Stock cleaning question

[sharkman]

I'm workin on a M1917 stock. Nice piece of wood that was painted white at some point in it's life and that's a problem. I've stripped it and scrubbed it and gotten most of the paint off but there is still some left in the grain. Here's an early picture, most of the white is gone now but what's left is stubborn:



Anyone have any idea on how to get it out? Thanks

 

[Old Dog Man]

Paint in stock

You may have to sand it out, that looks like deep grain. Put the butt plate back on if you sand, so it will look right after sanding. There arre some paint removers that should do the job like Zip-Strip, but it will have to be washed with soap and water to get the remover off. Al

 

[def4pos8]

I usually use a citrus-based stripper to remove paint. If you've tried that already, you'll likely need a liquid solvent to sneak in to the grain.

Knowing what the white paint was could help (enamel? lacquer? water-base latex? oil-base latex?).

The entire spectrum of solvents are out there: denatured (dry) alcohol, mineral spirits, naptha, acetone, lacquer thinner, methyl-ethyl-ketone. All have different absorption rates (penetration), aggressiveness, evaporation rates, etc. I have had some success using three parts lacquer thinner with one part dry alcohol. The lacquer thinner is decently aggressive and the alcohol helps it penetrate. Many other combinations are useful.

Always use this stuff in a thoroughly ventillated area. Use it only long enough to do your cleaning since, depending on the species of wood, these organic solvents can pull more sap out than you might desire. Light rubbing with a 3M abrasive pad can help and always be sure to protect your hands from the solvent. I'll save my kidney failure story for another time.

When the wood cleans up (I'm an optimist!) permit a day or five to let the solvent evaporate before application of your finish oil.

Good luck!