Stripping an old military stock?

[mtb1bkr]

I have read/heard in the past that some folks use Easy Off oven cleaner to remove the finish from an old rifle stock. Anyone care to enlighten me on this technique? I received an old Turk Mauser last week for free and I thought I would tackle refinishing the stock to see how it goes. I stripped the rifle down to pieces today and sprayed all the gunk out of it with carb. cleaner then gave it a good detail cleaning and proper lube job. That's all but the bolt as I haven't looked up how to take it apart or clean it yet. Anyway, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill

 

[gunfish]

I use mineral spirits to clean old military stocks. I let it air for a day and then use formbys tung oil for a finish. Many folks prefer boiled linseed oil to recreate the original type finish.

I don't feel good about oven cleaner on wood and using water to rinse.

 

[john traveler]

Oven cleaner is sodium hydroxide, or common household lye.

Yes, it will do a fabulous job emulsifying old grease and oil, but it also attacks the wood fibers. The problem with using lye and water to clean an old rifle stock is you can never get the lye completely out of the wood grain, and it continues to attract moisture and rust the steel it comes in contact with.

I would not use it on a rifle with sentimental or long-term antique value.

 

[whitecoyote]

Don't use "Easy Off oven cleaner".
Try using Mini Wax Antique Furniture Refinisher. It works great, and it's easy to use.
Finish off with some Tung oil, and you'll have a great looking firearm.
http://www.minwax.com/products/specialty_products/antique_furniture_refinisher.html

 

[reddogge]

Also just plain Acetone on a teflon pad will take out the grease and grime and leave the color underneath. Stripping will take everything off including any color. Do this outside!!!!

 

[2152hq]

Oven cleaner is often used to remove the abundance of oil and grease than is saturated in the wood of mostly military stocks and not so much as a simple finish remover. Also used on commercial gun stocks where years of over oiling have saturated the wood.

It will remove a lot of the oil by way of the lye ingredient in the oven cleaner combining with the grease/oil and turning it to soap and allowing it to be disolved and washed away with plain water. Same idea as cleaning up a dirty oven,,or making soap the old way with lye and animal fat/grease.

It will do a decent job of it though most stocks have so much oil soaked so deeply into the grain that the treatments aren't nearly long enough to bring all the oil/grease to the surface. What will appear to be a nice clean stock after a treatment or two will most likely begin to weep oil after setting for a while, especially where any end grain wood is present.

It can cause walnut to take on a dingy almost green/grey color after treatment, and the residue in the wood is certainly not going to do it or any finish put over it any good. After a good rinsing the wood should then be treated with a warm 'wood bleach' which is oxalic acid,,a very weak acid that will neutralize the heavy base lye and also bring the wood back to a nice even color. A quick dry off and go over with a propane torch to dry the excess water and then left to air dry for a couple days will result in a very nice, stable clean stock. Many of the small dents will have reversed themselves because of the warm oxalic acid wash.

If there is still some small areas of oil spots seeping to the surface or darkening the wood after it sets for a few days, I then use a mixture of 'whiting powder' and acetone paste applied to the areas and let it set for a week or more. That will draw the remaining oil out and is then just brushed off. The wood then washed once more and allowed to dry again.

The whole process may take 2 to 3 weeks or more depending on how deeply the oil is soaked into the wood. If you don't get the oil out, it will eventually come to the surface and just push any new finish you have applied onto the wood right off, though not as apparant when reapplying a simple linseed oil finish which in itself never really dries anyway.

The combination of the 2 methods have worked very well for me and I have done many many stocks with it.
I've used this method for many years on both military and commercial stocks with great success and have never had a problem with damaging wood, after rust to metal parts or problems with new stock finish. Currently have a Parker DH grade almost done that had the treatment.

When handling the wood that is wet with the cleaner either the lye, oxalic acid or even just plain water,,be extrememly carefull with it. Wet wood is soft and dents and marks very easily but it all comes back to full strength when dry. I've never had the wood break down in strength as some have said from the use of the 'oven cleaner' method but I don't over do it, flush it completely and always neutralize it with oxalic acid afterwards folowed by another wash.
Just my .02 and experience with it.

 

[Faulkner]

There are obviously a number of nay-sayers about the Easy Off method, I happen to be one that's used this method with great success on over 50 USGI M1 carbine and Garand stocks.

I have documented one M1 carbine I completed a few months ago and will just hit the highlights about the Easy Off Method. First, strip all metal off the stock. Find a place outside to spray the stock using Heavy Duty Easy Off, and spray it liberally. Let the cleaner do it's job for at least 20 minutes, but no longer. Most stocks that are damaged using this cleaning method are done so because they leave the cleaner on too long. Make sure you are wearing rubber gloves while handleing the stock.

Next, immediately thoroughly rinse the stock with hot water, the hotter the better. As you finish rinsing the stock, this is the best time to steam out any dents if necessary. When finished rinsing, find a airy place to hand and dry, preferably outside in a breeze. Let dry at least 24 hours.

I've been using this method for over 10 years, and when done correctly, have had no ensuing problems with the stock or re-attached metal. None.

Here are a few pictures of my recent carbine project:

"Before" picture. This one was in pretty bad shape finish wise.

This is a picture of the stock after it was cleaned with Heavy Duty Easy Off and had dried overnight.

"After" picture. This is after I had applied half a dozen hand rubbed coats of Boiled Lindseed Oil mixed cut with mineral spirits.

 

[mtb1bkr]

Thanks for the great tips guys. I won't have much trouble getting the wood to dry after the rinse. It's 107 outside with little or no humidity and it's getting hotter by the day.

Bill

 

[skeezix]

87 Octane

I used gasoline (regular unleaded 87 octane) and a wire brush on a couple of old oil-soaked military stocks. Took the oil, old varnish, and cosmoline off easily.

That was back when gasoline was 99 cents a gallon and I used it liberally. There's probably a cheaper alternative these days.

 

[reddogge]

Just remember the rule of thumb in cleaning old military stocks is to go with the least intrusive method first in order to preserve color and patina under the grime. That can't be replaced and unless you want a 60 year old stock that looks like a Boyd's replacement stock don't strip completely, just clean it with acetone first. Then if you don't like that look go for the replacement new wood look.

Years ago a young man on one of the forums inherited a beautiful Sharps Civil War carbine from his grandfather and asked advice on how to "clean" it. He basically stripped it against all advice and posted photos. It was the worst job on it I've ever seen. It looked like a cheap reproduction rifle from Italy when he got finished. Made you want to cry. Nuff said.

 

[Dave from Pa]

If you are looking for the least aggressive way to remove oil,dirt & grim from a military stock use a product called PURPLE POWER.I have cleaned and refinished over 25 garand stocks and do so with little or no sanding.I use a short piece of hose and wet the stock with warm water in a stationary tub/laundry tub.Be careful of cartouches,cover with tape,then spray PP on with a spray bottle that shoots a stream.You will be amazed how the years old grease and grim just washes down the drain. Remove dents with steam and use finish of your choice. This method works great with CMP rifles. Purple Power is found at Auto Zone and Wal mart,it is similar to Simple Green but works much better.

 

[DGNY]

Clean-up

The suggestions above are all good. BUT, the final objective rules the methodology.

If you want to remove most/all traces of use and 'shine 'er up', go heavy on the chemicals and apply a new finish to resist weather and handling.

If the object is to let it appear as a clean artifact of its time period, consider light and careful cleaning, such as wiping it down with mineral spirits, probably more than once, and buffing it..

It is fun a few times to really have at it.... I have tried a variety of methods. Now prefer the less drastic. YMMV

Have fun.

Dyson