Last Ditch Arisaka

[pmclaine]

I recently acquired a last ditch Arisaka from a non gun interested friend that had an elderly family member pass away.

I have no interest in firing the gun but honor its historical signifigance. It is pretty good shape but has been stored poorly. I intend to clean it up using the typical gun cleaning chemicals with a lot of nylon bristle scrubbing to remove surface rust.

What should be used to treat the stock on these rifles. What did the IJA or IJN call for in there FM when handing these guns out to the young and elderly for homeland defense.

Thank you for all assistance offered. If anyone wants info regarding proofs or build type tell me what you want and where to look for it.

pmclaine

[jeep]

Up above you can reserch the make and series. Care should be taken with the stock,no sanding. And I prefer Cleanse oil for care of the metal and it wont,t hurt the wood. OOOOsteel wool and lite rubbing can loosen some of the surface rust. Don,t be to aggressive. A lite rub with tung oil will help the wood to. Rubbed in by hand very,very thin one time. Cleanse oil can be wiped on the stock in a soft cleaning patch ever so little.,best Dave

[pmclaine]

Up above you can reserch the make and series. Care should be taken with the stock,no sanding. And I prefer Cleanse oil for care of the metal and it wont,t hurt the wood. OOOOsteel wool and lite rubbing can loosen some of the surface rust. Don,t be to aggressive. A lite rub with tung oil will help the wood to. Rubbed in by hand very,very thin one time. Cleanse oil can be wiped on the stock in a soft cleaning patch ever so little.,best Dave

Thank you for your reply.

I use Tung oil on my garand and 03 so I am familiar with light coats rubbing until your hand blisters than wiping off the excess. I will search the stickys for the history of this rifle. When I got it I was surprised that the Mum was still on it. Checking it closer it looks like it was lightly ground but it still looks pretty clear to me.

[Johnny Peppers]

Don't do anything to the stock if it doesn't need it. If the wood just appears dry, use a 50/50 mix of BLO and turpentine. It won't build up and will liven up the wood. Less is more.
The 4/0 steel wool will work much better than nylon bristle brushes. The rust itself is probably the most abrasive, so the longer you scrub it the more chance you will remove finish. Oil the rust down and let it set a few days before attempting to remove it. Rub lightly with the 4/0 steel wool, and wipe often with a cloth to remove the rust as it is loosened.

[pmclaine]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

The rust is more like a red dust than a flaky mess. The oil soak will allow most to be lightly swabbed up I think. Its a neat peice very crude. Did they ever think their war against us would end up with wooden pegs to hold their wooden rifle butt plates on?