Cleanin A Stock - What Do You Use?

[Patrick Chadwick]

Pure turpentine. For initial removing of general grubbiness and mixing with the linseed oil.
Pure linseed oil. For feeding the stock, but very, very slowly - over weeks rather than days.
Linen rags. To apply the above. If the stock is still tacky days later, you are applying far too much.

Time.

And no abrasives. Well, OK, maybe in desperate cases, but as lightly as possible. Flexible scrapers are better for paint blobs and similar "lumpy" spots, after applying a jelly-type paint stripper to the affected areas only.

For a shellac (Mosin-Nagant) finish, a linen rag dampened with alcohol (methylated spirits is OK) will dissolve the surface, enabling you to smooth out minor scratches if you go very carefully. Practice on a not-too-visible area at first! Do not soak, or you will remove the surface completely.

Get good qualtiy materials from a professional paint store or artists suppliers. Not cheapo turps substitute etc from the DIY store. You only need very small quantities, so get the best.

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