It's the lye in the oven cleaner that works at removing oil and grease/cosmoline from stocks, especially those military pieces that have been saturated in it for decades.
Lye turns oil & grease to soap,,it washes away.
It does the same thing to clean the food debris off the oven walls and grills.
It won't get the deep down stuff,,that'll wick to the surface later on. You can reapply to remove the oil as it appears, but it's pretty harsh stuff for wood.
An application or two for really bad stocks doesn't appear to damage the wood in my experience. I have stocks from 30yrs ago that are still fine and the metal that sits in them show no damage.
I do neutralize any O/C application with a followup of wood bleach (oxalic acid). It will neutralize the alkali O/C, even out the color of the wood very nicely and leave it ready for fitting and reworking when dryed.
Don't use laundry bleach. Sodium hypochlorite in it is a real rust producer to steel. Any trace of it in the wood lingering after the treatment may eventually rust the metal parts once the gun is back together,,especially if the climate is the least bit humid.
Old gun cases washed and laundered with a touch of bleach to remove a musty smell in them have gone on to severly rust and pit the firearms stored in them.
Laundry bleach is sometimes used by restoration people to mimic metal pitting on replaced parts. A little warmth to the metal and a some creative art work with the bleach and you can produce pitting, rust and even craters to your hearts content.
'Wood bleach' is made for just what the name says and does a nice job.
With all that said,,the O/Cleaner method of removing oil or even finish from a gunstock would be one of the last methods I'd use.
It simply doesn't remove deep down imbedded oil in the wood which is what I'd be after it to do.
As a finish remover, it still leaves the wood needing the secondary treatment of oxalic acid IMHO before use.
It works,,but there are better options.
JMHO & experience
Lye turns oil & grease to soap,,it washes away.
It does the same thing to clean the food debris off the oven walls and grills.
It won't get the deep down stuff,,that'll wick to the surface later on. You can reapply to remove the oil as it appears, but it's pretty harsh stuff for wood.
An application or two for really bad stocks doesn't appear to damage the wood in my experience. I have stocks from 30yrs ago that are still fine and the metal that sits in them show no damage.
I do neutralize any O/C application with a followup of wood bleach (oxalic acid). It will neutralize the alkali O/C, even out the color of the wood very nicely and leave it ready for fitting and reworking when dryed.
Don't use laundry bleach. Sodium hypochlorite in it is a real rust producer to steel. Any trace of it in the wood lingering after the treatment may eventually rust the metal parts once the gun is back together,,especially if the climate is the least bit humid.
Old gun cases washed and laundered with a touch of bleach to remove a musty smell in them have gone on to severly rust and pit the firearms stored in them.
Laundry bleach is sometimes used by restoration people to mimic metal pitting on replaced parts. A little warmth to the metal and a some creative art work with the bleach and you can produce pitting, rust and even craters to your hearts content.
'Wood bleach' is made for just what the name says and does a nice job.
With all that said,,the O/Cleaner method of removing oil or even finish from a gunstock would be one of the last methods I'd use.
It simply doesn't remove deep down imbedded oil in the wood which is what I'd be after it to do.
As a finish remover, it still leaves the wood needing the secondary treatment of oxalic acid IMHO before use.
It works,,but there are better options.
JMHO & experience
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