Stock refinishing question.

[FiringPin]

Hello, I've recently been in the midst of restoring the stock on a RC K98. I have had no trouble removing the shellac and finish, but the most trouble I have had is removing black stains, oil and grease from the stock. I have relentlessly tried, but it still looks terrible. First of all, I know nothing about wood, but I've searched the internet tirelessly for a solution to remove these black stains from the stock, but can't seem to find anything, and usually everybody has a different solution, or they fail to explain step by step.

So my question is simple. What is the most effective way to remove grease and oil stains from the stock? The stock is covered in them, and I'm sick of looking at it. The wrist and butt is almost completely black on the bottom. Heavy stuff.

Thank you.

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[Aragorn243]

Citri-strip is my current cleaner of choice. It takes more than one application but you can usually get it clean in one days time (weekend or day off). Put it on, let it soak, scub and rinse it off. Let the stock dry and repeat two more times or until it gets where you want it. Black stains may require some sort of wood bleach which can be found at most lumber yards, paint stores or big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot Again, put it on heavy, let it soak, rinse it off and let it dry. The odd thing about the bleach is that when it is still wet, it may look like it hasn't done anything but once it dries, it will be much lighter. The black stains may be rust rather than grease and is why the citri-strip doesn't work on it.

[FiringPin]

Thank you. I haven't tried either of those. As soon as I get a day off I'll start working on it.

Also quick question for anybody, what is a really good stain to use on the 98k stock to replicate the German original?

[Aragorn243]

No stain, just boiled linseed oil, many coats.