Saving walnut with water damage?

[SquarePizza]

So I am now in possession of my grandfather's garand. The down side is that after his passing those in charge of his home left the rifle in section of the house that flooded.

Now the bottom 4 inches of the stock has visible water damage and is covered with mold, enough mold that the rifle is currently quarantined to the garage...

I am debating on just replacing it the stock, however I would prefer to see if I could keep it and find some way to refinish the stock at least to salvageable quality.

Do you think just sanding and a new coat of tung oil would be enough to stop the mold process?

 

[JohnRippert]

How long ago was it in the water? I am guessing recently since it still has mold growing on it. It will need to be fully dry all the way through the wood before a new finish is applied. I would give it a good cleaning to remove the mold, remove the old oil finish with something like Simple Green and then set it aside for a good long while in a closet inside so it can finish drying out. Later on you can refinish with Tung oil or Boiled Linseed Oil (BLO) which is my personal favorite oil finish.


I received a old Stevens 16ga SxS from my aunt a couple years back. At one time it had been in a flash flood and sat in several inches of water for a day. It had been dry for decades when I got it but the water damage was obvious.

I stripped the old finish off the buttstock and forend, then gave it a light smoothing with 0000 grade steel wool and BLO. After several coats of BLO over a weeks time it looked pretty good. They sure did use some nice wood on those entry level shotguns back before WWII.

Here's a shot of the 12ga single shot pictured with the Stevens. I stripped the old finish and did the same with it that I did on the SxS.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Remove butt plate and wash till clean with a mold killing cleaner. Hang on a
clothes hanger butt down from a curtain rod in a window that gets lots of sun. When it is dry remove all exterior finish with a commercial stripper. Soak & wash with acetone to remove all old oils & dirt. Stiff brush it with a sturdy brush when using the acetone. Completely dry it again. Do the needle test. Poke the stock with a needle where the damage was. If it goes in deep(soft wood) I would replace the stock. CMP has original stocks/handguards for sale. Good Luck!

 

[STCM(SW)]

Remove butt plate and wash till clean with a mold killing cleaner. Hang on a
clothes hanger butt down from a curtain rod in a window that gets lots of sun. When it is dry remove all exterior finish with a commercial stripper. Soak & wash with acetone to remove all old oils & dirt. Stiff brush it with a sturdy brush when using the acetone. Completely dry it again. Do the needle test. Poke the stock with a needle where the damage was. If it goes in deep(soft wood) I would replace the stock. CMP has original stocks/handguards for sale. Good Luck!

What I would do.
A replacement stock is not a big change but you do have to shop around.

 

[2152hq]

Use a mold killing cleaner like Mike says.
Plain laundry bleach diluted with water works great but I hesitate to use the stuff on gunstocks as any residue left in the wood can rust metal parts in contact later on.
Some of the commercial mold cleaners are bleach based,,read the ingredients.

I've always used 'wood bleach' which is oxalic acid. Comes in white crystals you disolve in water. Buy it at a Home Depot or similar store in the paint and finishing section.

It will do the same as laundry bleach (kill the mold and lighten the wood) but not cause any harm to the wood structure or after rust possibilitys.
It'll take any black water marks out too which is what it's mainly used for by furniture restoration people.


I mix a couple tbs in a qt of water, heat it up in the microwave for 45sec or so and brush it on liberaly. It'll sting if you have an open cut,,& wear eye protection
Rinse with running cold water, let the stock dry.

 

[Warren Sear]

Be very careful with any sandpaper or sanding. It takes very little to ruin a gunstock.

 

[vonn]

Posting your results would be appreciated. I would take my time and make sure it is completely dry before I sealed it.

 

[C J]

Better hope your stock doesn't warp. My Savage 110 stock did exactly that from moisture I assume. No way to fix it. I replaced it instead.

 

[sheepdawg]

Make sure that if you go the oxalic acid route the wood bleach you are using is actually oxalic acid. A lot of the wood bleaches, especially the two part systems use lye and peroxide. Might work on a deck but I'd think twice about putting this on a nice piece of walnut.

 

[gwpercle]

And don't be afraid to let it dry a long time. Water gets sucked up from the end grain and can go deep. Let it dry for for s few months, I would try 3 then test it with a moisture meter before refinishing....any moisture left will work it's way out and be quite evident.

