paper. That's the worst part. It takes forever it smooth it out, but once it is, I progressed to 100, 150, 220, then 320. Then I finished the wood in Tru-oil. I diluted the first coat 50/50 with mineral spirits. That lets it soak deep into the wood. The next coat was 75/25, then pure tru-oil. These coats were applied with a cotton cloth. The fourth coat was applied with 320 grit sandpaper. Sand down through the finish till you get to the wood. At this point the stock will look awful!

You apply the next new coat of tru-oil with sandpaper again, but wipe it clean with a tru-oil soaked cloth. You'll see a fine, smooth finish where the pores of the wood are all filled in. Continue with a few more smooth coats with cotton only and then you're done.
Good luck,
Michael

 

[nwilliams]

Depends how deep the oils are in the wood. If it's cosmoline then it's probably soaked in quite a bit any you can sand it all you want and not get the results you seek.

Boiling water works great for removing oils from wood. Simply boil a couple posts of water and the slowly pour it over the wood and a lot of the oils will come out.

You can also soak the stock in a tub of water for a day or two and that will displace the oils in the stock, then let it dry in the sun for a few days.

If you want to really make an impact then use a few cans of heavy duty oven cleaner on it. Just make sure you do it in a well ventilated area. Oven cleaner works great and if you use enough of it you along with hot water and sun you can actually bleach the stock. Once the stock is bleached you can stain it or use linseed oil to bring back the natural color of the wood. Also it will help pop out any dings in the wood without having to do any sanding. I've used this process many times over the years and the results are always amazing.

There are many methods you can use but the ones I listed above have all worked well for me over the years. I've always found that getting the wood dried out to the point where it's bleached and then refinishing with linseed oil is the best way to go.

Of course there are also a few hardware store chemicals you can buy that are good for refinishing wood.

Good luck and don't forget to post pics when you get it refinished!

 

[hawmanai]

To help get the grease out of the wood I use a old clothes iron and a wet cotton towel to steam the wood. Also helps raise dents in the wood.

Looking at the pic, I'd try getting the heavy grease off first then rub in some oil with fine steel wool. then if that is not good enough try the steam method followed by oil and wool.

For a grease remover I used Gojo orange hand cleaner, removes a surprising amount of crud. I've tried other ways to remove grease, the hand cleaner does not stink and is good for your skin.

 

[zstephens13]

I just fixed up a Mosin Nagant.
I read that you can't sand because it will mess up the stock so i got a chemical varnish remover from Wal-Mart for $7 and i was very skeptical.
But...it was AMAZING!!! it took all the varnish off, no sanding required. it worked like a charm.
Then you have a new stock to oil/stain/gloss dowhat ever you want to!

 

[John Parker]

I ran the stock of my Ishapore through the dishwasher--twice! Didn't leave it in for the drying cycle, though. Air-dry on a bed of nails for two days, sanded, Tung oiled, and she's a beaut!

 

[rangerruck]

all the above ideas are great; I would first start off though, by going to Home Despot, and getting some , in the aerosol can, paint remover/stripper. it foams up much like oven spray, but make sure you are wearing long sleeves, and you cover your mouth and eyes; this stuff will burn on contact!!!

 

[jkingrph]

Get some whiteing, I think Brownells has it, make a paste with mineral spirits and apply to stock and let set for a few days, weeks. It will draw oils out of the wood. Alternatively you could use cornstarch or even flour, make a paste with a bit of water, apply and let sit for again several days to a week , whatever it takes. It might take several applications. I am not to fond of the idea of using oven cleaner, which is lye on a stock. Lye plus animal fat combines to give soap, I do not know what the end product of lye plus petroleum based oils would be. My concern would be that the lye would damage the wood, and it will, plus cause corroison of the guns metal when reassembled.

 

[caduceus]

First I would try to clean it with Linseed Oil.

 

[highorder]

First I would try to clean it with Linseed Oil.

He needs to take crap off before he puts anything else on.

Mineral spirits is good for light cleaning.

If you want to strip to Bare and start over, I like citri-strip paint stripper. its non-toxic, and applies with a brush. Easy and effective. Then finish with whatever you like.

I like boiled linseed oil.

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look into those.

 

[alemonkey]

Go to http://www.surplusrifleforum.com - they have a section on stock restoration. Look for posts by a guy named Candyman, he's the expert.

 

[GD]

TSP and hot water work great. You can get TSP at any hardware store. It is used for cleaning up grease. It will get the cosmoline and dirt out of your stock. I would then finish up with BLO and/or Casey's TruOil.

 

[longdayjake]

I suggest that you don't use oven cleaner unless you really want to change the color of the wood. First, I would do my best to remove what you can from the surface with hot water and clear dish soap. Next, and I know its hard to believe, but I have not ever seen a stock come out cleaner or better than one that has gone through a dishwasher. I send mine through twice and I let it go through the dry cycle. The reason I let it go through the dry cycle is because the heat draws more of the oils out even after going through the wash cycle. The second time around gets most of the oils out. I have done a couple that way and no cracking was experienced since it doesn't completely dry the stock anyway.

Here are some threads about my m1 carbine restoration.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=442036&highlight=longdayjake

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=448467&highlight=refinish+m1+carbine

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=442237&highlight=refinish+m1+carbine

 

[LJ-MosinFreak-Buck]

I don't think I'll be able to fit my Mauser in the dishwasher. It's barrel is close to thirty inches and the fully assembled rifle comes up to my chest when I have the butt on the floor. And I'm 5'9".

All I'm worried about is trying to get the cosmoline out of the stock, I'm not sure if I'm willing to change the color of the wood, but I have thought about matching the color of the stock to that of my Mosin and my K31:

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // I'm trying to keep my color too.

My M91/30 is still sticky but I've been going the slow route. I put it by the vent with heat set to 75 degrees for several min. then spray lightly with 409 and buff with towel.

Seems to be working and I am maintaining the color and sheen of an old picture frame. I am darking up the light spots with tobacco resin, some letters were painted on stock in yellow and I used emery cloth to remove them.

Nice addition for you good luck with stock.