Acetone To Remove Lube Oil From Stock

T

The Rattler

New member
I am removing lubricating gun oil from a 105 year old stock prior to sanding and refinishing. The “neck” of the stock including the pistol grip to the end that attaches to the receiver was a deep dark black from the oil. After stripping old finish and wiping with a rag soaked with acetone, there was still oil to be removed.

I then submerged the affected end into a bucket of acetone. That removed a substantial amount, but there is still more to go. It was submerged for 7 1/2 hours.

Is there a limit to how long the stock should be submerged in acetone? Should I just keep it submerged until the oil is gone or no progress is being made?

Will a steam iron and wet cloth remove what hasn’t yet been removed?

All ideas will be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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Clemson, thanks for the suggestion, but I’ve never had more than minimal success with Whiting. I know others have. I believe my lack of success relates to me using it only after I submerged the stock with acetone. But for me, acetone has been the most productive. The
 
The problem with whiting today is the lack of a non-inflammable solvent to use with it.
Back in the day, we used Trichloroethane 1,1,1, commonly known as Chloroethane.

This was a super-solvent that smelled like it would be explosively flammable but wasn't.
It was so powerful that if it got on your skin it would extract the oils out and turn the area white.
Unfortunately the EPA learned it was a definite cancer causing chemical and it's no longer available.

We mixed it with whiting to a pancake batter-like mix and coated the wood.
Then we'd use a stove burner or heat gun to warm it.
The old oil and grease would literally boil to the surface and be absorbed by the whiting.
In most all cases two treatments would return a black oil soaked stock to it's natural brown.

The big advantage of whiting is that it absorbs the grease and oil by wicking it off the surface of the wood, absorbing and holding it.
In all other methods the oils soak right back in again.

Today you have to use a flammable solvent like Acetone, Lacquer thinner, or denatured alcohol.
Mix with the whiting and quickly apply it to the wood, including the inletting.
Working fast before the solvent evaporates, wrap it in a solvent PROOF dark plastic bag and put it on a driveway or roof top in direct sun.
After standing until the sun starts down, open the bag allow the solvent left to evaporate, then brush off the dirty whiting, then repeat until clean.

I haven't tried this without a plastic bag, and I'm wondering if just putting the whiting and solvent coated stock in hot sunlight might also work.

In the case of your having soaking it in Acetone, give it a day for the solvent to evaporate and the oils to redistribute back through the wood.
 
Very similar experiences. I used to use trichlor, too. Since you know the acetone works and you have it, you will find diatomaceous earth from the garden center has greater oil capacity. I see some of it that is ridiculously priced online, but Walmart has a 4 lb bag for $7.86 that you can order for pickup.

I always wrapped the powder/solvent paste-covered stock portions in aluminum foil to prevent evaporation, then placed it into a warm oven. DO NOT DO THAT WITH ACETONE OR ALCOHOL or you will likely have an explosion. Lack of flammability was a great feature of trichlor. I still like the aluminum for keeping the solvent in place, but I think the black plastic bag or a black sheet plastic sandwich for absorbing sunlight as the heat source is a good idea.

Incidentally, mineral spirits will do the job, too. It is just a lot slower.
 
I bake the stock in a car under hot sun. The key to success is contact the wood surface with absorbing materials, such as newspaper or paper towel. The wrapped stock is put in black trash bag and placed on the dash of a car. Change out the paper and do it again the next day, till the paper comes out without oil stain. Final finish is my favorite solvent - denatured alcohol.

Also instead of sanding, I like stripping with paint stripper. It actually helps out a little with left over oil in the wood. If I have to take some wood out, I used wood working scrapper.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
My experience and that of those that I trust has been the same:
You need heat.
And, with modern solvents, you need an absorbent to soak up the perspiration.

But, in the last few years... I never really find myself in a situation where I can devote time to a particular stock's oil extraction. So, I may just take something along on a shooting trip, leave it sitting in the sun, and wipe it down with paper towels every chance I get.
Not quite as effective. But I do what I can with the time that I have available.

(I have one leaning against the wife's treadmill, as I type this. It's been there for over two weeks, untouched. When the weather improves, I'll do the first sun-bake while prepping the camp trailer for the year's journeys. ...And hope that the 10% chance of rain doesn't turn bad.)
 
Lots of oil stain in my 1964 Model 1894. I love the way it looks and wouldn't change it for anything.

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Hdonly said:
Lots of oil stain in my 1964 Model 1894. I love the way it looks and wouldn't change it for anything.
Click to expand...

Lube oil soaked into the wood of a stock is not a benign thing. I had to replace my brother's Remington 870 family heirloom stock because the oil turned the wood punky. So, besides building "character", the lube oil is causing the wood to deteriorate also. Gun/lube oil does not belong on wood stocks no matter how many misguided souls have used the same patch saturated with gun oil on the stock also.
 
Gunplumber would boil his stocks with detergent solution if I recall correctly, but can't remember what he used.
 
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