Tallinar
Member
I recently acquired a 1955 Fazakerley Lee-Enfield No. 4 Mk 2 still in cosmoline. I am looking for some opinions on what to do about cleaning up the stock.
Here is a picture of the gun as I received it. I think the wood looks pretty darn good. A little black/dirty grime look in some places, but all in all beautiful. I am not looking to make any drastic changes. My goal is just to remove any traces of cosmoline and grime, and freshen it up a bit with some boiled linseed oil.
I believe the previous owner cleaned out the bore and gave light attention to the receiver -- just enough to make it shootable -- but cosmoline remains caked on everywhere else. I believe he may also have done some cleaning on the stock, as it was really in pretty nice shape the way I brought it home. No greasiness or stickiness to the touch. When I started stripping it down, I found good chunks of cosmoline in the stock under the trigger guard, and under the muzzle area. Not a concerning amount beyond that. I also found some light corrosion under the brass butt plate.
After doing some research online, and reading a plethora of different opinions and approaches, I decided to give the stock pieces a rub down with a moderate Murphy Oil Soap solution (about 1 part MOS to 5-6 parts water). I did not scrub it abrasively. I just rubbed it down with light pressure using disposable rags, and let it air dry.
As far as I can tell, this wash didn't do much. I did manage to remove virtually all of the noticeable, "caked" cosmoline out of the front handguard and the receiver well area, but it didn't do anything for the blackened areas. The wood also feels every so slightly more "hairy" afterward -- but nothing to concern me to think I've gone too deep on penetrating the existing finish.
Here are some pictures after it's mostly dried. I am looking for opinions on where to go from here.
Should I give it a more abrasive cleaning to try to get some of the blackened areas out? Should I hit it again with MOS, and this time maybe use a bit higher concentration and maybe some scrub pads or 0000 steel wool? Or should I leave well enough alone, and just hit it with a coat or two of boiled linseed oil and call it a day?
What would you do? Thanks in advance.
Here is a picture of the gun as I received it. I think the wood looks pretty darn good. A little black/dirty grime look in some places, but all in all beautiful. I am not looking to make any drastic changes. My goal is just to remove any traces of cosmoline and grime, and freshen it up a bit with some boiled linseed oil.
I believe the previous owner cleaned out the bore and gave light attention to the receiver -- just enough to make it shootable -- but cosmoline remains caked on everywhere else. I believe he may also have done some cleaning on the stock, as it was really in pretty nice shape the way I brought it home. No greasiness or stickiness to the touch. When I started stripping it down, I found good chunks of cosmoline in the stock under the trigger guard, and under the muzzle area. Not a concerning amount beyond that. I also found some light corrosion under the brass butt plate.
After doing some research online, and reading a plethora of different opinions and approaches, I decided to give the stock pieces a rub down with a moderate Murphy Oil Soap solution (about 1 part MOS to 5-6 parts water). I did not scrub it abrasively. I just rubbed it down with light pressure using disposable rags, and let it air dry.
As far as I can tell, this wash didn't do much. I did manage to remove virtually all of the noticeable, "caked" cosmoline out of the front handguard and the receiver well area, but it didn't do anything for the blackened areas. The wood also feels every so slightly more "hairy" afterward -- but nothing to concern me to think I've gone too deep on penetrating the existing finish.
Here are some pictures after it's mostly dried. I am looking for opinions on where to go from here.
Should I give it a more abrasive cleaning to try to get some of the blackened areas out? Should I hit it again with MOS, and this time maybe use a bit higher concentration and maybe some scrub pads or 0000 steel wool? Or should I leave well enough alone, and just hit it with a coat or two of boiled linseed oil and call it a day?
What would you do? Thanks in advance.