Lingering oil smell

[steven8166]

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone has had the pleasure of refinishing a Mosin Nagant stock. I am trying to refinish a 1942 Mosin Nagant M91/30. I have done the oven cleaner routine and got most of the finish and oil off the stock. Due to the water bath after the oven cleaner the grain stood tall and proud, I am now in the process of sanding it all down. I had an occasion to smell the stock and it still has a slight motor oil smell to it. I happen to put the put the stock over a heater vent, and sure enough oil came to the surface. I was wondering if any of you know a way to get the remaining oil out that does not entail water. I would be grateful for your input.
Steve

 

[mgmorden]

What type of replacement finish are you planning on using? If its going to be TruOil or something similar then that finish's smell will overpower any slight smell it currently has. After that you just have to wait for that smell to wear off, which will do on its own, but it generally takes a few months.

 

[cleardiddion]

The only way I know is to basically sweat it out of the wood.
Basically what they did with the cosomline was the to take the entire rifle and soak it in a vat of the stuff in liquid form so it's really soaked in there good.

During the summer, I would say to wrap it in rags and a black garbage bag and throw the entire lot in the trunk for a day or so. But, considering the time of year, you might try rubbing it down with mineral spirits and see if that manages to draw some out.

 

[steven8166]

My finish is going to be an oil stain and tru oil. I had planned on using a wood conditioner to get an even color on the wood, bu I am affraid the the present oil will interfere with the wood conditioner and stain. ok about the mineral spirits. Has anyone heard of using TSP cleanser to remove oil? I know you can use TSP cleanser to remove oil stains from concrete, maybe it would work on wood.
steve

 

[cleardiddion]

I suppose you could use TSP. From what I've been reading, I guess some furniture guys use it but the general warning is that you should make a a relatively mild concentration of it or it may prove to be too harsh on the wood.

One other option would be to go shoot it as much as possible. That's how I got a lot of cosmoline out my rifle. It should start sweating the stuff within 15-25 rounds.

 

[steven8166]

I was on the net looking for ways to remove oil from my MN stock and I came across a page that delt with funiture and flooring, but hey, wood is wood. Anyway what they said was that the only way to effectively remove oil from wood is with a pasty mixture of diatomaceous earth, which is fossilized remains of diatoms, and acetone. you mix the two together to make the paste. You apply it to the affected area about 1/2 inch thick. as the acetone dries and evaporates it draws the oil out into the diatomaceous earth. Once it is all dry you scrape of the diatomaceous earth off. they said it would probibly take several treatment to get all the oil out. It is wise to do it outside do to the fire danger and the fumes.

 

[W.E.G.]

"whiting powder"

 

[steven8166]

Thanks, I"knew" there was something out there that would do what I wanted.
steve

 

[cleardiddion]

Nice, I'll have to keep that in mind for any future projects