Linseed oil!

A

AdventureJosh

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Recently, my father purchased a gun from his friend, a Savage Fox. His friend was moving to England and couldn't take the gun with him. Unfortunately, the gun's stock and barrel is covered in linseed oil and residue from his friend's father trying to 'protect' it. My question is, how do you get this oil off? My father claims he can get it off using PB blaster, I claimed the barrels need rebluing. Any ideas?
 
Brownells sells a product called "Old Fashioned Whiting" that draws oils out of gun stocks. This may work for you.

Tunaguy
 
Is the oil into the wood or just on the surface of the finish. If it's into the wood, then the "Whiting" that Tunaguy has listed, is a good option. If it's just on the surface, then I'd suggest mineral spirits. You can use stronger solvents like brake cleaner but test an area before using as some of these will desolve varnishes. Definietly stay away from Carb and Choke cleaner. I always start out ver conservatively and then get tougher as needed. There is more than one way to skin this cat ... ;)



Be Safe !!!
 
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To follow up on Pahoo - what I should have said was use the brake cleaner only on the barrels - don't get it on any wood or plastic - you will then need to relube everything because it will degrease everything - and do it outside with good ventilation.
 
Don't use PB Blaster on any oil finish / or gun ....its a solvent penetrator ...and it'll soak into the wood making this process worse / not better ...and so will WD-40 ...because it leaves a residue.

Take the wood off of the metal parts of the gun...

Assuming you want to re-finish it .... I would try Mineral Spirits or Acetone. Let it dry for 3 or 4 hours - and repeat / and again a 3rd time. Then let it dry for 24 hours. If the wood shows any signs of linseed oil still in it ( because true linseed oil does not dry ) - then you'll have to go to the Whiting product sold by Brownells. If the Linseed oil is a polymerized product / or on top of some kind of varnish - then mineral spirits and acetone will probably work.

Once you know all the oil is out of the wood / sand lightly with 220 / 300 / 400 / 600 grit .... stain and re-finish. Some form of "varnish" will give you a harder and more protected finish on the gun. The "marketing names" on wood finish are a nightmare ...products like Watco's Danish Oil - are really a varnish / but dry and build layers very thinly and slowly. A good wiping varnish / urethantes or verathanes ...are better and come in a lot of varieties. You might try and find an old piece of walnut - and try it first.
 
Uh, I refinished several rifle stocks with linseed oil. It makes for a beautiful finish. When you buy a stock finish kit it actually comes with linseed oil... Why would you want to remove it????

This stock is finished with linseed oil.

DSC01184.jpg
 
Psycho -

For wood I agree with you 100% - linseed is good stuff, but it seems in the OP that it is also all over the barrels - to degrease that is why I mentioned brake cleaner.....or something similar then a good light coating of gun oil

NICE stock, BTW!
 
A steamer!

I used a steamer to clean the cosmoline off my mosins, off the wood and metal, it'll push it out of the crevices etc.

Get a decent one though, I got this for about $80.00 and I use it for lots of things from getting wrinkles of shirts to clean grim off the stove.
It works slowly, but sure.:)
 
Oil finishes - can give you a great look on a gunstock ...

But pure oil finishes - will repel water - but they aren't waterproof --and over time, you may find the finish gets a little "muddy" ...if sustained water exposure to the stock from ( rain, snow, etc ) gets thru the finish into the wood.

Varnishes - like Watco Danish Oil, urethanes, verathanes etc - dry harder, and build one coat on top of the other - and give you a harder finish than anything you can get from a pure oil finish. Not all varnish finishes have to be shiny ...you can get a matte finish if you want it ...or semi-gloss or whatever ... Varnish - will give you a lot better durability against weather ...

But it depends on how you use the gun / how you want to protect it. Oil finishes are much easier to maintain ....and even if the stock gets muddy .... you can sand the stock / put another coat of oil on it ...to bring the "oiled" look back to it.

Most Linseed finishes - are polymerized linseed oil - not pure linseed oil - so they're a hybrid. There is so much "marketing speak" in finishes ...its sometimes hard to tell what you put on a gun .....

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=5531/Product/PRO_CUSTOM_OIL_GUNSTOCK_FINISH

This product is really a varnish --- it has oil in it too / but the urethanes make it a varnish / it dries hard and will build with each successive coat. True oil finishes - do not build - as you add another coat ( wax is the same ) - each successive coat, just melts the wax beneath it ... so you can put 9 coats of wax on something / but its really just one coat of wax - it does not build....

Not all gunstock finishes contain linseed oil ...

I've had Browning Citori shotguns / with oil finishes out of the factory - that held up pretty well for about 3 years ( like the Citori 525 or 625 series ) - and then the finish got muddy looking. I removed the oil / sanded the stock - and put this Pro Custom gunstock finish on them ...and they were much better protected longterm. But it depends on what you want ...

There is no right or wrong finish ...
 
It is on the barrel and stock. I was more concerned with taking it off the barrel, and you have all provided very good suggestions. The oil almost like cosmoline. When he cleaned it, he let it drip down the down between the barrels. It has been sitting on the gun in thick clumps for a while now, gunking up every threaded screw and piece on the gun. I will let you know what works! Thanks!
 
My experience with linseed oil is that nearly any other oil will thin and/or remove it. Simply using a product like Remoil or any other gun cleaner and some elbow grease should take it off. It may take some time and a little soaking to dissolve, but it will come off. Use time and gentle products to save your bluing.
 
Let's not confuse raw linseed oil, that's used as a preservative, with the processed stuff like Lin-Speed and Tru-Oil stock finishes.
 
I use a lot of boiled linseed oil around the farm to preserve wood. It should not be confused with regular linseed oil, which will stay gummy for quite awhile after it is applied.
 
I don't have first hand experience, but I read some place that if you have linseed oil soaked rags, and say for instance wrap them all in a plastic bag or in a cardboard box and toss them in the rubbish, they can ignite by themselves. I'd be careful disposing of the materials after a clean up just to be on the safe side.
 
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