Removing oil from a stock for refinishing

[fecmech]

Gentlemen-- I'm refinishing a Beretta 682 stock for a friend and have a question. After stripping the stock and sanding I'm finding oil (Gunscrubber 96?? I believe) leaching out from the wood after I sanded it. I've tried spraying the area with carb cleaner to try and rinse out the oil but it keeps comming back. He evidently was very generous with his application! I'm using a tung oil/ urethane mix for the finish and am concerned that it will not dry well in these areas. Do you have any suggestions on how to remove the soaked in oil?? Thanks in advance. Nick

 

[moosehunt]

Whiting. Brownell's is a good source.

 

[patrolman]

do you suspect that the oil you are finding in the stock is gun oil or uncured oil used to finish the stock?

 

[JNewell]

Warning, if it is serious, no amount of solvent or whiting or anything else is likely to really clear it out. I speak from unhappy experience trying to get oil out of a nice Turkish walnut shotgun stock. :banghead:

 

[Chawbaccer]

Kitty liter is the same as whiting. Mix some up with mineral spirits in to a pasty mixture. Slather it on the stock and after it dries give it another treatment with fresh ingredients.

 

[fecmech]

do you suspect that the oil you are finding in the stock is gun oil or uncured oil used to finish the stock?

I'm pretty sure its that damn Gunscrubber 96.

I'll try the kitty litter solvent trick and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[kimbernut]

Oil removal

A dip in common household bleach has worked for me on a number of occasions on refinish jobs involving older "well oiled" stocks. Give it plenty of time to dry out (at least 36 hours to be safe) before you begin work on the stock again (00 steel wool). For really tough cases a second application may be needed.

 

[moosehunt]

Ouch! Suit yourself, but chlorine is hell on wood.

 

[W.E.G.]

http://www.arizonaresponsesystems.com/notes/wood/pagewood.htm

 

[patrolman]

if the kitty litter/mineral spirits combo doesn't work, you may want to try soaking the stock in naphtha. it's a little stronger solvent than mineral spirits and, like mineral spirits, will not harm the wood. the trick would be to soak the stock thoroughly, to allow the naphtha to disperse and dissolve the oil that has soaked into the wood. afterward, let it dry thoroughly (a day or so) and then check to see if any more oil is appearing on the surface of the stock. just my .02.

 

[Bottom Gun]

I saved two old oil soaked SKS by using lacquer thinner on them. Put it on, wipe it off. Repeat. It's time consuming but it it worked fine for me and both stocks finished quite well afterward.

 

[jwr_747]

spit coat the stock and finish as needed. Lowes,Home Depot,ect. sell a spray can of shellac that is thin cut (spit coat) spray the stock,let dry,lightly sand or steel wool the stock and refinish.the shellac will seal the porous part of the wood,keeping the oil from leaching out. jwr

 

[chris allen]

oil

use saw dust soaked in acetone and pack it around the area affected by the oil .let it sit for several hours, check and repeat if necessary.WARNING ACETONE IS EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE.

GOOD LUCK,
CHRIS

 

[engr]

I have used ez-off oven cleaner in the past with good results, finished with tungoil. Now that was 5 or more years ago and the finish still looks good on a 98 and a hakin.

 

[JNewell]

I bought a big fish poaching cooker and soaked the butt and forearm in alcohol, acetone and benzene. Also used up about half of one of the huge containers of whiting. I think the alcohol actually was most effective but it probably depends on exactly what kind of oil/grease you have.

 

[fecmech]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys I appreciate the help. I pounded some Kitty litter into a fine powder and mixed it with some laquer thinner and painted it into and on the outside of the stock. Did that twice which got most of it out then kept heating the oily area with a hair drier and rubbing with alcohol any weep that came up. It seemed to do the trick. I'll post a picture of the stock when finished.

WEG--A very interesting site!