Milsurp rifle stock protection, cleaning/finishing questions

[usabaker]

These are my three goto oils for stock that were finished by the factory in linseed oil.

Left to Right: polymerized raw linseed oil colored with Alkanet Root, Linseed/Turpentine, and polymerized raw linseed.

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[j_page2]

for my purposes.. would a more simple process of a light amount of murphy's oil soap to clean, then boiled linseed oil afterward be sufficient? These are the materials I have right now without spending more money. I realize what you have is probably better but for the sake of simplicity would this be satisfactory? also later on I will be applying a coat of wax on the surface but I just want to get the stocks clean and oiled beforehand so i can reassemble the rifles.

the enfield stock may need a more rigorous cleaning, so i may include mineral spirits/BLO/fine steel wool for that if need be. I imagine whatever I wind up doing will probably be more than what was done by GI's in the past anyhow. I just want to make sure i don't damage anything, and wind up with clean, oiled guns that will be protected in a basic manner. not going to expose them to anything except my safe and sunny days at the range.

Feel free to educate me if i have something wrong, I'm just trying to go middle of the road, not too lax or too involved. seems like there are many ways of doing this

[usabaker]

I'm just trying to go middle of the road, not too lax or too involved. seems like there are many ways of doing this

There is no point in cutting BLO with turpentine, it will dry too fast. Since RLO is slow (very slow) drying it allows you time to work the dirt and grime out of the stock. I would not use BLO cut with turpentine to clean a rifle stock; it would be good as a base on a new stock because it would allow the oil to penetrate deeper into the wood, but not as a cleaning agent. BLO has driers and hardeners, some pretty toxic, its not what was used on the stock from the armory, and if it has it on it already it was done after the fact. The BLO is also going to make it shine more than RLO. It's really a personal preference. Just a warning though, if you don't get the gunk and dirt out first before using BLO you are going to play heck after it dries getting it out.

You will not find in any US Military handbooks where BLO was used on service rifles; All of them will reference the use of RLO every month or after getting wet or in the rain rubbed in by hand (If anyone has a US Miltary reference that indicates BLO, I would ask if you could tell me which manual because I have been looking for a reference for years). Using RLO by itself is a cleaner if applied and then wiped off with a rag.

But like I said, it's all a personal preference and it only going to be the collector who is going to pay attention to that detail.

[ssgross]

Murphy's oil soap will lift out any dirt, and won't touch any of the underlying colors, stains from oil or wear, or existing oil finish in the wood. I have used it before as a first go on very filthy stocks. Dampen a blue scrubby pad (not the super abrasive ones) or clean tooth or other nylon brush and scrub a dub elbow grease. Let it dry thoroughly before re-oiling. Boiled linseed oil from the hardware store will work fine if you don't want/need to put any authentic color back over the forthcoming years.

colored with Alkanet Root

baker...can you provide mixing instructions for this? perhaps some pictures of finished samples? Interesting.

[usabaker]

baker...can you provide mixing instructions for this? perhaps some pictures of finished samples? Interesting.

Sure... I started writing a Notebook on the subject in 2019 just never seem to have enough time to work on it but it does have a section on HOW TO MAKE POLYMERIZED OIL and ALKANET POLYMERIZED linseed oil. I've attempted to attach a PDF here, but if you can't download it PM me and I can email it.

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Please remember this is a work in progress so there will be a mass of spelling, grammar errors, and sections that don't seem to fit as they were placeholders. As to pictures, I will need to pull some rifles out of the safe and take some. Maybe I will make a side-by-side sample so the difference can be seen. It will be a bit before I can do much of anything though. I was running in a benefit race in support of families of Navy SEAL's who fallen last Saturday and during a full-on sprint to try and pass a pack of folks, I took a bad fall and broke my right clavicle (shoulder blade). I did get up and finish the race though, took 2nd in my Age group (just seconds behind the 1st place guy) and 94th place out of 278 runners overall. I will admit though once I lost that adrenaline rush, I felt like I was going to pass out from the pain.

[usabaker]

pictures of finished samples?

I found a picture in my archives of a Remington 513 US Property .22 trainer that I did a while back for a friend. I used the 60/40 Turpentine/RLO to clean it up. I had to use burlap on this one as the applicator. I follow up once dry with a few coats of RLO and then buffed it off with some softened canvas.

If you will note none of the dings and scratches were removed, he wanted the history retained, He only wanted the years of dirt and junk removed.

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I'll look for more and like I said pull some stuff out of the gun safe when I can

[Singer B]

It almost looks sanded. Is that due to the RLO hydrating the wood and causing the grain to expand and smooth out?

[usabaker]

It almost looks sanded.

I almost never sand stocks, there is no need to. The most I do is hit them with 0000 steel or brass wool which I didn't do or risk even that on this stock, the last thing I would have wanted to do is ruin the FJA and other cartouches on his stock. It was scrubbed with burlap and the 60/40 mixture, wiped down and repeated until I got the results I wanted.

Is that due to the RLO hydrating the wood and causing the grain to expand and smooth out?

It's just because it's clean, once the grit and grime loosen up it kind of lifts out of the pores (I guess), it's only shiny because after the oil dried I buffed it with softened canvas.

There are times I completely remove the finish. It's when it needs major repairs and there is no other way.

When I take the finish off a rifle I do it using 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, or even on bad cases where I have to soak part of or the whole stock in acetone to get gun oils (lubricants) that have gotten into the wood I haven't had to sand. Once I steam out the dents, (I may do localized sanding where I raise dents if I can feel it is above the surrounding wood,) I raise the grain and knock anything that pops up down with 0000 steel or brass wool. I have never found a stock that needed to be sanded unless I was doing a repair like cracks or breaks.

I will be removing the finish on the Enfield Musket using 91% Isopropyl just because the stuff is so thick and I can see cracks that need to be addressed;

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[Singer B]

Thank you!

[ssgross]

I almost never sand stocks, there is no need to

I have only ever sanded new wood. Typically the "problem" is just a buildup of wax, oil, sweat, etc. giving the wood an almost plastic like layer. My goal is to preserve the color as much as possible, but make the wood feel like wood again. I like baker's idea of Alkanet root to help maintain the "depth" of color that is underneath all the grime. I'll be doing my own experiments for sure.