My First Lee Enfield - Looking for Info

[CINDERS]

50/50 RLO-Mineral turps mix

Not just turpentine also if your going to clean the metal use STAINLESS STEEL WOOL not sandpaper or steel wool as both will affect the finish by removing it faster than you can rip your strides down finding the dunny door locked.

Method - Give the stainless steel wool a good drink of WD40 or RP-7 and just buff the steel parts with it wipe off then re oil with balistol of gun oil it will look a million dollars the stainless steel wool trick was shown to me by a WWII Armourer.

[ringo598]

Gotcha, so:
wood parts = 50% turpentine/50% raw linseed oil.
metal parts = Stainless steel wool dipped in WD40, gently buff.

Very cool, can't wait to see it all cleaned up!

[CINDERS]

Yep you can rub vigorously with the stainless wool wont hurt the finish of the metal parts but do not use it on the butt plate or brass butt plate or they will be damaged.
Also not just any Turpentine or its derivatives its got to be Mineral Turpentine not Pure Gum Turpentine or anything else. Your good to go but also read up how to strip the rifle down there is scads of info on this site it only has to be down to its major components its only a tidy it up and get the wood looking not so dry.

[nijalninja]

Thanks for the correction on the sandpaper Cinders, never thought of steel wool.

[CINDERS]

Yep but as I stated with emphasis it has to be stainless steel wool not ordinary steel wool or it will strip the finish off the metal parts quicker than having your tyre going flat when you do not need it to.

[ringo598]

Cinders, after searching all three major big hardware stores in my city, not a single one of them had stainless steel wool, they had tons of steel wool, all the way to 0000 superfine, but that's it. Is there another brand name or type? Can I use 0000 super fine steel wool?

[Ridolpho]

Yep but as I stated with emphasis it has to be stainless steel wool not ordinary steel wool or it will strip the finish off the metal parts quicker than having your tyre going flat when you do not need it to.

Cinders: I've never heard this about stainless steel wool. I've had good results on barrels with heavy active rust using various grades of regular steel wool along with a very heavy coating of motor oil or gear oil. On various pieces it has seemed to leave the bluing (or what's left of it) alone. I think the key is having a good layer of oil on the surface. On other forums I've heard people talk about "bronze wool" being superior but no sign of any existing here in any store.

Ridolpho

[CINDERS]

Don't worry Ridolpho I was pretty skeptical about it until the old chap showed me removing surface rust, the finished product looked just like it has left the factory, I buy the stainless scourer pads (Non-soaped) sometimes the threads get caught and they unravel a bit but thats no big deal you get a fair bit of wear out of them however I am not brave enough to try the ordinary stuff.

Ringo = You may have to go to the local supermarket, go to the kitchen section and look for them there they should be there somewhere but don't get the soaped ones.

[RobD]

Stainless steel wool is sold on ebay as wrapping for exhaust pipes; bronze wool also available ob ebay - both types v cheap. I have used both types wrapped around a cleaning jag in place of flannel, to clean out the grooves on a dark bore without harming the rifling - both metals being much softer than steel. Don't use ordinary steel wool, it may scratch the bore.

[ringo598]

Ahh found some on ebay and also some brass wool. I'll pick those up.

And forgive what I'm hoping isn't a stupid question, other then the butt plate and wrist guard, are there any other brass parts I should avoid scrubbing? With the blueing on everything its a bit hard to tell which is steel and which is brass.