Gun Hub Forums banner

stock cleaning

3K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  dfariswheel 
#1 ·
Does anyone have any experience with removing oil and grease from old stocks?

I have a trapdoor with pretty good metal but the stock is black with old crud.

Obviously I don't want to sand it.
 
#2 ·
Charlie, go to your local grocery store and buy a quart bottle of Stewart's ammonia soap, or Walgreen's, or the Dollar Store's house brand. Cut it with water half and half, or maybe 2/3 ammonia, 1/3 water. Put it in a saucepan (outdoors) and scrub with a 3M pad..sometimes steel wool is a little too aggressive. Scrub not too long, rinse with clear water, and let drip dry or dry in the sun.

It may take two treatments, or possibly three, but I guarantee that the wood will look like brand new, with no sanding involved. This process will, however, remove any stain that was used to cover any color variations, so bear that in mind.

This treatment was told to me by a crony that used it to restore many old trapdoors and Krags. They don't interest me, but I have done the same on countless 1903s and M1s.

Try it, you'll like it! :D

Oh yeah, wear rubber gloves, just in case. And eyeglasses of course. And, lastly, a shop apron is nice, as well, to keep from getting bleach spots on your clothes. OUtdoors is best, because that ammonia is pretty strong. Try to avoid breathing it.
 
#4 ·
Just try it, Charlie. You'll be amazed. Remove the stock metal first, of course. I have used this stuff without gloves, but I felt uncomfortable doing it. It is merely a kitchen and bathroom cleaner that your mother probably kept around the house when you were a tad. If I knew how to post pics, I would send you some 'before and after' pics.
 
#5 ·
Well, it was finally cool enough to work out in the garage so I started with the least agressive method first. I had a suggestion to just use hot soapy water along with a gentle scrub with a Scotch Brite pad.

You would have been amazed at the crud that washed off and when it dried unit and rack markings were revealed. They had been completely obscured before.

Some areas were discolored and I finished up with a light coat of TLC (a wax/stain) and the result is very pleasing. The stock now looks appropriate for the condition of the metal.
 
#7 ·
CharliePetty et. al.,

IF you have a BADLY oil-soaked stock, try:

1. washing the stock with Dawn dishwashing liquid & water, with a sponge or Scotchbrite pad,
and
2. waiting for a REALLY HOT day (such as SATX has been for WEEKS! = !@#$%^) and closing up the stock in a BLACK plastic garbage bag, filled with CHEAP/"odorless" cat litter, & leave it out in the Sun for 2-3 days/daze.

in REALLY bad cases, you may need to change the litter & re-"suntan" the stock.

fwiw, i've NEVER had to use a more "aggressive method" of DE-oiling any of my Mauser stocks!
(otoh, i HAVE washed some NASTY garand stocks in the Scout camp's commercial dishwasher on "pot scrubber cycle".)

yours, sw
 
#8 ·
Old post...but.......

The old furniture makers and stock makers used "Whiting", which is calcium carbonate, a flour-like powder.

They'd mix the whiting with a solvent and warm the wood. The oils and grease "boil out" and before it can soak back in, the whiting wicks it up and absorbs it.
The whiting turns all colors of orange and brown.
Brush off and repeat.

When it was still available in America, we used Trichloroethane or "Clorathane" which is a SUPER degreaser. The fumes smelled like a spark within 100 yards would have caused a fireball, but the stuff was nominally non-inflammable.
Unfortunately, the EPA decided it was hazardous and banned it in the US.
This stuff was so volatile, it would absorb through your skin and get you high.
The headache following was awful so no one tried huffing the stuff.
It was such an effective degreaser, it would extract the skin oils from your skin and turn your hands white.

I'd mix the clorathane and whiting to a pancake batter consistency and paint the wood, inside and out, about 1/3 of the stock at a time.
Then I'd use a heat gun on Low or an electric stove burner to warm the wood.
Usually, 3 treatments would turn an absolutely black stock back to it's original walnut color.

These days, I'd probably use lacquer thinner or Acetone to mix the whiting, coat all the wood, then seal in a black solvent-proof bag and put on a roof or driveway in the summer sun.

Brownell's still sell whiting:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1133/sku=083-032-100/Product/OLD_FASHIONED_WHITING
 
#10 ·
Did running stocks through a dishwasher fall out of favor? There used to be some excellent before/after pictures over in the M1 forum. I've used EZ-Off the only time I needed to remove grime from a stock. Let it sit and rinsed it off with hot water and a plastic ice scraper.
 
#11 ·
Oven cleaner damages the fibers of the wood.
Not a good idea.
Also, what is put ON wood soaks IN wood. What soaks IN eventually leaches OUT again.
I've seen a very valuable Mauser bolt rifle that the owner used oven cleaner on.
It later leached out and very badly corroded the metal under the wood.
By the time he realized what was happening, it'd been ruined.

Consider the dishwasher trick..... People spend a lot of time and finishes trying to water proof wood so it won't warp. Then they put a wood stock in a steamy dishwasher where hot water is sprayed on and soaked in.
Plus, I don't much care for the flavor of Cosmoline in my food.

Sometimes the old ways are the best and the old whiting method has been used for hundreds of years without damaging valuable wood.
 
#12 ·
If the Easy-Off method is used, it is very important to give the stock a vinegar bath afterwards to neutralize the easy off! Personally, I used smooth, not pumice, go-jo hand cleaner. Slather it on. Wait ten minutes and give the stock a quick wam water bath. Don't leave it in the warm water for more than a minute or two tops. Otherwise you may raise the stamped markings.
 
#14 ·
phantom4570,

fwiw, the automatic dishwasher method DOES work BUT it will REMOVE virtually all "stock markings" & RAISE the stock wood's grain really well!
(as i am MOSTLY a shooter/hunter/reloader, rather than a collector/investor of Garands/Mausers, i really don't care. - i'd bet that i've washed more garand stocks than most people here & w/o a single "warping problem". - our Boy Scout Camp has TWO really BIG DWs.)

fyi, the "kitty litter in a bag" trick WORKS 100%, if you have patience AND without "messing up" the historical markings. - as i said, you MAY have to change the litter if the stock is truly grungy.

yours, sw
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top