Stock Cleaning Question
- Thread starter Ascot500
- Start date
Brownells
They have a product called "whiting" and what you do is mix it with a light solvent like methanol, dry cleaning fluid or pentane and brush it on the stock. Let it sit overnight and it draws the oil out. Brush the now dark-colored gunk off and repeat. It helps to warm the stock gently (cardboard box with a lightbulb and a way of supporting the stock.
They have a product called "whiting" and what you do is mix it with a light solvent like methanol, dry cleaning fluid or pentane and brush it on the stock. Let it sit overnight and it draws the oil out. Brush the now dark-colored gunk off and repeat. It helps to warm the stock gently (cardboard box with a lightbulb and a way of supporting the stock.
An alternative solution
I collect old battle rifles. Some of them have had gallons of oil dumped on them in an effort to "restore" them to original. Unfortunately this doesn't always work and I, too, have run into the type of stock that "weeps" oil when the temperature goes up.
So, what to do? Well, as a professional cabinetmaker, I can provide with two solutions: one to eliminate the oil and one to abate it.
To eliminate the excess oil in the stock, disassemble the rifle and place the wood in a big garbage bag and fill part of the bag with speedy dry (or cat litter). Then place the bag in the sun. The heat will draw the oil out and the speedy dry will absorb it. This may not be the best solution but that oil is deep within the wood and you've got to get it out into a medium that will hold it away from the wood. You should shake the back from time to time. Evenually, if the temp is high enough, the stock will have weeped enough of the oil out to be serviceable.
The second thing you can do is seal whats left in. Go to a local home store or well stocked paint store and buy a can of flat spray shellac. Shellac will stick to and seal oily surfaces. Spray a generous coat of shellac on your wood parts. Let it dry and then spray a second coat. After it drys, sand it with 220 paper and then re-stain or dye it to the required color. Shellac won't be affected by anything other than alcohol. The shellac will act as a barrier and hold any remaining oil in while providing a good surface for restaining.
Hope this helps a little
Rome
I collect old battle rifles. Some of them have had gallons of oil dumped on them in an effort to "restore" them to original. Unfortunately this doesn't always work and I, too, have run into the type of stock that "weeps" oil when the temperature goes up.
So, what to do? Well, as a professional cabinetmaker, I can provide with two solutions: one to eliminate the oil and one to abate it.
To eliminate the excess oil in the stock, disassemble the rifle and place the wood in a big garbage bag and fill part of the bag with speedy dry (or cat litter). Then place the bag in the sun. The heat will draw the oil out and the speedy dry will absorb it. This may not be the best solution but that oil is deep within the wood and you've got to get it out into a medium that will hold it away from the wood. You should shake the back from time to time. Evenually, if the temp is high enough, the stock will have weeped enough of the oil out to be serviceable.
The second thing you can do is seal whats left in. Go to a local home store or well stocked paint store and buy a can of flat spray shellac. Shellac will stick to and seal oily surfaces. Spray a generous coat of shellac on your wood parts. Let it dry and then spray a second coat. After it drys, sand it with 220 paper and then re-stain or dye it to the required color. Shellac won't be affected by anything other than alcohol. The shellac will act as a barrier and hold any remaining oil in while providing a good surface for restaining.
Hope this helps a little
Rome
yankytrash
New member
Shellac'll turn it orange, won't it?
Get some straight-up tung oil. Don't get the cheap stuff. Make sure it's pure, uncut tung oil. It'll be as thick as molasses. If it's not thick, it's not pure.
Rub it into the stock, and I mean RUB. It's hard to work with in it's raw form, but try not to be tempted to cut it with linseed oil (which might be the basis of the problem in the first place). Give it a few 9 or 10 coats, letting it dry overnight between coats.
Make sure to have the stocks/handgaurds completely stripped down of the metal parts so you can catch the end-grains, not matter how miniscule. I can't stress that enough. Most of your wood's temperature/moisture sensitivity lies in the end-grain, and sealing it off with tung oil should stop the leaching, for the most part. Had it been oiled correctly in the first place (don't tell the ol' vets I said that....), you wouldn't be having this problem.
(I've slammed a few cabinets together myself.
)
Get some straight-up tung oil. Don't get the cheap stuff. Make sure it's pure, uncut tung oil. It'll be as thick as molasses. If it's not thick, it's not pure.