I wouldn't "bleach" the wood. Just clean and treat with a good mould treatment product and refinish the entire stock with Tung Oil, use stain to even out colors if necessary .

1 gallon of water mixed with 1 cup of Borax is a good inexpensive mould remover and stops it's return. Borax is safe .
Try to use the least amount of water, water and wood are not buddies.
I have used acetone in the past and alcohol with good results.
Gary

 

[bushmaster1313]

I have used . . . alcohol with good results.
Gary

Don’t waste good bourbon or Scotch on a gunstock

 

[gwpercle]

Don’t waste good bourbon or Scotch on a gunstock

Of course not....Drinking alcohol goes inside , the rubbing alcohol goes on the gun stock.
Bourbon would make the stock smell real good though!

 

[ameridaddy]

Remove butt plate and wash till clean with a mold killing cleaner. Hang on a
clothes hanger butt down from a curtain rod in a window that gets lots of sun. When it is dry remove all exterior finish with a commercial stripper. Soak & wash with acetone to remove all old oils & dirt. Stiff brush it with a sturdy brush when using the acetone. Completely dry it again. Do the needle test. Poke the stock with a needle where the damage was. If it goes in deep(soft wood) I would replace the stock. CMP has original stocks/handguards for sale. Good Luck!

I agree with all but the "in the sun" part.
Low sun this time of year can make one side of the stock very warm and might warp or split the stock. Wood is best dried in a place with bright but indirect light and free air movement.
When I dry a prime piece of green wood stock after rough turning it, I put it in a paper grocery bag to slow the drying and avoid a split. I do check it most every day to be sure no mold forms. Your stock has already had the cellular moisture dried and it's just the applied water you want to dry. I think the bag is not necessary in your case, and Mike's suggestion to hang it from a coat hanger is an excellent one. It will let air circulate freely all around the stock. Once you're sure the wood is dry:
Dilute the tung oil or BLO 50/50 with turps or mineral spirits, then be patient;
One coat an hour for a day, wipe off any excess before the next coat
One coat a day for a week
One coat a month for a year, etc.
Somewhere in this process you'll see the look you want blossom right before your eyes and you can stop there.
When the oil smell is gone, you can rub the stock down lightly with 0000 bronze or steel wool, wipe it clean, then wax with a good paste wax (no silicone!)
Sit back and enjoy your work results!

 

[BigBill]

I use Murphy’s wood soap straight out of the bottle. Do not mix with water. Do not touch the stock with water. Let the Murphy’s wood soap soak on the stock. It will make all the oils come out of the wood. I do this on older military stocks. Then I wipe them dry. Let them dry for a few days. Then I match the orginal color of the wood, I use behr solar lux stain. Use gloves when using this stain. It may take a few coats of stain to get the right color. Once the color of the stock is even let it dry a few days. I go over it lightly with 0000 steelwool. Now it’s ready to seal with a oil finish or a satin tung oil. The tung oil will soak in. Between the coats of tung oil it’s 0000 steelwool. Once your happy with the tung oil finish its 0000 steelwool then Johnson’s paste wax.

 

[2152hq]

Murphys Oil Soap is Potassium Hydroxide (and ethanol).
The potassium hydroxide is the brother to sodium hydroxide (lye) and that's why it lifts natural oil and grease from surfaces and just below the surface on wood.

Just like lye, it breaks the oil down and turns it into soap.
The product name is a play on that process.
The ethanol in the 'Oil Soap' helps clear the surface and more quickly break down the oils for the potassium hydroxide to do it's work.

The Potassium Hydroxide soap formed in the process is softer than the soap formed by using Sodium Hydroxide (lye). All that means is that the soap disolves in water easier.
If you don't flush the soap formed by the process off the wood, then it just drys on it or in it again.

Lots of different ways to re-finish wood and fix damaged finish.
Don't be shy about using water to flush chemicals or finish from the wood. The water won't penetrate much and will dry out very quickly.
It takes a very, very long time to water log a piece of wood. Even then it will dry out when taken out of the water.
Moisture content in the end is what ever the surrounding humidity is all about.

 

[Old TexMex]

We use chlorox and vinegar, 50-50 on the hardwood furniture that shows mold. And we’ve had a bit of high water and mold damage around here....like nearly every house on the coast since August 26.

 

[rog8732]

Midway, (Potterfield) has a comprehensive video on their site detailing the removal of an oil soaked stock, not water, but even so, you might glean a tip or too for your job.