Cleaning a no4 mk2 stock

[ssj]

I have bought a sporterised 1952 no4 mk2, with a view to restoring it and shooting it in is service rifle. Its been stored unused since the 1980s so whats there is in first rate condition, in terms of NRA all the metal is at least "very good". So I am de-sporterising it, to do that I need to replace all th ebits forward of the receiver excl the barrel and sight block. I have 2 second hand top woods from spain (I am in NZ) of the right year and factory so I need to clean them up. So I'd like advice please on how to restore the wood without damaging their "value". By this I mean I accept the gun is a bitza and wont be worth much, but I'd like it to look authentic as practical....

Also would it be acceptable to stain this wood slightly to match the rear stock? and if so what with?

thanks

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[Patrick Chadwick]

Also would it be acceptable to stain this wood slightly to match the rear stock? and if so what with?

Yes, of course it is acceptable. "Slightly" is subjective of course, but for gently matching I recommend Scherells Schaft Öl (stock oil):

http://www.schaftol.de/

Scherells is a brand of the same company (Klever) that makes Ballistol, and you can also find it on the Ballistol website. So a supplier that stocks Ballistol will also be able to get you some Scherells. It is available in several graded colors from a beech-blond to dark mahogany. Simply use darker stain on the lighter wood and lighter stain on the darker wood. It is not cheap, but you will find you are only using a teaspoonful per rifle if you are working on used wood (i.e. with some sort of residual finish).

Since it is advisable to oil the barrel channel and receiver cut-out if you are refurbishing old stock sections, try first on a clean section of the barrel channel so that you can judge the color shift before applying it to the outside!

If you cannot get the Scherells, I imagine that a company like Brownells makes something similar.

[bigduke6]

ssj,

What wood have you got, Walnut, beech or birch ? sometimes the wood does not require any stain etc to match, just a coat or two of linseed oil (there will always be a variation matching old with new etc). with the fore-end you have after cleaning (I use wire wool with a solution of half white spirit and half linseed oil) if you strip the wood right back to bare wood then before any stain give it a wipe over with white spirit, this will give an idea of what the wood will look like compared to the the peice your trying to match.

Just a pic of a before and after, on an LEC I,m working on, the butt was cleaned as above and the fore-end was linseed oil and boiled linseed oil, no stain required.

[mrbungle]

linseed oil is awesome.....if your rifle is real dried out every once in a blue moon wipe it down with linseed oil. you can find it at art stores , oil painters use it to cut down oil paints.

[ssj]

All the wood is supposed to be beech, original rear stock is quite orange though, the fore parts I have so far are quite blonde but dirty. I suspect when I clean off the grime they will go lighter still in colour. I have heaps of linseed I use it to "refresh" window putty. I use Ballistol on all my guns but here in NZ I find that only some items are imported. I'll ask about that stain though...no harm if its good...I might have to wait 12~16 weeks for it.

Another thing, the no4 mk2s used a different metal protection process (parkerising?) I have some new mk2 parts, eg an un-issued sight protector but otherwise for now some mk1 parts (the three front bands) (until I can come across good mk2 parts) any suggestions on getting these closer to the mk2 colour/look?