Rub it into the stock, and I mean RUB. It's hard to work with in it's raw form, but try not to be tempted to cut it with linseed oil (which might be the basis of the problem in the first place). Give it a few 9 or 10 coats, letting it dry overnight between coats.
Make sure to have the stocks/handgaurds completely stripped down of the metal parts so you can catch the end-grains, not matter how miniscule. I can't stress that enough. Most of your wood's temperature/moisture sensitivity lies in the end-grain, and sealing it off with tung oil should stop the leaching, for the most part. Had it been oiled correctly in the first place (don't tell the ol' vets I said that....), you wouldn't be having this problem.
(I've slammed a few cabinets together myself.
)shellac
Let me share some info with you about finishes.
The shellac that most people are familiar with can turn things orange if that's the type you purchase. Actually , shellac comes in three main color cagatories and can be just about water clear, especially if cut with a high percentage of alcohol. The shellac I'm talking about here, however, comes in a spray can and shoots like lacquer. It dries in minutes, is tough but doesn't go anything to color the stock. And, the goal here is to simply provide a mechanical barrier to the oil weeping out in high temperature.
I had a stock like that on a Hakim I purchased. No matter what I did to that stock, it would start to weep as soon as the temperature got up to 80 degrees. It got so bad that I couldn't shoot it in the Summer. I tried everything. I did manage to get it down a lot but it still weeped and got on my hands and clothes. So, I disassembled the rifle, cleaned the stock once again with denatured alcohol, and then shot it with what are called "Spit coats" of spray shellac. Then I sanded it so that you couldn't tell it had been sprayed using 200 grit aluminum oxide, lubricated paper. Finally, I recolored it to the original using dyes and then two or three coats of buff lacquer. Then rubbed it out. Voila! A perfectly normal looking stock harboring oil deep within its core but never to come out again. Shellac is the only finish that can do this. That's why if you want to kill a stain in your ceiling or wall, you use Binz or Kiltz which is a shellac based white stain killing paint.
Hope this helps. Most people have forgotten about the advantages of shellac. Today, everything is polysomethingorother. The old timers used Shellac, lacquer, tung oils, and dyes on their finest furniture. Even wonder why you can't seem to put color into your furniture to make it look like something 100 years old? Try using dyes (even clothes dyes in water) rather than that pre-canned Minnwax or other stains.
Finally, look for a book by Bob Flexner. Bob is an expert finisher and his book will tell you everything you ever needed to about how to make wood sing!
Rome
Let me share some info with you about finishes.
The shellac that most people are familiar with can turn things orange if that's the type you purchase. Actually , shellac comes in three main color cagatories and can be just about water clear, especially if cut with a high percentage of alcohol. The shellac I'm talking about here, however, comes in a spray can and shoots like lacquer. It dries in minutes, is tough but doesn't go anything to color the stock. And, the goal here is to simply provide a mechanical barrier to the oil weeping out in high temperature.
I had a stock like that on a Hakim I purchased. No matter what I did to that stock, it would start to weep as soon as the temperature got up to 80 degrees. It got so bad that I couldn't shoot it in the Summer. I tried everything. I did manage to get it down a lot but it still weeped and got on my hands and clothes. So, I disassembled the rifle, cleaned the stock once again with denatured alcohol, and then shot it with what are called "Spit coats" of spray shellac. Then I sanded it so that you couldn't tell it had been sprayed using 200 grit aluminum oxide, lubricated paper. Finally, I recolored it to the original using dyes and then two or three coats of buff lacquer. Then rubbed it out. Voila! A perfectly normal looking stock harboring oil deep within its core but never to come out again. Shellac is the only finish that can do this. That's why if you want to kill a stain in your ceiling or wall, you use Binz or Kiltz which is a shellac based white stain killing paint.
Hope this helps. Most people have forgotten about the advantages of shellac. Today, everything is polysomethingorother. The old timers used Shellac, lacquer, tung oils, and dyes on their finest furniture. Even wonder why you can't seem to put color into your furniture to make it look like something 100 years old? Try using dyes (even clothes dyes in water) rather than that pre-canned Minnwax or other stains.
Finally, look for a book by Bob Flexner. Bob is an expert finisher and his book will tell you everything you ever needed to about how to make wood sing!
Rome