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A friend at the gun club has a stock that he says has developed mold or mildew because the storage area got damp. He asked me how to get it off and my first thought is wipe it with a bleach solution, but he's afraid it will harm the stock and or finish. I haven't had to try this technique but it seems safe enough to me - in theory.
Has anyone clean stocks of mildew and mold? Will bleach solution work safely? Or is there a better method??
Thanks for your help with this.
Don't use bleach. I'd use a volatile mineral spirit and a scotchbrite pad to remove the spotting. Use an oil like Watco Danish on the wood after to rejuvenate after complete drying...
Vinegar/water/50-50.
Ed
Thanks guys, I appreciate the ideas and when I see this guy at tomorrows club meeting I'll pass them on.
Mold and Mildew in wood can be either superficial or it can be invasive. It thrives in warm, dark spaces that have high humidity. I would recommend your friend remove the stock and inspect the places where mold is not normally visible. Be sure it hasn't invaded the wood (mold is destructive). Give it a good soaking in mineral spirits if mold is found to have set in. Walnut is the best wood for resisting mold as the wood actually contains a fungicide. Maple, birch, and beech are far more susceptible and require more detailed attention.
If it is just on the surface you can preserve the original finish by dry rubbing the mold off with 0000 steel wool. I did this on my MkI* Ross restoration elsewhere on this site
Another option is to let the wood sit in a 55 degree (Celsius) convection oven for about for 15-30 minutes, depending on the stock's size. This will dry out any living (micro)organism, works great too when you have wood worms. Prevents you from have to rework the stock.
Just make sure the wood is "room dry" before the treatment and that you let the stock warm up gradually in the oven. Remove steel pieces where possible.
I've used low concentration hydrogen peroxide from the drug store for years on antique leather and wood. Catalase in the mold will cause the H2O2 to oxidize and kill the mold. The residue is H2O and O2. Wipe the water away and you'll be set to go.
I would not go putting a stock in an oven, we had a shooter who was caught in the rain with his full bore rifle took the action/barrel out and left the stock next to a wood fire heater in the house and next morning hey presto ruined stock was like a bannana
What about putting it in the freezer? That seems to kill everything
The problem with mold is that it may simply go dormant rather than die in either extreme of hot and cold. The same can happen drying it out. It can't grow or reproduce but go out in the rain and forget about it when you come home and you could have a new outbreak. Better to find something that kills it outright. I've had two stocks that had mold, the first was unsalvageable and was on the Swedish M38 I brought back from the dead a few years ago. The second was on the No 4 that I got with the Swede. I used a combination of citristrip and wood bleach to kill it and remove the stains. This was a drastic cleaning and removes all of the original finish and may not be necessary on your friends rifle. No 4 looks great today after numerous coats of BLO. Swedish stock I didn't really mess with much. Snapped in half about 5 inches from the end due to combination of the mold and dry rot. I cut the worst off and kept the shortened stock for I have no idea what reason other than reluctance to throw anything away. I could never get all the stains out of that one.
A year ago I visited a friend in eastern Pennsylvania whose farm had been hit hard by "Super-Storm Sandy" several years ago. He lost dozens of trees, which were cut down and split into piles of firewood. These logs had been sitting out in the weather for at least two years, totally exposed to all the elements.
Knowing he had some walnut trees on his property from former visits (as well as maples and birch, and beech), I asked if I could prowl through his wood pile and see if I could scrounge any walnut for repairs to my gun collection.
All the hardwoods had serious signs of severe rot and fungus invasion -- except for the walnut. It was all in perfect condition, just like it had been sitting covered and kiln dried.
Why? apparently walnut (at least the American Black Walnut version -- not sure about the English version) has a fungicide called juglone along with a form of organic iodine that kills parasites and fungal rot. I suppose this is one reason why walnut has been a favored wood for gun stocks for so many years.
I am with you Aarogorn never throw stuff out 'cause the next day you will require it, my wife fails to share that view!
That is why I stated the wood should be "room-dry" whenever undertaking this sort of action. I have done this on multiple old wooden stocks when refurbishing and never had any cracks or bends afterwards.Quote:
Originally Posted by CINDERS
Its just what one of the things that happened to a shooter I know
I've tried the stock in the oven before with a SMLE NoIII because it would actually fit. I did not have an issue with anything happening to the stock but the house stunk for a week so I did not repeat the experiment. I prefer putting them on the dashboard of my truck in the sun. Never saw anything work better than that. I have also put them beside heaters, on top of heaters (watching constantly) for short periods of time with good success. I would never put them anywhere near a heat source that I could not watch and control. Just watch the oil ooze out, wipe it off and repeat in a few minutes. I did this with Nagant stocks, not sure I would do it with anything of serious value.
Did you have sides and gravy with that Mk III fore stock Aarogorn if so I hope it was not too tough......:madsmile:
I could never figure out how guys are putting them in the ovens to begin with unless the door is wide open and in the summer, that's going to heat the whole place up. No full length stock is going in there. My wife was not happy about the smell. In my truck it didn't matter, she was rarely in the truck and I didn't mind it. That was 25 years ago. I've evolved my cleaning techniques considerably since then.
A cloth moistened with vinegar will do for starters. Avoid the metalwork.
If you live somewhere that sunlight is abundant, a little time in the great outdoors will help as well. Moulds, like Vampires, tend to have an aversion to Ultra-Violet light. Slip into your local "instant suntan" centre and spirit the afflicted rifle into the UV body-tanning tank?
You should also look at "decontaminating" wherever it is you store your prized goodies. If there are spores in the safe / strong-room / old wardrobe, your nice, recently cleaned rifles will simply get reinfected once "back in their box".
i tried the obviovs,anti fvngal foot spray.it worked,sprayed on one day,wiped off the next.repeat as nessisary.ive treated several milsrps and commercial stocks.i inherited a few that were left vnatended for several years and were covered in mold,some deep enovgh to pit throvgh hard commercial finish.all have stopped molding.treatment was done a few years ago.i did completely dissasemble them and fovnd mvch inside.it worked for me.