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I have a stock that I just can't seem to get all the oil out of, or maybe I should say enough of it so it doesn't finish dark when I apply RLO. I read on a Garand forum that some people had luck putting the stock in boiling water and let the oil rise to the top ???
Any thoughts
I took an ole' beater S-HB stock that was all covered with crud and dings and steamed it. I had to use a tea pot [ it as all I had] and lots of paper towels. I started at one end and slowly moved along and let it drip on the paper as I went. I took awhile but it was worth it. It cleaned the crud and eliminated a lot of the dings. It cleaned a lot of the old oils out without changing the color or drying out the wood. I used BLO and fine steel wool, rubbed lightly and it worked for me. Been their, done that look!
If you are not in a hurry wrap the stock in paper towels (pack into the voids like the oiler cutout and interior). Then wrap in a black trash bag and throw it on the dash or your car while you are at work during the summer.
If you are in a hurry "purple Power" will strip the stock down to bare wood, but it will be years before the RLO will bring the patina back.
I have been using Fromby's furniture refinisher with a tooth brush. This worked well for me in the past but this one just is not coming as clean as I think it could be. I did do one last summer in the hot sun and it did allow the oils to seep out, so maybe that with some steam will get it there. I'll try and take some pictures and get them posted. This stock is kinda a special one, I found it at a show a few months back. It was dark and grungy but I could read a RSG in the sling well and the high wood was good and strong, no metal. He was asking $35. I bought it for $25. and when I got it outside I could see the S'G' side ways. So it's good for either a IP or a S'G" and those are bringing lots of coin right now. In short I want to get it right, and will hold off on the boiling water idea for now. Thanks
There will always be a big debate on this issue, but I will chime in.
First, be sure the stock is separated from the receiver and barrel -- this may seem obvious, but some forget.
Second, I have watched videos where "authorities" butchered guns with oven cleaner in a tub of hot water and a wire brush. OWCH, that's Bubba the Butcher.
Third, I try to stay away from hot water, as it can warp the wood. Same with putting a stock in the sun, even in a plastic bag; or putting a stock in an oven -- these can result in a warped stock. (You might get away with it, but sun/heat warps stocks, especially when heated unevenly).
Fourth, diagnose the oil issue -- is it just crummy old linseed oil, or is it a cosmoline soaked stock? If it's just old linseed oil, rubbing alcohol and fine steel wool is probably enough to get the surface junk off. Varnish remover can be used if it's varnish. Denatured alcohol if it's shellac. Then you can soak overnight in turpentine or mineral spirits and then wrap in paper towels or rags or embed in saw dust, changing the "diapers" regularly to keep absorbing. (I've even seen people put it in cat litter).
Fifth, if it's cosmoline, use the turpentine or mineral spirits and fine steel wool then the "diaper" treatment.
Once the junk oil is gone, treat with BLO until it absorbs no more, rub hard with an old towel to polymerize the surface with hand-rubbed heat, then (and the purists will cringe) finish with tung oil. (Why? because BLO will turn brown over the next 10-20 years, and after 50 years will be chocolate brown; tung oil keeps the BLO from oxidizing, is a better fungicide, and repels water better.)
Just my opinion -- others may not concur -- but it has worked for me.
You can wash the stock in lacquer thinner but be prepared to re-stain it.
Here are some pictures, the spots I'm most concerned with are the pistol grip area, behind the recoil plate, the nose, behind the sling cut both sides. All these areas are darker than I'm used to seeing after doing what I have done.
RSG S G Stock Slideshow by carwashchris1 | Photobucket
Okay, you will need to stain anyway so you may as well try the lacquer thinner. There is no stain exactly like U.S. stock stain, and there is no more of that. I have about 8 oz left in the bottom of a can from Rock Island. This stain is very dark red/brown and it has some black in it. I suppose you'll have to use an alcohol stain. The U.S. stain looks like this on black walnut.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...qiwmmhaq-1.jpg
It might be helpful to know what CMP says about finish & red stain:
"The red is not a stain effect and not the color of walnut. It is the various oils oxidizing. It takes years for it to become the predominant color in the wood. Much conjecture about which component of the oil soup causes the most red could be voiced. One very quick gun oil to make a red shift is MILITEC Militec-1 Weapons Grade Synthetic Based Metal Conditioner, NSN 9150-01-415-9112. Left out in the light and opened repeatedly so that air got in, it has been seen to change from clear yellow to dark red in 6 months. The almost black color along the metalwood lines of firearms would indicate the gun oil has a large part to do with the red shift. Gun oil doesn't immediately hurt wood in small amounts on the surface of a good finish. Over time, gun oil dissolves the resins in wood and makes it mushy. For example, the compression effect of Garand receivers/trigger guards crushing the wood is in part caused by oil damage to the wood."
Any serious collector should see the whole article -- very informative.
http://thecmp.org/training-tech/armo...aning-article/
Unless someone has bleached the walnut, it seldom needs anything but BLO or Tung Oil. If it's another wood, a number of people recommend a combination of Gale Lock Dark Walnut Chestnut Ridge Military Stain (which is alcohol based and can be thinned with water or alcohol if it's too intense). See the CMP article for details on getting the right colour.
I'm going to try your lacquer thinner suggestion first, and report back. Chris