Mosin Nagant stock old oil/cosmoline removal

[30cal_Fun]

Hello everyone,

I have been wanting to bed the stock of my Mosin 91/30 for some time. I want to keep it as original as possible, so maybe I will order an old take-off stock and use that one, but that's another question.

Problem is, these old stocks aren't exactly clean. So before I can even start thinking about putting any bedding compound in my stock, It needs a clean and dry surface to adhere to. Therefore I need to clean it up first. The inside of this thing is filled with traces of old oil, Cosmoline and likely a lot of Balistol that I use for cleaning my rifle.

So, my question is, how do I get rid of all the gunk that is soaked up in the stock?

Thanks for any input, Louis

 

[grimjaw]

There's several threads on the 'net about this, but one of the most efficient ones I saw was to wrap it in heavy, transparent plastic and stick it out in the sun. If you can stand the smell, placing it in back window of a closed automobile might work quicker. The key is heat.

I've seen people rig up trash cans and heat lamps, but I didn't have any place to put that or tools to rig it up when I was cleaning stocks.

jm

 

[30cal_Fun]

Hi Grimjaw,

The weather outside isn't an option right now, and I don't really have the place or the means either for a rigged-up trash can.

I was thinking something like acetone, oven cleaner, thinner, or the likes, but maybe those are a little to aggressive, and they will probably strip the finish right off too.
however, it isn't to bad if the finish comes off, I have been planning to refinish the stock too.

Am I right in assuming that any product used on the stock to clean out oil and/or Cosmoline will also strip the finish off?

Thanks for the input, Louis

 

[bugmania]

Here's a couple of articles that might help

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu23.htm
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu60.htm

 

[2500ak]

For what its worth I don't think you'll get the cosmoline and grime off if its bad without damaging the shellac. When you heat shellac up it gets cloudy. Even if you so manage to get it all stripped down and don't damage it you still have to contend with oils and remnants of colsmoline in the wood.

When I stripped mine I used steel wool and Kleanstrip-X which can be found at walmart. A few rinse repeat cycles and you'll have bear wood.

Then I bleached the wood with oxalic acid, sometimes called wood brightener.

Then I did the old hot iron wet washcloth trick to raise dents and pull trace oils out of the stock.

Then sanded with 440 grit up to 0000 steel wool to fix raised grain.

buffed with a dry cloth and applied a minwax oil stain called Cabernet.

Finished up with Truoil. Tung oil may have turned out better but truoil works faster.

The finish turned out much better than any shellac finish I've ever seen on one of these things and was well worth it.

 

[Onmilo]

try stock whiting compound.
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1133/Product/OLD_FASHIONED_WHITING

 

[RSVP2RIP]

I read in a gun publication about using Easy Off oven cleaner and sparying the stock and letting it sit overnight then wiping the stuff out. It will also take the finish off if it touches it though, so unless you want to redo the outside, I'd steer clear.

 

[TenDriver]

Believe it or not, I was having some decent luck on the wood with liquid dish soap and water.

Dawn takes grease out of your way.

 

[Birddog1911]

Easy off would take off the cosmoline, but isn't necessary. His rifle is protected with shellac, and the cosmoline is just sitting on top of that, if I read things right.

I stripped a PSL stock, which is in pretty much the same condition. I used a compound called Bix Stripper, I believe. Did well the first time around for me, but may require a couple of cleanings. Then let the wood thoroughly dry.

After it has dried, raise any dents and dings that you want with a wet towel and iron. Thoroughly sand to your desire; I've done 120, and I've taken it up to 320. You could go to 600 grit if you get the itch.

Once you have sanded to your desire, wipe the stock with a clean cloth and mineral spirits to get any dust off, and then stain if you desire. Should you stain, be aware of whether your stain contains any polyurethane or not. For a stock, I don't like poly. Stain with one or two coats, and then either oil or seal your stock.

 

[2500ak]

x2 on the staying away from polyurethane. My understanding is that you should either oil based stain and oil finish or water based stain and polyurethane.

I've done both, poly looks like plastic. I used it on my .22 because its very very strong and is easy to touch up.

I don't like the feel of guns just sealed with linseed oil. It works but they feel like a lumberyard 2x4 in my experience. Very unfinished feeling.

 

[OcelotZ3]

I used the Minwax Antique Oil Finish on my Russian Olympic rifle and it's awesome stuff...

 

[Cosmoline]

I've probably owned over fifty Mosins. With most USSR stocks, there is an intact layer of shellac that has kept the cosmoline from penetrating the grain. For these you simply use wet rags with a little mild wood cleaner and elbow grease. Do NOT use harsh cleaners. Do NOT use alcohol (though it works fine for the steel parts) These will annihilate the shellac and leave your grain exposed to the action of the cleaners.

The only ones you need to leech the cosmo out of are those that were coated without a proper finish. This includes some of the post-war Finnish stocks and a few others, but by no means most Mosins.

 

[ROGER4314]

I live in Texas and it is extremely hot in the summer time. I let a sodden, soaked stock in the sun and leave it until the oil begins to come to the surface. I spray it off with Brake-Kleen to remove the oil. After drying, it's back into the sun again. Repeat often.

I don't let the original finish concern me. That stuff will scrape off with a fingernail and is deficient in every way. I refinish with Casey's or MinWax, allow that to dry completely then scuff it down with 0000 steel wool to dull the shine.

Flash

 

[2500ak]

The shellac just isn't worth keeping imo. It's usually old and brittle. These guns are a dime a dozen and so plentiful that keeping them historically accurate isn't a big concern unless they have a stock scope. Even than I don't think I'd keep the shellac.

 

[Shadow 7D]

Put it in the trunk of your car in kitty litter, or in your oven on low, just have to some thing other than a trash bag for the oven.

You can also spray it with oven cleaner wipe it down, sweat it out, and repeat.
Final question is how important is preserving the stock markings, cause many ways of drying wood will also remove these marks.

 

[LiquidTension]

Last time I needed to get cosmoline out of a stock I just put it in the dishwasher. Worked great. Though unless you have a super sized dish washer a Mosin stock probably won't fit.

 

[dagger dog]

Buy enough naptha to submerge the stock, let it soak 24 hrs remove from the naptha, let it air dry , then use a hot air gun, blow dryer, to raise the remaining oil wipe it off with a rag as it comes to the surface, it will take several soak,dry wipe,steps to remove all of the oil and cosmo' but it is worth the time and effort.

 

[Franco2shoot]

Lots of good techniques in the above thread. I can only relate to you how I went about de-greasing my 91/30 and I got good results. Took a 6 pack of Pilsner to the back yard and sitting under the elm tree with the lawn mower gas can beside me, continually wiped down the stock with raw gasoline. By the 4th beer, it was pretty clean. I then moved over to dishwasher liquid and wiped until I couldn't smell the gas in the wood anymore. Consumed the last two beers...

Amazingly, the stock arsenel markings remained. I re-finished using a mixture of walnut and cherry stains until the color matched what I had found under the forearm piece. One final note WRT bedding.... My Mosin became a 1moa shooter when I followed Vasily Zeitzev's technique... He took a wine bottle cork and sliced it lengthwise into three shims as thin as you can slice. They sit under the foremost band one over top and the other two angled and equally spaced at the bottom. It was difficult to get the band back over top without scratching the newly finished wood surface, but an extra pair of helping hands (My son's) pressing down while I carefully slid the band into place did the trick.


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