Gun Oil Removal Wood Stock

T

The Rattler

New member
I am refurbishing a 1930s gunstock. It has a lot of gun oil in the front part of the stock in the area of the stock that fits into the receiver.

I stripped it, steamed it, and soaked it in acetone for intermittent periods totaling about 1 1/2 hours. The steaming removed imbedded finish & gun oil. The acetone removed a whole lot of gun oil, but there is still a light discolorazation only on one side of the exterior of that front part of the butt stock. It has soaked in acetone so much that the front part of the stock is noticeably lighter than the back part. I stood the front of the stock in a bucket of acetone as shown Larry Potterfield in a video.

Do I keep soaking in acetone? Or, can you do that too long? While I am a little concerned about the 2 tone effect caused by the acetone, I believe I can apply about 10 - 12 coats of pure Tung oil and it wouldn't be very noticeable, if at all. But this is my first time removing gun oil & I want to do it right for my learning purposes.

So, should I keep soaking with acetone or stop?
 
I recently refinished a Win #100 stock. I used "whiting" and acetone, it worked well. I was able to extract a lot of the discoloration from over oil over load. I mixed the whiting so it was like a wet paste, I fount the thinner the better as long as it would stay in place on the stock. I coated the whole stock and more or less baked it. Living in the South West, by bake it I mean leave it outside in a metal box. I did it 8 times while rinsing with acetone in between. I found that keeping the compound somewhat wet with acetone worked well.
 
Have you tried using paper towels and just heat, like from an iron? That can take out the oil which will be absorbed by the towel, better than steaming.

I doubt you can really "restore" the color throughout the stock. You will likely need to use a stain on the light part or one dark enough to color the whole stock. Is this a military stock that would have been stained and oil dipped or is it a civilian stock that probably was varnished?

Jim
 
Removing gun oil from buttstock

Thanks for these replies.

This is a civilian single shot 12 ga. shotgun. I have refinished 2 busted up buttstocks. This time, I bought a cheaper gun to learn more, such as removing gun oil. I may have soaked it too long in acetone. But what do I do now? Staining one part of the stock to match it with another part seems like a project for an expert.

My whole purpose in this is to use it as a learning experience. I want to do it right. If I made a mistake, I want to learn by correcting it as good as I can.
 
You can bleach the dark wood with regular chlorine bleach on a dampened rag, that you wrap around the grip area. (It doesn't take long, several minutes)! What you'll have to do, is try to get the entire stock one color and stain it.

If you want to try to remove some of the oil, you can sweat it out as Jim mentioned above.
 
Your best bet at this point is to sand with 320-400-600-800 papers. This will do an excellent job of "blending" the wood so it isn't noticeable. You will have to fill and reseal the wood/ pores, then apply your finish. Just my .02
 
If its still avalible use muratic acid . This pulls the oil out of the stock if you are talking about oil soaked wood . Scrape/strip the finish if there is any left . Use propper precaution and gloves for handeling acid and pour the acid in a container hold the stock over the container and brush the acid on the stock letting it run back into the container . I have let bad soaked stocks set in the acid for a short time but instructions we had then said not to . After this process rinse good with water let it dry then use your normal refinish process .

Since you seem to have the oil out of the stock but have the 2 tone problem you could stain it to the natural wood type like walnut , maple , cherry .
But I would complete the finish as normal and see if its noticible after a few coats of oil .
 
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I've used Oxiclean to remove oil and stains. Mix it up think like a paste and spread it on the stock. Let it dry and then thoroughly rinse it off. Repeat if needed.
 
I've boiled heavily oiled stocks (dbl. bbl. shotgun) in Oakite for 5-10 minutes, then rinsed and dried. Cleaned them nicely. Did a fine job of raising the grain also!
 
FWIW - I have used TSP before on exterior bare wood siding that was badly weathered for a year & had turned almost black. The wood came out pure & bright, looking like the day it came out of the saw mill. It removed the mill glaze & worked some of the pine sap out of the knots. Have used it on other projects too & worked great.
Will it work on a hardwood gun stock, I don't have a clue but maybe something to consider in getting a consistent color.
Suggest experimenting on an old piece of 2x4 that is well weathered & see what it does prior to using on your gun stock. I too have some oil soaked stocks I will be refinishing & probably will give TSP a try on an old wall hanger gun to see what it does.

Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) Cleaner - A nonsudsing powdered TSP compound formulated for heavy-duty cleaning. Preferred by painting and cleaning professionals for removing heavy deposits of grime, smoke, soot, and chalked paint. Kills mildew when mixed with bleach (complete directions on package). Use on walls, woodwork, or floors. Cleans and prepares surfaces for repainting. Also recommended for washing away paint remover sludge.

Can get it at any paint or hardware store, I think I payed about 3 bucks for a small box of powder.
 
"Real TSP"

Be aware that not all TSP is equal.

Read the box carefully, make sure you are getting Tri Sodium Phosphate.

There are "fakes" like Totally Superior Product or some such..........it's far from the real deal.

Have not tried it on an oil soaked stock tho.
 
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